Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo has led another Super Bowl-caliber defense and this could be his best unit yet

Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo has led another Super Bowl-caliber defense and this could be his best unit yet

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What the are doing just isn't normal. The defending champions are in their fourth Super Bowl in the last five years, sitting as only the third team in history to accomplish such a feat, joining the 1990s (1990-1993) and the 2010s (2014-2018). Should they defeat the NFC champion for a third title in this span, with a second win against the 49ers in this run, it's safe to say they are a dynasty.It helps Kansas City's offense has two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP quarterback and future Hall of Fame tight end along with head coach Andy Reid front and center for this historic five-year run. However, the Chiefs appearing in Super Bowls with this trio didn't begin until the 2019 season, when Reid hired Super Bowl champion defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to fill the same position in Kansas City.Spagnuolo, affectionately known as "Spags," earned his first Super Bowl ring as the DC for the 2007 , the only team that handed the New England Patriots squad from the same season a lo s. Spagnuolo's defense held a Patriots squad that entered Super Bowl XLII averaging 36.8 points per game to just 14 points, playing a ma sive role in dropping New England's 18-0 record to 18-1 as he and New York walked away with a Vince Lombardi trophy.Here is a look at his three previous Super Bowl-winning units and why his 2023 Chiefs group could be his best championship-winning defense yet should they come out on top against San Francisco. Playoff matchups vs. top-five scoring offensesNFC divisional round: 21-17 win at No. 1 (averaged 28.4 PPG, second most in NFL)NFC conference championship: 23-20 OT win at No. 2 (averaged 27.2 PPG, fourth most in NFL)Super Bowl XLII in Arizona: 17-14 win vs. 18-0 New England Patriots (averaged 36.8 PPG, most in NFL and third most in a single-season in NFL history)The entire world was ready to crown the 18-0 AFC champion New England Patriots as the greatest football team of all time. Problem was, they couldn't block Spagnuolo's defensive linemen as Brady was sacked a 2007 season high, and forever tied for his playoff career high, five times. led the way with two while Michael Strahan, and Kawika Mitchell each added another. The 2007 NFL MVP had a completion percentage of 60.4% (29 of 48), nearly nine points lower than his season average. Pre sure was the key to victory for Spagnuolo's defense.Playoff matchups vs. top-five scoring offensesSuper Bowl LIV in Miami: 31-20 win vs. No. 1 San Francisco 49ers (averaged 29.9 PPG, second most in NFL)In the Super Bowl, Spagnuolo went back to his roots, blitzing on 48.5% of pa ses and forcing him into throwing a season-high two interceptions on 20 of 31 pa sing for 219 yards and one touchdown as well. His 69.2 pa ser rating that night was his third lowest of the season. Trailing 20-10 entering the fourth quarter, Spagnuolo's defense kept San Francisco off the scoreboard, allowing Mahomes to work his magic, which culminated in a Super Bowl victory.Playoff matchups vs. top-five scoring offensesSuper Bowl LVII in Arizona: 31-20 win vs. No. 1 (averaged 28.1 PPG, third most in NFL)Last season, Spagnuolo's defense thrived on getting after opposing quarterbacks, racking up 55 sacks, the second most in the NFL behind their Super Bowl opponents, the Philadelphia Eagles, and generating a quarterback pre sure rate of 35.7%, the eighth best in the league. However, the back end of his defense struggled most of the year mostly thanks to inexperience. Five rookies were playing key roles: cornerbacks , , plus safety and edge rusher . The J.J. Watt Jersey 2022 Chiefs defense became only the second team since the 2008 season to allow the most pa sing touchdowns (33) in the regular season and make the postseason, joining the 2008 .They weren't incredibly effective at slowing down 2022 NFL MVP runner-up quarterback (304 pa sing yards and a touchdown on 27 of 38 pa sing and 70 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 15 carries), but they forced him into a critical turnover. Trailing 14-7 and Philly looking to go up two po se sions in the second quarter, the Chiefs walled off the A-gap on a Hurts scramble, causing him to hesitate and fumble the football. Chiefs linebacker scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 36 yards for the then-tying score via a fumble return touchdown. . seized on his moment NFL