The Kansas City Chiefs are heading back to the Super Bowl after a 17-10 win on the road over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship, making it to a fourth Super Bowl in the Patrick Mahomes era. And while Mahomes, Travis Kelce and head coach Andy Reid rightfully garner a lot of attention for Kansas City’s success, the reason the Chiefs got to the final game this season was the 11-man unit on the other side of the ball.
Steve Spagnuolo’s defense was only behind the Ravens this season when it came to opponent points per game, and behind the Browns when it came to yards allowed. The Chiefs did allow plenty of yardage to Lamar Jackson in the second half of Sunday’s game but made two key plays in the red zone resulting in turnovers to give the ball back to their offense.
The Chiefs have been doing this all season defensively, even though they’ve been overshadowed by the stars on the other side of their own team and defensive units around the league. There may not be any household names on Kansas City’s unit, but the likes of Chris Jones, Nick Bolton and L’Jarius Sneed have led the way while emerging talents like George Karlaftis and Justin Reid have stepped up in key moments. Spagnuolo’s blitz-heavy schemes have played into Kansas City’s favor, especially with Bolton and Reid in hybrid roles. And even though they won’t say it, they probably took this game personally.
Baltimore’s defense has been talked up this season, with Mike Macdonald being considered one of the hottest coordinators in the league when it comes to landing a head coaching job. And while Macdonald held Mahomes and company in check, it was Spagnuolo’s unit that made the game-changing plays we often associate with a Ravens defense. Perhaps most importantly, defense travels. The Chiefs held the Ravens and Bills, two of the more explosive offenses in the league, to a combined 34 points.
Everyone will talk about Mahomes, Kelce, Reid and Taylor Swift heading into Super Bowl week. The Chiefs will allow those guys to take attention away from the true star of this season; Kansas City’s defense. And that’s exactly how Spagnuolo’s guys want it to be.