After being undefeated in one-score games last season, the Kansas City Chiefs have lost all of their games by one possession this year. Notably, their inability to get the ball back or get stops down the stretch has been one of this team’s main issues in 2025.
That’s uncharted territory for a team that used to brag about having one of the greatest -- if not the greatest -- defensive coordinators of all time calling the shots for them. This year, however, Steve Spagnuolo has failed to work his magic, especially in crucial situations.
That was most definitely the case in Week 13 in the loss to the Dallas Cowboys. When asked about that, Spagnuolo admitted that their words on third down were too big to overcome:
“We weren't very good on third down, and I take the full blame for that,” Spagnuolo said, per Chiefs insider Charles Goldman. “You can't be like that on third down and expect to win."
Steve Spagnuolo is worried about the Chiefs’ struggles on 3rd-and-Long
The Cowboys went 9-of-16 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down in the win over the Chiefs. They didn’t even give them the ball back when they were up 31-28.
Spagnuolo’s defense used to thrive in third-and-long situations because of its ability to put pressure on the quarterback. The pass-rush hasn’t been there this season, and Spagnuolo knows they must do better:
"There's obvious ones that we think about... It's either not a good call, or they make a good play, or somebody is not in the right position... Third down overall needs to be better in my opinion,” Spagnuolo said.
Per Team Rankings, the Chiefs rank 23rd in sack rate with a 5.80% percentage. That’s not ideal for a team that gave George Karlafatis a four-year, $93 million contract extension and that also committed five years and nearly $160 million to Chris Jones.
As pointed out by ESPN analyst Mina Kimes, the Chiefs’ defense used to be the best in yards per play when they blitzed from 2022-24. Now, they’re the second-worst. They used to be second in pressure rate, and they’re now 28th. Last but not least, they used to be third in sack rate, and they’re 31st now.
The Chiefs have caught some bad breaks this season, and they’ve been a couple of unlucky bounces away from winning several games. But at the end of the day, you’re only as good as your record says you are, and the Chiefs don’t have any more margin for error.