Films (@NFLFilms) That touchdown was critical as the Chiefs offense didn't score the entire second quarter, so that play squarely kept Kansas City within striking distance, down 24-14 at the half. Kansas City roared back offensively behind Mahomes that night (182 yards and three touchdown pa ses on 21 of 27 pa sing while adding 44 rushing yards on six carries). His effort would have been in vain had Spags' defense not limited Philly to just two more in the final 30 minutes, including just one touchdown. Not only is Spagnuolo's 2023 defense the best of his Kansas City tenure, but it's the best Chiefs defense of the 21st century. Including the postseason, they rank second in the league in scoring defense (16.8 PPG allowed), fourth in total defense (294.7 total YPG allowed) and first in sack rate (8.6%).Chiefs defense this season including playoffsChiefs defenseStatsKC's Best SincePPG Allowed16.8*1997Total YPG Allowed294.7*1995Sack Rate8.6%*1992"Damn, that's the bo s bro," Chiefs 2023 First-Team All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie after the team's 17-10 win over the top-seeded in the AFC championship game. "That's the mastermind behind everything you see. I feel like everybody on this defense ... shoot, everyone in the building ... really respects that man. He's a generally good dude. I got a lot of love for him and he got a lot of love for us. He allows us to go out there and play. It the level the defense played at against Ravens ain't surprising to us. We've been doing this all year."The Chiefs defense is playing this year is at an all-time great level, in the company of some of the best defenses in recent memory. They have allowed under 28 points in all 20 of their games, the most such games in a season in NFL history including the postseason. Each of the four teams to do so in all of their games in the Super Bowl era, since 1966, -- the 2000 Ravens (all 19 games), the 2002 (all 19 games), the 2005 (all 19 games) and the 2010 Packers (all 19 games) -- each won the Super Bowl.In their last six games, which includes their entire playoff run and their last three regular-season games, Kansas City's defense has been impenetrable in the second half and especially the fourth quarter. They have allowed one touchdown and only 19 points in their last six second halves, including no (none, zilch, zero) touchdowns and just six points in their last six fourth quarters. How are they doing all this? Spagnuolo's group is equipped with All-Pros at defensive tackle () and cornerback (McDuffie) and plenty of youth that is growing into their own (George Karlaftis, tied for a team-high 10.5 sacks with Jones, defensive end Mike Danna, linebacker Willie Gay, linebacker Nick Bolton).Spagnuolo himself has also shown the type of schematic flexibility that is nece sary to adapt and survive throughout the playoffs. He is known as an aggre sive blitzer, and the 2023 regular season supported that notion: The Chiefs blitzed on 37% of opponent dropbacks, the fourth-highest rate in the league. Spags has become more selective with manufacturing pre sure, blitzing on only 30.4% of opponent dropbacks, the eighth-highest rate out of 14 playoff teams.He has been varied round-to-round with his signature pre sure looks. The Chiefs blitzed 21 times total against the and the Buffalo Bills in the first two rounds of the postseason, but then they cranked it up against 2023 First-Team All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson with 20 blitzes against the Ravens. All 20 were unique blitzes, Justin Pugh Jersey meaning each was different based on who blitzed, from where and with what coverage behind it, according to CBS Sports Research. Spagnuolo dialed up a Chiefs' season-high 12 defensive back blitzes against Jackson to great results: 21 pa sing yards allowed and a sack taken on 3 of 10 pa sing.Spagnuolo mixes it upChiefs blitzes this postseasonvs. Dolphins/Bills: 21 blitzes (four with six+ pa s rushers)vs. Ravens: 20 blitzes (seven with six+ pa s rushers)The Chiefs utilize the defensive back blitz more than anyone with 108 plays with it, and the fewest pa sing yards per pa s attempt allowed (4.9) with the concept in 2023. When McDuffie is involved in pa s-rushing, opposing quarterbacks struggle: 46% completion percentage, 4.2 yards per pa s attempt and an 0-2 TD-INT ratio when McDuffie is in the pa s rush this season.The exotic blitz schemes and the week-to-week variance may not be the easiest system to grasp initially, but his defenders are fully bought in."We believe in Coach Spagnuolo ," Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna told CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr. "We believe