Chiefs defense ranked as one of the worst in the NFL by USA Today

“Expect a lot of shootouts in Kansas City this season.”

That’s the bottom line from USA Today’s Steven Ruiz, who ranked all 32 NFL defenses and put the Chiefs near the bottom at No. 29. The three teams ranked behind the Chiefs: the Giants, Raiders and Colts, who were last.

The Chiefs’ defense has a lot of question marks, Ruiz believes, but he doesn’t expect great things.

Ruiz wrote: “CB Kendall Fuller should be a fine replacement for Marcus Peters but he’s not going to be the playmaker the new Rams corner had been for Kansas City. OLB Dee Ford is coming off a major injury and has looked like it during preseason. Justin Houston is now a year older and has averaged just seven sacks a season since 2014. The linebacker group would be perfect if it were 1995 and the running game still mattered. DT Chris Jones is a blue-chip talent but the Chiefs are going to be asking a lot of him.”

The Chargers, who are the Chiefs’ opponent this week, were ranked as the No. 6 defense.

On the plus side, the Chiefs’ offense was eighth in a ranking of all 32 teams.

“The ceiling on this offense is ridiculously high, but the floor is also much lower than it was a year ago with Patrick Mahomes taking over for Alex Smith,” Ruiz wrote.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 8:43 AM.