KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs haven't started the season with a dominating defense, as they did last season. But the Chiefs are improving and they've allowed fewer points than the Seattle Seahawks, which means they're probably doing something right.
One of those things is blitzing efficiently. The Chiefs aren't sending five or more players to the quarterback with any great frequency. They've blitzed 26 times, or about nine times a game. That's tied for 22nd in the league in terms of frequency.
But the Chiefs are getting the job done when they do send extra players after the opposing quarterback. They allow just 3.27 yards per play when they blitz, which is second in the league. They get a sack on 18.2 percent of those plays, also second.
Opponents are completing just 46 percent of their passes against a Chiefs blitz, which is fourth in the NFL. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 75.9 against the blitz, seventh best in the league.
Those numbers are down the line better than the ones the Chiefs post when they don't blitz.
Whether the Chiefs blitz or not, they've cut down greatly on the number of big passes they've allowed. Big pass plays were a huge problem for the Chiefs' defense last season but they've yielded just five passes of 20 yards or more, which is tied for best in the league with -- there's that comparison again -- the Seahawks.
I'm not suggesting here that the Chiefs are as strong as Seattle is defensively. But if the Chiefs continue to keep their blitz efficiency numbers up and their big passes allowed down, they've got a chance to be a very good defense.