The Kansas City Chiefs returned to the win column in Week 12, however, it was far from the most impressive performance. The defending Super Bowl Champions nearly came up short against the lowly Carolina Panthers, needing a buzzer-beating field goal to escape Bank of America Stadium with the victory.
Even though the NFL is known for its fair share of surprises, nobody expected the Chiefs to surrender 27 points and 334 total yards to the Panthers. It was the second-most points Kansas City has allowed in a game all season, as well as the third-most yards surrendered.
Unsurprisingly, Chiefs fans want answers for the abysmal defensive showing and that’s exactly what they got from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Tuesday.
Despite Sunday’s struggles, the Chiefs own one of the NFL’s better defenses this season and Spagnuolo has played a big role in that success.
With that being said, the fanbase is also turning to him for answers to figure out what went wrong in Raleigh, NC.
Unfortunately, the 64-year-old’s response to the Chiefs’ recent shortcomings likely isn’t the answer that fans hoped for.
“(Bryce Young) played like a Heisman winner,” Spagnuolo told reporters, per Sports Illustrated’s Jordan Foote. “I’m gonna give that quarterback a lot of credit. He played exceptionally well.”
“Aside from that, though, we need to step it up and play better.”
#Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on Bryce Young, who he said “played like a Heisman winner” on Sunday:
“I’m gonna give that quarterback a lot of credit. He played exceptionally well. . . Aside from that, though, we need to step it up and play better.”
— Jordan Foote (@footenoted) November 26, 2024
On one hand, credit is due where it’s deserved and there’s no denying that Young had a decent game against Spagnuolo’s defense. The Panthers QB completed 60.0% of passes for a season-high 263 passing yards with one touchdown and a 92.9 passer rating.
Perhaps, not exactly Heisman Trophy-good but still decent enough to make it a competitive game.
On the other hand, Spagnuolo can’t say that Young’s performance was the main reason the game ended up closer than expected.
After all, the Chiefs’ defensive play has been regressing lately. They went from surrendering 17.6 points per game in their first seven outings to allowing a 23.8 PPG clip in their last four. It’s even worse considering how Kansas City has allowed 24-plus points in three of its last four outings after exceeding that number just once between Weeks 1 and 8.
At the end of the day, it would’ve been easier for Spagnuolo to say that the Chiefs underestimated the Panthers and it nearly came back to bite them. Instead, Kansas City’s DC is trying to make Young’s performance look better than it actually was.
Spagnuolo isn’t in jeopardy of losing his job, however, he must get his defenders back on track if the Chiefs are to win another Super Bowl. The AFC West leaders have a chance to prove they learned from their recent defensive blunders when they host the rival Las Vegas Raiders for a Black Friday showdown in Week 13.
Friday’s encounter is shaping up to be a lopsided tilt. FanDuel Sportsbook is currently listing the Chiefs as the 13.5-point favorites over the Raiders with a projected total of 42.5 points.
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