Chiefs’ Eric Murray: We extract ‘more’ from one another in crucial times
Yeah, it sounds like one of those newfangled statistics someone pulled out of an obscure equation somewhere. Even Chiefs veteran cornerback Orlando Scandrick got a quizzical look on his face Monday night as he dressed in the visiting locker room and heard the statistic recited in a question to teammate Eric Murray.
Through the first three games of the season, the Chiefs’ defense allowed a league-low average of just 2.49 yards per play when the game has been within seven points. Yes, that’s a stat somebody keeps.
Basically, it means that despite the gaudy numbers opposing offenses put up over the course of a full game, the Chiefs’ defense gets tougher to move the ball against when the game is close. That unit, as picked on and pilloried as it has been, made enough plays to set the stage for some Patrick Mahomes magic in a 27-23 win on Monday night in Denver.
When asked about the defense’s statistical superiority in tight situations, Murray’s reply didn’t have anything to do with numbers. In his mind, it goes much deeper than anything quantifiable on paper.
“When we look each other in the eye, it’s like, ‘Yeah, we need more out of each other,’” Murray said. “It’s just having the connection and that bond so when we look at each other and it’s time to go, we can extract it out of each other. I think in the past it really wasn’t like that, or for other teams it might not be like that. I actually feel like this is a real team.”
The Chiefs entered the night having given up an average of 30.7 points per game. They’d come up with just one turnover in three games until Murray’s third-quarter interception, which he got a hand on without ever turning his head. He ripped the ball from the hands of Broncos tight end Jeff Heuerman, pulling in the first pick of his career, as they both tumbled to the turf.
The Broncos gained an average of 6.5 yards per offensive play. They ran the ball at a 7.2-yard per carry clip. They didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard like a fireworks display — just 23 points — but they gained yards in bunches.
“I mean, you’ve just got to make stops when you need to,” Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller said. “When you’re going up against the best of the best, they’re going to make plays. You’ve just got to keep on, come back with the same confidence knowing that you can make the next play. Over the course of the (the Broncos) are going to make plays. You’ve just got to keep lining up again.”
The Broncos grabbed a 10-point lead with less than 13 minutes left to play on their home field. With the Chiefs’ offense looking largely out of sync to that point, the night started to shape up as the first pitfall of the season.
After all, the Broncos hadn’t lost a game in which they’d led by 10 points or more in the fourth quarter in more than a decade (Nov. 28, 2004). But the Chiefs allowed the Broncos just 85 yards and three first downs in the fourth quarter despite outside linebacker and pass rush specialist Dee Ford having been sidelined because of a groin injury.
The two Broncos’ possessions consisted of a three-and-out that set up the go-ahead scoring drive for the Chiefs and a late attempt to rally that stalled and resulted in a turnover on downs at the Chiefs’ 28.
“We made the stops when we needed to,” outside linebacker Justin Houston said. “That should give the defense, as a whole, confidence. I think we’ve just got to put a complete game together. We still have yet to put a complete game together, so that’s our goal — to play first quarter through fourth quarter a complete game of pure dominance. That’s what we want.”
On the surface, it doesn’t seem logical that an offense could gain so many yards and give an opposing defense significant trouble, yet falter at the most pivotal moments. An offense shouldn’t lose its mojo that rapidly, and a defense shouldn’t be able to flip a switch that quickly.
It seems the Chiefs’ defense has embraced the idea of having a short memory. The early miscues don’t linger. They wash away with the sweat of competition.
“Everybody’s got a game plan until you get hit in the mouth,” Houston said. “Can you take a lick and keep going? As a defense, you’ve got to play like that. Because you’re going to get hit. They’re going to make plays. They get paid. They’ve got a job too. It’s the NFL. You’ve just got to make plays when it counts.”
Lynn Worthy
Lynn Worthy covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
