In the first eight games of the season, the Chiefs went 4-4 while allowing an average of 27.5 points per game but things have taken a turn for the better the last four games.
The Chiefs won all of those games and they’ve only allowed 39 points in those contests. That kind of improvement can’t be pinned on one player, but the four-game winning streak does coincide with edge rusher Melvin Ingram’s arrival in Kansas City.
Ingram’s numbers — six tackles, two quarterback hits, and a half-sack — are modest, but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo credits him with helping to boost the unit’s performance. Spagnuolo said Ingram is “playing angry” and that approach has rubbed off on his teammates.
“He’s had a couple plays where he just knocks people around,” Spagnuolo said, via Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star. “I think that’s contagious and that helps us. There are times — it’s not just about sacks — that if he’s demanding double team or he’s driving somebody into the quarterback and the quarterback’s gotta move his feet and then he falls into somebody else. Those kinds of things are what we’re getting. It’s helping.”
The Chiefs had 11 sacks before Ingram joined the team, but they have nine since he came in a trade with the Steelers and they’ll look to keep the strong play going against the Raiders at home this Sunday.
