It’s not often that Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo designs a game plan that doesn’t get home enough, but that’s exactly what happened against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Chiefs pass rushers only sacked quarterback Dak Prescott twice, and Prescott spent much of the game operating from a clean pocket in Kansas City’s 31-28 loss.
“I hope everybody had a happy Thanksgiving,” Spagnuolo said in his comments to the media yesterday, according to a report written by Jesse Newell of The Athletic. “Because I didn’t.”
Spagnuolo then went on to say he was “totally disappointed” that the defense allowed those 31 points, and he listed some additional specifics.
The Chiefs’ poor play on third down was high on his list, as Dallas was able to convert 9 of 16 times, with several of those conversions occurring in key moments when the game was basically on the line. Spagnuolo also said the two long runs that ended up being big plays for the characters were out of character for his team.
“I take the full blame for that,” said Spagnuolo, whose defense allowed 457 total yards. “We’ve got to have a better game plan.”
What helped improve Spagnuolo’s mood some was the intensity he saw at this week’s practice. That’s essential for a team that’s been coming up just short throughout most of the season, and the defensive coordinator knows it.
“I told the unit this morning that I thought that was the best no-helmet practice that we’ve had here in seven years,” Spagnuolo said. “I guess where I’m going with it is: Nobody’s lost interest in what we’re doing. I think they have just jacked it up — I’m talking about the defensive guys — in their preparation, because they know the margin for error now is really, really small.”
Defensive tackle Chris Jones weighed in on this as well. According to an ESPN breakdown written by Nate Taylor, the Chiefs haven’t recorded a sack in 11 quarters, which won’t cut it now that Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is back in the lineup and dealing.
"We've got a lot of talented guys in the room that can rush the passer," Jones said. "We've got to win more as a unit. We've got to make sure we're executing all our blitzes, all our one-on-ones. Close, but no cigar. We need the cigar at this point."
Spagnuolo agrees. Good practices aren’t enough, either, and he wants to see results when the game starts.
“Happy with the way they’re reacting right now,” Spagnuolo said of his defensive players. “Just got to go out and do it on Sunday, right?”