Bedard: With an improved and multiple secondary, Chiefs feel they're ready for Patriots this time

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has never been one to mince words, or to lack in confidence. So his answer, when asked if Kansas City had unfinished business in New England — a team the Chiefs lost to twice in the span of three months last season, including a home AFC Championship Game, was no surprise.

"Unfinished business? I think we have a lot of business going up there and coming away with a win," he said on Sunday after beating the Raiders 40-9.

Does Kelce like his chances this time around, with this group of Chiefs?

"I’ll take this group against anyone in the league," he said.

While much of this was Kelce being Kelce, a lot of things have changed for the Chiefs this time around, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. Bob Sutton is out as defensive coordinator, and former Patriots Perfect Season killer Steve Spagnuolo, a Grafton native, is in.

And the personnel in the secondary has largely been turned over as well. And it's hard to dispute they're more talented, and more effective.

Last year in the AFC Championship Game, Daniel Sorensen and Eric Berry were the starting safeties and they were liabilities both because of play (Sorensen) and age/health (Berry).

Former Cardinals and Texans standout Tyrann Mathieu is at one spot, and second-round pick Juan Thornhill is the other. Sorensen has been relegated to a minor role.

Charvarius Ward, now in his second season, and veteran Bashaud Breeland have been the starting corners, but top cover man Kendall Fuller finally returned to the lineup last week after missing seven weeks with an injury. Morris Claiborne is the fourth man in. Steve Nelson, who allowed 82 yards and touchdown last year, is gone.

It's taken a while, but the change is finally taking hold in the secondary. Last season, the Chiefs finished 26th in defensive DVOA (12th against the pass, 32nd against the run). This season they're 15th (6th pass, 30th run).

They're playing faster, more aggressive, smarter, and Spagnuolo has slowly expanded the playbook to utilize his assets.

Against the Raiders, both Mathieu and Thornhill had huge interceptions that turned the game into a blowout.

Mathieu was playing a version of Cover 3 but read Derek Carr and jumped the route.



"I just watch a lot of tape, man," Mathieu said. "Once I see something, I just see it. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't."

Later, Thornhill jumped a three-man route combination and returned it for a touchdown.



The Chiefs wouldn't have made those plays earlier in the season.

"We turned the ball over in the first game and it was miscommunication," said Carr. "Today, they made some great plays on the ball. They're definitely an improved group. Great plays by safeties. Great job by them.

"That ball on the first drive, I've completed that a lot of times this year. I've completed the one to Tyrell (Williams) a lot of times. You have to tip your hat to those plays that they made because there are times I can think of right now where we've hit those plays with those looks. They have smart players that fall off and make a play."

The Chiefs' disguises and different coverages could be an issue for a Patriots receiver corp that is already having trouble getting on the same page as Brady. The young receivers, N'Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers, are having enough trouble running the right routes against declared coverages. If the Chiefs start switching pre- and post-snap coverages, there could be an issue.

In the front seven, the Chiefs have tremendous defensive tackle Chris Jones, and then a bunch of question marks. Frank Clark and Alex Okafor/Emmanuel Ogbah were brought in to replace Justin Houston and Dee Ford, but the results haven't been there. Derrick Nnadi is a solid nose tackle, but there's not much else with Allen Bailey elsewhere. The linebackers — Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, and Reggie Ragland — are an average group and struggle in coverage. But Spagnuolo has started to scheme around that and is using his secondary in multiple spots.

"I like what we’re putting on tape," said Mathieu. "We’ve been playing aggressive man coverage and then letting our big guys get after it. It allows us to have some integrity within our defense. A lot of guys don’t know where I’m going to line up. The more people you can put on the field to help disguise, I think it will help us out."

Mathieu thinks that all will help them against Tom Brady and the Patriots.

"I like our chances," he said. "I think this week of practice really will be all about assignment discipline and technique discipline. That’s what the Patriots are going to do. They are going to run the ball. They are going to throw screens. They are going to wait for you to get out of a gap. They are going to wait for a deep safety to not be deep. It starts with me this week in practice, just getting the guys ready, setting the tempo early in the week and letting them know that we have a big game this week."

Jones echoed Mathieu's comments that preparation will be the key for the Chiefs' defense. Both feel this Chiefs' coaching staff has improved them in this area.

"We know Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will have an excellent game plan," Jones said. "We know what we are against and you’ve got to have preparation. Preparation is the key to those guys. We have to prepare better than them."

The offense for the Chiefs has been about the same, all the names you'll know well. But the Chiefs are hoping an improved defense will allow them to reverse their recent losing trends against the Patriots. Kansas City looks at this game as a litmus test for those improvements.

"Absolutely," said right tackle Mitchell Schwartz. "It’s something against the Patriots. You have to give it a little bit extra. You have to fight for that extra yard on every run play, get an extra tick on every pass play, that’s what you have to do to beat those guys. It’s always a tough game, it always goes down to the fourth quarter, if not longer in some cases. We’ve got a chip on our shoulders this year. We’re ready to go there."