It wasn’t so long ago, certainly within head coach Andy Reid’s tenure with the team, that the Kansas City Chiefs employed one of the league’s top defenses. Yes, even under Bob Sutton.
In case recency bias has overwritten the data from Reid’s first few years in K.C., let us remind you that from 2013 to 2016, the Chiefs ranked in the NFL’s top 7 (at worst) in total points allowed. In 2014, the Chiefs ranked second; the following year, they ranked third overall. Much of that was based on the team’s ability to generate turnovers.
In 2012, the last year of absolutely miserable football in Kansas City, the Chiefs were last in the NFL in takeaways per game with a scant 0.