Welcome to a new strength of this Chiefs team. It’s not where you’d expect
The final offensive snap of the Patriots’ inept presentation came late in the fourth quarter, with a first down the lone avenue in which to extend the game. The marker sat 10 yards from the line of scrimmage on a fourth-down play.
And the play call? Well, it asked the quarterback to pick out a target behind the line. A running back, at that. (It didn’t work.)
The Patriots’ tries downfield were abortive and then eventually aborted, an attempt to dodge those who performed as the Chiefs’ best playmakers Monday.
The secondary.
For all of the different ways in which the Chiefs have won football games in their first weeks, the most consistent element just had its best showing yet. The secondary intercepted the Patriots three times in a 26-10 victory that might have been atypically dull for a game featuring the past two Super Bowl winners.
Except for the guys in the back.
“I got the best secondary in football behind me,” defensive end Frank Clark said.
The Chiefs allowed only 172 net passing yards — their fourth straight game holding an opponent under 300 — and Tyrann Mathieu, Rashad Fenton and Juan Thornhill picked off passes. Mathieu turned his into a touchdown that effectively ended the game.
The secondary actually arrived shorthanded. More shorthanded than anywhere else on the roster. Fenton was plugged into the lineup by necessity, with rookie L’Jarius Sneed’s collarbone injury and Bashaud Breeland’s suspension holding them out. Breeland will return next week.
But somehow, at least for one night, neither were missed. They carried on as they have all season. Yes, the Patriots played without starting quarterback Cam Newton. Yes, the game would have unfolded differently had he played.
But the receivers remained the same. And they found little spacing. The Patriots went after Fenton — and got their only touchdown on a fade route his way — but he replied with the interception and four passes broken up.
“I still feel like we can play so much better,” Mathieu said. “I think that’s the goal — to forget about this game. Obviously our younger guys stepped up, played well, but we’re getting into the thick of it. We got two real tough opponents coming up, and we gotta try to find a way to get better to win the next couple of games.”
The Chiefs are allowing only 195 passing yards per game. That’s third in the NFL. The coverage on the back end is now good enough to lead to sacks from the front end. It directly excluded three points Monday, when on the final play of the half, Clark sacked Brian Hoyer in field goal range, and the clock expired. Hoyer looked. And looked. And looked. Nobody was open.
Yet the messaging from Mathieu — the undisputed leader of the secondary — remains consistent. He’s limited on praise. High on what’s ahead.
There’s a reason behind it. For all of the improvement this group has made, they still have a defining feature.
They’re young. Mathieu is the lone veteran in the group, with Charvarius Ward, Fenton, Thornhill and Sneed all still on their rookie contracts.
It’s a plus.
As long as they remember something.
“It’s a long season,” Mathieu said. “It’s an any-given-Sunday league, so I think in my mind, we have to stay humble. We have to continue to work hard. We have to forget about the bad plays, but the good games we’ve been able to put together, we have to put those games to rest (too).
“I think every team that we’ll face defensively, they’re going to try to give us their best shot. So being a leader of my group, I’m just trying to keep my guys humble (and) paint the picture for them that this is a long season. Any given Sunday we can be exposed.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 10:33 PM.