The Kansas City Chiefs endured a nightmarish season a year ago, not only finishing out of the playoffs but Andy Reid had to live with a 6-11 record that included a brutal knee injury suffered by Patrick Mahomes.
It was a disastrous come down for a team that had been the best team in the AFC for a decade. The Chiefs had been a playoff team for 10 consecutive seasons, had been to 5 Super Bowls and won 3 of them. All that winning had created muscle memory for the Chiefs and as they prepared for the 2026 season, they put their one losing season in the rear-view mirror and simply went about their business in their normal fashion.
They did make one big move in the offseason. It had been clear that the Chiefs did not have a running game that was respected by their opponents. Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco had gotten the job done in the past, but the ground game was not threatening last year. Hunt rushed for 611 yards and just 3.7 yards per carry while Pacheco ran for 462 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per attempt.
Walker has been dynamic in the backfield
As a result, the Chiefs made a huge signing in free agency and brought in Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. He has continued the surge he was on as a member of the Seahawks by running for 537 yards on 87 carries. He is averaging 6.2 yards per carry, has used his explosive speed for a long run of 76 yards and has scored 6 rushing touchdowns.
The Chiefs had an impressive 31-10 victory in their opener that announced their intention to return to their former status and have followed that with wins over the Colts, Dolphins and Raiders.
They return to action in Week 6 with a home game against the winless Chargers, but the schedule gets much tougher after that with consecutive road games against the Seahawks and a return match with the Broncos.
Defense has performed well, but where are the sacks?
The Chiefs have played quite well in multiple areas this season on both sides of the ball, but getting to the quarterback is not one of them. The Chiefs have not had a sack in any of their last three games.
They were credited with 4 sacks in the opener, but the fact that neither Chris Jones nor George Karlaftis has registered a sack is troubling. Karlaftis has been very heavily involved and productive from the DE spot even though he has not gotten a sack. He has 15 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 passes batted down and 1 interception. He has registered 10 quarterback hits, so it could be just a matter of time before he starts piling up a few sacks.
However, Jones has not been the force he has been in the past. The 32-year-old has always been the player that opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators had to worry about, but that is not the case this season. He has just 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 2 passes defensed along with 1 fumble recovery.
Long-time defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo certainly expects quite a bit more from him, but age is starting to be a factor in his performance.
Unusual achievement by Chiefs despite lack of sacks
No team in the NFL had ever won three games in a row while failing to register a sack in all three of those games. There has been pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but they just have not been able to put opposing signal callers on the ground.
Overall, the defense has performed well through four games. The Chiefs rank 12th in yardage allowed as they are giving up 317.8 yards per game and they have been particularly good at shutting down the run. The Chiefs rank 7th in that area, allowing just 92.8 rushing yards per game.
Article Continues BelowThey are also tough to score against, as opponents are scoring 19.3 points per game. Their greatest defensive strength is their ability to take the ball away from opponents. They have 7 takeaways (4 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries), and they are tied for second in differential with a plus-5 rating.
Great start but Chiefs have much to prove
After gearing themselves for a big game in the opener, the Chiefs have gotten the benefit of a fairly easy schedule. However, once they get past the Chargers, the schedule get much more difficult. In addition to the back-to-back game against the Seahawks and Broncos, the Chiefs will face a major challenge late in the season with 5 games against the Bills, Rams, Bengals, Patriots and 49ers.
It will be up to Mahomes to lead the offense at that point, and it will be a difficult proposition. The 6-time Pro Bowler, 2-time MVP and 3-time Super Bowl MVP is going to have to return to his best form. He has been good to this point as he has completed 82 of 128 passes for 1,037 yards with a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio, but he will have to pick it up when the Chiefs face the iron of their schedule.