Chiefs’ Defensive Mastermind: Steve Spagnuolo’s Impact on Kansas City’s Success
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Every year, as the Kansas City Chiefs wrap up their training camp, there’s a collective sigh of relief from Patrick Mahomes and his fellow offensive starters. Why, you ask? It’s because they no longer have to face the relentless pressure-based defensive schemes of their own coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, for another year. Mahomes himself has often expressed how challenging it is to go up against Spagnuolo’s defense, saying, “Everything looks so similar,” referring to the pre-snap looks the Chiefs’ defense provides. “But then he has so many different varieties of coverages and blitzes and different things that he can do and so you can never get a feel for what he’s going to call because he’ll just throw in random coverages and stuff like that every single series, it seems like. It’s hard to prepare for.”
Mahomes appreciates the preparation he gets from facing such a formidable defense during training camp, stating, “It prepares me for the season because I have the mastermind that I go up against all training camp.” And indeed, Spagnuolo has been a mastermind in his 12 seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator. Since joining the Chiefs in 2019, he has helped lead the team to three Super Bowl victories, including triumphs in each of the past two years.
Spagnuolo’s Defensive Fury on Display
The fury of a Spagnuolo defense was on full display in last week’s divisional round playoff win over the Houston Texans. The Chiefs sacked quarterback C.J. Stroud eight times, with five of those sacks coming in the fourth quarter alone. At one point, the Chiefs blitzed Stroud on seven consecutive pass attempts, showcasing their aggressive defensive strategy.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who has a long history of calling plays against Spagnuolo, praises his defensive coordinator’s ability to know when to use different blitzes. “He does a heck of a job of knowing when to use the different blitzes, and that’s half the battle,” Reid said. “It’s not how much you blitz. It’s just how you utilize the blitzes and when you utilize them, so he’s got a great feel for that.”
Key Defensive Plays Against the Texans
The Chiefs effectively sealed the game against the Texans with a four-play defensive sequence in the fourth quarter. Trailing 20-12, the Texans had a first down at the Kansas City 40. Spagnuolo called for a blitz on the next four plays, resulting in three incomplete passes by Stroud and a sack by defensive end George Karlaftis on fourth down. The Texans didn’t take another snap outside of their 11 until late in the game, after the Chiefs had extended their lead to 23-12 with a field goal.
Spagnuolo explained that his decision to blitz is based on more than just down, distance, time remaining, and the score. “Probably a little bit of more of a feel than anything else,” he said. “I know the guys do enjoy that part of it. They like to be aggressive. I mean, every [defensive back] and every linebacker will tell you that they want to blitz. You can’t do it every down and there may have been some in there earlier, if I go back, that didn’t quite work the way we wanted. Fortunately for us, in that part of the game, the guys executed it exactly the way we had practiced it and they ended up being positive plays for us.”
Upcoming Challenge Against the Buffalo Bills
The Chiefs face a greater challenge in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills. Bills quarterback Josh Allen was sacked 14 times during the 17-game regular season and three times in two playoff games. The Chiefs failed to sack Allen in Week 11, a 30-21 Bills victory. This week, the Chiefs have prioritized getting Allen and the Bills off the field on third downs better than they did in Week 11, when Buffalo converted nine times in 15 tries.
- Chiefs’ pass rush improved over the season
- 21 sacks in the first 11 games
- 26 sacks in the last seven games
- 8 sacks against the Texans
Much of the Chiefs’ strategy involves a strong, disciplined pass rush against Allen. “We know that they’ll go for it on fourth down in certain situations,” Spagnuolo said. “So we’d like to get them to the point that we get them in those longer third downs. But that’s easier said than done with this football team. When they’re in those manageable third downs from their standpoint, it becomes challenging really because of the quarterback.”
George Karlaftis, reflecting on Spagnuolo’s experience and strategy, said, “[Spagnuolo] has been there and done that. He’s had all this experience and he knows what to call in critical situations, but also on top of that we know what he’s thinking about calling, too, just because it’s drilled so much in practice and we’ve gone over it so many times. He’s open and honest and it’s like, ‘Look, this is what I’m thinking,’ and stuff like that. When it comes to game time, you’re just free. You’re just going out and executing to the best of your ability.”
Originally Written by: Adam Teicher
