KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The defense they unveiled in Monday night's victory is the one the Kansas City Chiefs envisioned they would have all along. It got after the New England Patriots quarterbacks, sacking them three times.
The Chiefs forced three turnovers, intercepting Tom Brady twice and making him lose a fumble. They converted one of those turnovers into a touchdown when safety Husain Abdullah returned an interception 39 yards for a score.
The Chiefs had been sacking opposing quarterbacks during the season's first three games, but the turnovers and the defensive touchdown were something new, at least in 2014. Turnovers and touchdowns were a key part of the Chiefs' defense last season when the Chiefs started 9-0, but they had been shut out of both categories this year until beating the Patriots 41-14.
"We have to keep that coming," Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. "That's a big part to the game.
"It's important that the defense creates turnovers so there's no complacency amongst the guys with just the three and they want to keep it coming."
Turnovers can be fickle, plentiful during some stretches and hard to come by during others. Perhaps the Patriots game starts a stretch of games that will see a flurry of turnovers.
If so, the Chiefs might have something going defensively. They are creeping up in the statistical rankings and are 11th in yards allowed and eighth in points per game.
If they can add some turnovers and touchdowns to the mix, so much the better.
"That's what we needed," nose tackle Dontari Poe said. "We've been preaching it all week: Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Not only that, but try to score on defense.
"We did it, so it was a good day."