Chiefs vs. Patriots: New England's Porous Defense Must Step Up vs. Tyler Palko

The New England Patriots are the only team giving up more than 400 yards per game. If the unit doesn't show some semblance of decency against journeyman quarterback Tyler Palko and the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, it will be time to panic in Foxboro.

Even though New England seems well on its way to another AFC East crown, the ultimate goal is always a Super Bowl victory. That's not possible unless the defense improves.

Tom Brady is going to lead the offense to its fair share of points, but during the team's run of dominance last decade, the defense always stepped up to make key stops. The recipe for winning hasn't changed.

The Patriots have only defended 30 passes this season, which ranks them dead last. Starting cornerbacks Devin McCourty and Kyle Arrington are both battling injuries, which will either expose a lack of depth or allow fresh faces to step up and earn a job.

Two names to keep an eye on are Phillip Adams and Antwaun Molden. Both guys have seen extremely limited duty, but Bill Belichick is probably willing to try just about anybody at this point.

Another problem has been the pass rush. New England has just 20 sacks and nearly half of them have come from Andre Carter. That puts more pressure on the secondary, which hasn't responded well.

So, it's clear there is enough blame to go around.

But thanks to the recent downward spirals of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, the Patriots will have some time for experimentation down the stretch. That gives them seven games to find the right combination on defense.

While they're not going to become an elite defensive team, they need to at least reach an average level and start forcing a couple more turnovers.

Against Palko and Co., that's a very reasonable request.