The Kansas City Chiefs defense battled during their Week 1 victory, as starters Chris Jones, Justin Reid, and Nick Bolton emerged strong after missing significant time due to injuries in the preseason.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was concerned heading into last week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens because his veteran starters were not available during training camp. On Thursday, he addressed his thoughts on their performance in last week’s victory with reporters.
“I mean, playing 80 plays is a lot of plays. Now, that’s partly our fault, right? We can get off the field on a couple of third downs, but I thought it got tough at the end of the game because of that.” said Spagnuolo. “those guys hadn’t played, so that’s a different kind of conditioning. It’s different than getting on a bike or running gasses and whatnot.”
The Chiefs’ defense could not slow Lamar Jackson’s mobility as he still managed a 100-yard rushing performance. The unit pulled out the win after a suspenseful finish at the back of the goal line.
“I think if you ask those guys, they’d tell you that they were gutting it out at the end, and fortunately for us. I mean, listen, I know the foot and the inches the game is, and all that, but what I look at is, thank God,” said Spagnuolo. “I mean, Nick (Bolton) could have been closer to that, but thank God he got there when he did to at least push him out enough that we got the black shoe on the white back in there.”
The players should be a little more up to speed after returning to regular reps this week ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.