Unsung Defenders Keeping Kansas City Chiefs in Division Race

The 6-3 Kansas City Chiefs are just a game behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. The division is far from settled, and the Chiefs are the surprise contender—many had assumed they would take a step back in 2014.

A big reason for the team’s success has been the performance of a few unsung defenders: defensive back Ron Parker, inside linebacker Josh Mauga and defensive end Allen Bailey. All three players have produced beyond anyone’s wildest expectations and are a big reason the team has been successful to this point.

With the release of cornerback Brandon Flowers before the season and season-ending Achilles tendon injuries to inside linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive end Mike DeVito in a Week 1 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the expectation was that the defense would struggle more than it did in 2013. When safety Eric Berry was lost for five weeks with a high ankle sprain in Week 2, it only compounded the perceived problem.

Those injuries could have and would have sunk many teams. The Chiefs desperately needed players to step up, and the trio of Parker, Mauga and Bailey did just that.

Parker transitioned to cornerback to free safety to replace Berry in Week 3 and played very well sans some struggles defending the run. With Berry back from injury, the Chiefs can now use Parker in a variety of roles in order to maximize the talent on the field and disguise certain coverages.

The Chiefs decided to use Parker to shadow rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins Sunday, and it paid major dividends. Watkins caught just four passes for 39 yards on the day. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Parker held Watkins to three receptions for 19 yards on eight targets.

Despite his work against Watkins, Parker’s biggest play of the day Sunday was a forced fumble in the third quarter. Parker punched the ball loose as Buffalo Bills running back Bryce Brown was about to go into the end zone to put the Bills ahead 17-3. The Chiefs ended up scoring 17 in the victory.

“He’s relentless,’’ head coach Andy Reid said of Parker, via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. “He’s the one out at practice diving to bat balls down. That’s just how he goes. It’s great to see him rewarded with a game like this.’’

Parker’s play in the secondary is a big reason the Chiefs can boast the No. 1 pass defense in yards allowed despite having faced Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers and Tom Brady this season. Of course, no one should discount the impact of the Chiefs’ wicked pass rush on the pass defense.

Everyone knows about outside linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, and how they can get after the quarterback, but Bailey has so far been the third-best pass-rusher on the team. Bailey officially has four sacks, a hefty sum for a 3-4 defensive end through nine games. Pro Football Focus has credited Bailey with five sacks, third in the league behind J.J. Watt and Jason Hatcher at the 3-4 defensive end spot.

Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said of Bailey, via Teicher:

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He made a big jump a year ago I thought in football and knowing what’s going on. Where’s he’s started to develop is he’s getting all the other things that come really from just playing. The last two years is the first time he’s really played a lot of snaps and this year obviously he’s playing almost all the snaps.

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In addition to his work in the passing game, Bailey has also played well against the run. Bailey is an important part of a unit that has held opponents to zero rushing touchdowns in 2014, four fewer than any other team.   

When backed up against their own end, the Chiefs front seven does its best work. According to teamrankings.com, the Chiefs are second in the league in red-zone touchdown percentage at just 42.31 percent.

Sutton said of Bailey and nose tackle Dontari Poe, via Teicher:

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One of the things that’s really great for us is that those two inside guys can make plays for us chasing things down. That doesn’t happen a lot. A lot of times you’re not fortunate enough to have that kind of player. You maybe have a big, sturdy guy in there who maybe can’t make the plays outside. These two guys can chase screen plays down, wide plays, and they really help your defense.

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The Chiefs defense really knows how to step up against the run in the red zone, which could have been a huge issue without Johnson and fellow inside linebacker Joe Mays. If not for Bailey and a little-known linebacker named Josh Mauga, the Chiefs probably wouldn’t be anywhere close to what they have been defensively this season.

What’s amazing is that no one really saw it coming. Especially in the case of Mauga, who had just 29 career games under his belt mostly on special teams, with one start in 2011 with the New York Jets. He made the roster mostly for his work on special teams and not because the Chiefs expected to lose both their starting inside linebackers to injury.  

Mauga has now started nine games for the Chiefs, and he has 55 solo total tackles in those games. The former undrafted linebacker out of Nevada in 2009 is drawing the praises of his former head coach Rex Ryan.

“First off, he’s got great instincts,” Ryan said via Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star. “That’s the thing about Josh. He’s a smart but instinctive guy. As an inside linebacker, that’s the No. 1 thing that you need, instincts. He can run your defense, all those type of things.”

Mauga has been particularly adept at using his instincts in the run game. According to Pro Football Focus, Mauga has 22 tackles per missed tackle in the running game, which is the sixth-best mark in the league.  

Split	Run Stop %	Tackling Efficiency Run	Tackling Efficiency Pass	Cover Snaps/Target	Yards Per Cover Snap	Cover Snaps/Rec
Stat	9.6	22.0	5.2	11.3	.61	13.5
NFL Rank	11	6	34	5	2	9

In coverage, where Johnson was one of the best in 2013, Mauga has been solid. Although he’s missed six tackles in the passing game, per Pro Football Focus, he’s allowed just .61 yards per snap in coverage, which is the second lowest number in the league. Offenses aren’t picking on Mauga either—he’s faced the fifth-fewest targets per coverage snap.

It’s hard to imagine that Mauga was an undrafted journeyman with an injury history just a few months ago. Even defensive coordinator Bob Sutton probably didn’t envision Mauga playing this well, but he did see something in him during their time together in New York.

Sutton said via Paylor:

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Well, we’d been following him closely, because I really enjoyed Josh in New York and thought he was a really good football player who was really getting ready to take off when he got hurt again. He’s getting a lot of reps and he just kept improving, improving, improving.

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Parker, Bailey and Mauga are all still young players, so there is still room for improvement from them. They aren’t top players at their respective positions yet, but they’ve already helped the Chiefs overcome devastating injuries and put them in the thick of the division race.

If Parker, Bailey and Mauga get better, so should the Chiefs. That fact ought to scare the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers just a little bit.