In the 2012 season, the Kansas City Chiefs finished as the statistical worst of the NFL. With a 2-14 record, the Chiefs were at the bottom of the entire league (Their NFL-lowest 211 points per game broke their record tie with the also 2-14 Jaguars). After restructuring major components of their organization with the welcoming of new coach Andy Reid and new quarterback Alex Smith, this previously desolate Kansas City team finds themselves in a much different going into week eight of the 2013 season.
The Chiefs are 7-0, the only undefeated team in the NFL after their divisional rivals, the Denver Broncos, lost to the Colts on Sunday night. Although it is unfair to say it, if the playoffs began this weekend, Kansas City would enter as the #1 seed, having won the AFC West over this year’s highly praised Broncos team.
So what is it exactly that has turned things around for the Chiefs, transforming them seemingly overnight from the worst to the best?
Defense is definitely the first thing that comes to mind when attempting to explain the team’s 2013 turnaround. The Kansas City Chiefs are currently allowing the lowest points-per-game in the NFL, holding opponents to a remarkable 11.6 points on average. The defense is also 5th in yards per game, with only four teams beating their average of 304.6 yards allowed.
But it’s not just efficiency at holding offenses to low numbers that makes this Chiefs defense so good.
Kansas City leads the NFL in turnover differential, with 11 more takeaways than giveaways. Their nine fumble recoveries is a league high, and only two defenses have more interceptions. The Chiefs are also currently 1st in sacks with 35, an extremely impressive value that exceeds that of any other NFL defense by 10.
Obviously this is a defense that can not only tame opposing offenses, but also can create pressure and exploit mistakes like no other team in the league. The Kansas City defense is absolutely elite, and works hard to give their offense short fields and low opposing scores.
And the offense, while not as phenomenal, has been good enough to get the job done. The Chiefs are 12th in points scored per game, and Jamal Charles, the teams lead running back, is currently 4th in the league in rushing.
The change in this Kansas City team is so drastic that it is almost unbelievable. Due to this surprising season, many Chiefs naysayers have taken to criticism of the team’s schedule, claiming that the weakness of Kansas City’s opponents is the sole explanation for their record. While their schedule is weak (the Chiefs are tied for 26th in strength of schedule for this year), Kansas City’s schedule is actually stronger (in win percentage of opponents) than their previously undefeated counterparts the Denver Broncos. The point being that Denver has received little to no criticism regarding the weakness of their 2013 schedule.
Despite objections by some, statistics seem to prove that the Kansas City Chiefs are a legitimate NFL powerhouse, deserving of their shocking currently undefeated season.