The Chiefs’ defense is a train wreck ... except in this particular area

Scroll down the Chiefs’ rankings in defensive statistics and the numbers aren’t pretty.

Net yards allowed per game: 451.6 (32nd among 32 teams).

Yards allowed per play: 6.69 (30th)

Passing yards allowed per game: 328.5 (31st)

Oof.

Then you get to this one:

Third down percentage: 23.8 (first).

That’s right. For all the territory surrendered by the Chiefs this season, they have been the NFL’s best at stopping opponents on third down.

The sample size is small, and nobody is confusing the Chiefs’ defense with that of, say, their Sunday opponent — Jacksonville ranks first in total defense.

But it’s something.

“Well, we need to get them in more third downs,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton joked.

That would help things. No opponent has approached 50 percent against the Chiefs this season, and the Broncos’ 2-for-11 success rate last week was Kansas City’s best effort of the season. Denver missed on all four attempts in the second half as the Chiefs made up a 10-point deficit to win 27-23.

Plenty goes into third-down defensive success, such as distance and personnel. But linebacker Reggie Ragland is not satisfied with what little has been accomplished on his side of the ball.

“We have to do better, from start to finish,” Ragland said. “We get off the field, and it’s good for the offense. But we’re not satisfied. We have the ability to be better.”

This is a defense that welcomed several newcomers this season: guys like inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens, defensive lineman Xavier Williams and cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and Orlando Scandrick, not to mention a draft class with a heavy defensive emphasis.

Coach Andy Reid continues to mention the defense as a work in progress in terms of building continuity, but he liked what he saw in Denver, where the Broncos’ 385 total yards were the fewest allowed by the Chiefs this season.

“When our defense needed to tighten up, they tightened up,” Reid said.

Sutton looks beyond NFL rankings to measure the unit.

“Obviously you don’t want to be dead last in yardage,” Sutton said. “But yardage isn’t really the barometer. From a defensive standpoint, the first thing is how you affect points. That’s the best way to help our team win — when we limit points.”

That happened at a critical juncture on Monday. The Chiefs forced a three-and-out after closing Denver’s lead to three points, 23-20. Then, after going ahead, the Chiefs kept the Broncos out of the end zone on their final drive.

After points allowed, Sutton looks at other areas , such as takeaways — the Chiefs got one on Eric Murray’s interception — and red-zone defense.

“Those are huge things there,” Sutton said. “The yards can be at times somewhat misleading.”

The Chiefs’ third-down success rate did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by Jaguars coach Doug Marrone, who once served on the New York Jets’ staff with Sutton.

“People talk about all those other stats, whatever it be: total yards, this, this and that,” Marrone said. “I look at one: third down. You know what? They’re going to win a lot of games that way. ... They’ve done everything they can to be 4-0.”

Blair Kerkhoff

Blair Kerkhoff covers the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and college sports for The Star.