KC Chiefs’ Defense Locked In After ‘By Any Means Necessary’ Victory
Coming off back-to-back losses, the Kansas City Chiefs had their eyes set on securing a win against the New England Patriots on Sunday. They managed to do so by 10 points, serving as a palate cleanser of sorts for Andy Reid's squad.
After getting off to a 6-1 start to the 2023-24 campaign, Kansas City wound up losing four of its next six contests. Sitting at 8-5 entering Week 15, a win was not only needed for morale and consistency aspects but also for the club's standing in the playoff picture. Before the week of play started, the Chiefs held just a one-game lead over the Denver Broncos in the AFC West and were also a couple of games behind the Baltimore Ravens for the top seed in the conference. This win got things back on track a bit.
Speaking after the game, linebacker Nick Bolton said the message from the team was simple: find a way to get the job done.
“Win by any means necessary, and we just have to win," Bolton said. "We have been up and down, and we haven’t found our groove and just trying to hit the peak at the right time. It’s that time of the year we need to win week-by-week. It will give us a chance at the end of the season [to] where we want to be.”
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's group was far from perfect on Sunday, but it still managed to get the job done and never put the game in true danger in the second half. Of New England's three scoring drives, two of them started in Kansas City territory. The first of those two was after a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes that tight end Blake Bell couldn't win a battle for. Taking over at the Chiefs' 8-yard line, there wasn't much work for the Patriots to do. Their final scoring possession followed an interception that fell mostly on wide receiver Kadarius Toney. The Patriots took over with just 29 yards to go for a touchdown, eventually getting it.
In all, New England's offense didn't fare too well in Week 15. Gaining only 206 net yards and averaging a measly 4.4 yards per pass play, it wasn't an extravagant outing for Bailey Zappe and company. Kansas City got home on him four times for sacks. The Patriots went just 2-for-12 on third down, good for a 17% conversion rate that was just barely half as good as their No. 28-ranked 33% rate entering the week. Health and continuity played a big role in the Chiefs' performance, as linebacker Willie Gay Jr. alluded to after the game.
“The important thing is that we had everybody rolling today," Gay said. "Linebackers, nobody was out. We got Drue (Tranquill) back. So, to have all the pieces and we put the win together, played good on defense, could have played even better. The energy was different, like you said. We knew we had to get back on track. Two losses in a row, we aren’t used to that. But it’s part of the game. We live and we learn from it, and we try to roll into next week with the same momentum and keep it pushing.”
Spagnuolo is known for a lot of things, and one of them is his success against inexperienced quarterbacks. Zappe still likely falls in that category, and he's a backup who was fighting for something more than just this week's win. He was actively campaigning for either a starting job in New England or a role elsewhere. The Chiefs did him absolutely zero favors on Sunday.
Over the next three weeks to close out the regular season, Kansas City plays three consecutive backups. Zappe was just the first member of a group that's slated to include Aidan O'Connell (Las Vegas Raiders), Jake Browning (Cincinnati Bengals) and Easton Stick (Los Angeles Chargers). While the football world may not learn a ton about the Chiefs based on what they do accomplish during that stretch, it would learn quite a bit about the team if it doesn't take care of business. Linebacker Leo Chenal is well aware of that, saying there's no other option but to keep a foot pressed down on the accelerator.
“We have to dominate," Chenal said. "To gain momentum in December, we have to dominate and carry it into the next game. So, to maintain that momentum rolling and rolling and rolling. Hopefully, we can stack the games but also take it one game at a time."