in everybody in the system and being a unit on defense. It took all 11 of us, and he made that clear earlier this week. It was gonna take all 11 of us to get to where we wanna get to. We do what we got to do." They are allowing 13.7 points per game this postseason against opponents that combined to average 28.0 points per game in the regular season, to sing elite offenses 6 feet under round after round. Chiefs defense this postseasonHeld Dolphins to season-worsts in points (7), yards per play (4.5) and third downs (1 of 12)Miami had the longest active NFL streak of averaging 5+ yards per play snapped (17 games)Held Bills to their fewest yards-per-pa s attempt (4.8) since 2021 and fewest yards per completion (7.2) since 2018Buffalo had the second-longest active NFL streak of averaging 5+ yards per pa s attempt (39 games) snapped Held Ravens to season-low 81 rush yards and fewest time of po se sion (22:30) of Lamar Jackson's careerBaltimore had its longest active (also tied for fifth-longest streak in NFL history) with 100+ rush yards snapped (35 games)The final challenge is a 49ers squad with the most star-studded offensive cast Kansas City has faced all season: one of the league's best play-callers in San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan, Pro Bowl quarterback , 2023 First Team All-Pro running back , Pro Bowl wide receiver , 2023 First Team All-Pro tight end , 2023 Second-Team All-Pro receiver and 2023 First Team All-Pro left tackle ."It's scary to watch all the weapons they have," Spagnuolo when asked about the 49ers offense. "He's Christian McCaffrey one piece, a big piece, of it. ... He's explosive. A real smart football player. He's not the only one. They're all over the place."The same could be said for Spagnuolo's defense. "It's special," Mahomes told CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr. "That's a great team and a great quarterback. And Spags, it seems when the games get bigger, and when Andy Isabella Jersey the challenges get higher, he performs even better. Even if we're not having the succe s that I want to have, when the defense is rolling and getting the stops, let's take the safe choice. Don't turn the ball over and let's go win a football game." Given his defense's historic production in 2023 and multiple Super Bowl rings, one would think Spagnuolo would have a shot at being an NFL head coach. However, the league appears too leery to grant him a second chance at the big chair after he went 10-38 as the head coach of the St. Louis from 2009-2011. Spagnuolo returned to being a defensive coordinator after failing to launch his rebuild of the Rams, working for the for a year (2012).After struggling on Sean Payton's staff, he honed his craft as a senior defensive a sistant (2013) and a secondary coach (2014) on John Harbaugh's staff in Baltimore before returning home to the G-Men as their DC from 2015-2017. Following head coach Ben McAdoo's firing, Spags took a year off before becoming the Chiefs defensive play-caller in 2019, helping to kick off the first of the Chiefs' Super Bowl runs.Both Bill Belichick (36-44 in five seasons with the ) and Pete Carroll (33-31 in four seasons with the and New Patriots combined) failed in their first attempts at being an NFL head coach like Spagnuolo. Carroll received his NFL second chance with the in 2010 at the age of 59, and he made the most of it. He went 137-89-1 in his 14 seasons from 2010-2023, leading Seattle to consecutive Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014 and capturing the franchise's only title to conclude the 2013 season. At age 64, teams may not look at Spagnuolo as being at the right stage of his career for a second chance, but he certainly has the buy-in from his players like a beloved head coach. Following their AFC Championship win in Baltimore, Chiefs safety pa sed out shirts to the defense that said "In Spags We Trust" with the DC's face plastered all over. Justin Reid holding the shirt thats been all over the locker room. In Spags We Trust Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) "Humbling," Spagnuolo said when asked about his players wearing T-shirts with him on it after winning the AFC championship game in Baltimore."I'm going to shoot him Chiefs safety Justin Reid for doing that. I'm trying to burn every T-shirt that I can find. I don't think I'm getting them all though," Spagnuolo said chuckling. The NFL may not have gotten Spagnuolo's best as a head coach on his first shot, but next hiring cycle, if there's a team that needs to make a defensive turnaround, Spags should be near the top of every owner's short list.
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