The Kansas City Chiefs have spent four weeks piling up wins and not much else when it comes to finishing plays in the backfield. They’re 4-0, but the sack column has gone cold, and that’s become the clearest issue hanging over a defense that’s still searching for its old edge.
That concern showed up again in the win at Las Vegas. The Chiefs generated pressure, but the quarterback hits and hurries haven’t turned into sacks the way they need to.
Jesse Newell of The Athletic pointed to defensive end George Karlaftis as the best example of the activity without the payoff. Karlaftis piled up seven quarterback hits against Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins, the most by any NFL player in a regular-season game since Pro Football Focus started tracking the stat in 2021.
He also finished with 11 QB pressures, which tied Minnesota’s Dallas Turner for the most in a game this season.
There was at least one moment where that pressure directly changed the game. Late in the fourth quarter, Kansas City rushed only two, Karlaftis got a hand on the ball, and safety Xavier Nwankpa came down with the interception. It was a timely turnover, but it also came with the obvious asterisk that the Chiefs were scrambling while down and trying to force something into existence.
The larger issue is the drought itself. The win in Las Vegas marked the third straight game without a sack for Kansas City, not exactly the kind of production the Chiefs had in mind when they drafted edge rusher R Mason Thomas and nose tackle Peter Woods. Teams are already adjusting to Thomas, especially in pass protection, which has made life harder up front.
Still, the Chiefs aren’t sounding alarmed just yet. Karlaftis said he’s happy with the way the rush is affecting the quarterback and said the sacks will come. Chris Jones echoed that confidence, saying the Chiefs have put “a lot of good on film.”
The numbers tell a mixed story. The Chiefs were close against Las Vegas, and Newell also pointed out a missed sack by Thomas when he seemed to have Cousins secured, along with a sack by Karlaftis that was wiped out when cornerback L’Jaris Sneed was flagged for holding.
Kansas City’s early bye week gives the defense a chance to clean it up before the schedule gets tougher. That matters, because the Chiefs have already seen what a more polished offense can do. The one strong offense they’ve faced, Indianapolis, moved the ball all over them in a 33-30 OT win for Kansas City.
There is, though, a softer landing waiting after the break. The Chiefs return to face the Los Angeles Chargers, and the source material makes clear that the Chargers are a mess right now. For a pass rush looking to turn near-misses into sacks, that’s about as good a next step as it gets.
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