KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Election season means a lot of people telling us what America is, so apologies up front here for adding to that. But in these unprecedented times, even a divided America can agree on this:
Shiny objects distract us.
Fortunes have been made (TikTok) and lost (album sales) on this truth, so resistance is pointless, especially here in Kansas City, because Patrick Mahomes is the shiniest object in sports right now.
He was particularly shiny against the Ravens, too, in what was essentially a nationally televised infomercial on how he and the Chiefs plan to turn the NFL into weekly recess.
It was all great fun. It also concealed a fact far more devastating to the rest of the league than turning Eric Fisher and Anthony Sherman into playmakers:
The Chiefs' defense played its best game since coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's hiring, which also means the Chiefs' defense played its best game in several years.
The 2018 Chiefs presented a fair fight. They would score on you, repeatedly, and they would also blow coverages so you could score on them, repeatedly.
The 2019 Chiefs tilted fairness their way, particularly starting with the Chargers game in Mexico City. By then the players understood what the coaches envisioned, and the coaches understood how best to use their new players. Chris Jones and Frank Clark won the biggest moments, and Tyrann Mathieu's blend of brains and guts created too many problems in the back.
The 2020 Chiefs are doing even more of that. Some of the metrics aren't showing it _ the Chiefs are 15th in Football Outsiders' DVOA, for instance _ but if the Chiefs play defense like this the rest of the way then the NFL's marriage with parity is on the rocks. Play defense like this and 16-0 is actually, somehow, can't-believe-this-is-being-typed, possible.
But, where were we? Right: shiny objects. Let's forget about shiny objects like Mahomes and 16-0.
This Chiefs' defense is not shiny. Good defenses should not be shiny. Good defenses should be strong, fast, smart, and diverse. This Chiefs' defense is strong (Jones is wrecking interior lines), fast (Clark's get-off is the best it's been), smart (Mathieu) and diverse (in blitz packages, coverage schemes, and game planning around injuries).
Lets be clear about a few things. The Chiefs have not done this on their own. The Texans are beginning to realize they're in a transition from Bill O'Brien to a coach who can get the best from Deshaun Watson. The Chargers had to switch quarterbacks at the last second because the team doctor accidentally inured the starter. The Ravens replaced running with panic.
But the Chiefs have done their part, too. They wrecked Watson's protection, they kept the Chargers to just six points over the last 45 snaps and 45 minutes, and they kept the Ravens to 166 yards below their season average.
They have done this in many ways, but we start with Jones and Clark. The salary cap bill may or may not come due in the future but for now the Chiefs have two top-shelf pass rushers at the height of their powers.
Jones and Clark give the Chiefs a particular advantage _ each can rush from different spots on the line, and each can win with different strategies.
The most encouraging development from the Ravens game might have come from the linebackers. That's the softest of this group's three levels, and they had some rough moments against the Chargers but were consistently disciplined, strong, and in position against the Ravens.
This is an interesting spot to think about, too. Willie Gay Jr. played nine defensive snaps against the Ravens. That's not a lot, obviously, and Gay Jr. is still learning. But if it's a sign of a continuation of what we saw in training camp _ building him up slowly but deliberately _ then that group that is sometimes a half-step slow is going to become faster.
The defense's greatest feat so far is what they've done in the back. They have been without one or both of their top two cornerbacks in every game, and now promising rookie L'Jarius Sneed is out for weeks with a broken collarbone. Juan Thornhill is going through the non-linear recovery expected of someone nine months removed from a torn ACL.
All of that is true, and the Chiefs still held Lamar Jackson to 15 of 28 passing for just 97 yards. It was, by a significant margin, Jackson's least effective game since becoming a starter in 2018.
It's been pointed out that this will be the fourth week in a row the Chiefs face a mobile quarterback, which Spagnuolo acknowledged as an advantage. But Newton is much different than Jackson _ this is a fullback's strength rather than a wide receiver's speed.
The Patriots do not have the skill position dynamism of the Ravens, but they are also unlikely to abandon the run like the Ravens.
Bill Belichick is the best to ever do it, a reputation built largely on coming up with new and unscouted strategies every week. But we've seen the Chiefs and Patriots enough to see some general truths: Belichick will likely focus on eliminating Tyreek Hill and big throws downfield, and he is likely to run the ball until the Chiefs prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they can stop it.
The Patriots have the league's best run game by DVOA. They lead the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns. Newton gives Belichick options he's never had, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has helped develop creative blocking schemes to take advantage of misdirection and option runs that can attack different parts of the line of the scrimmage.
Remember: In 2018, with the statuesque Tom Brady under center, the Patriots ran 48 times against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. That included 10 times on their opening drive, 13 times in the fourth quarter and all three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Chiefs' run defense remains a weakness that has not been exploited to that level since. They rank 28th in yards per rush against. According to DVOA, only the Raiders and Dolphins are worse against the run.
This is the relentless push of the NFL. The Chiefs shredded what had been among the league's best offenses, and now face a challenge that in some ways could be greater.
From Tom Brady's Patriots to Derrick Henry's Titans to Kyle Shanahan's 49ers and Jackson's Ravens, the Chiefs' defense has squashed every challenge for the last 12 games.
If this is indeed the new normal, then the Chiefs hype is not hyperbole, and Mahomes and the offense will stay shiny, supported consistently by a defense that's made a wild transformation since the beginning of last season.
