The reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in unfamiliar territory entering October. For the first time since 2015, the franchise is below the .500 mark, suddenly vulnerable with two losses through three games.
Is it time for fans to panic? Of course not -- the Chiefs still have 14 games left to right the ship and return to playing their old, championship-caliber brand of football. But former Chiefs quarterback and current CBS analyst Trent Green is concerned about the team's deficiencies on defense.
"The numbers that they're giving up defensively are staggering, really, when you consider the pieces on that side of the ball, and the amount of money," Green told The DA Show on Friday. "I read earlier this year that their defensive front counts more against the cap than any other team's defensive front.
"Which, considering that they can't stop the run, that's got to be different, from a cap standpoint. They've got to play better, and I think they will play better. And then the turnovers... giving the other team better field position. Turning the ball over has cost them quite a bit here in the two losses."
The Chiefs' defense, led by longtime coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, just isn't up to snuff. Through through weeks, the unit ranks last in the NFL in average points allowed (31.7), 30th in average yards allowed (430.0), and 31st in sacks recorded (3). To make matters worse, the defense has also struggled mightily in the red zone, allowing opponents to score touchdowns on 12 of 13 trips.
According to Spotrac, Kansas City's top-five cap hits total $80.5 million, and four of those players -- Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu, Anthony Hitchens, and Chris Jones -- start on defense. Clark, who signed a five-year, $104 million contract when he was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks back in April 2019, currently has the NFL's largest cap number ($25.8 million) for a non-quarterback.
Kansas City (1-2) will visit the Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) in a Week 4 matchup on Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Chiefs currently have a 61-percent chance to reach the playoffs and a 21-percent chance to win the AFC West.
The entire NFL conversation between Green and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.