Getty Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields takes a huge hit from a Kansas City Chiefs defender.
The Kansas City Chiefs did not mess around in Week 3 — dominating the Chicago Bears from start to finish — and apparently the Chicago Sun-Times agreed.
After the 41-10 defeat, Chicago reporter Mark Potash penned a column headlined: “Grading the Bears.” He proceeded to provide a letter grade and explanation for each Chicago position group, from the quarterback to the coaching, and he gave each and every one of the units an “F.”
Never seen this before
Not long after, ESPN reporter Michele Steele shared a photo of the newspaper article, captioned: “Never seen this before.” In other words, the Chiefs manhandled the Bears so supremely that it led to this embarrassing realization from Potash — Chicago did nothing well in Week 3. Not only that, but they failed so miserably in every category that there wasn’t even a redeemable “D” or “C” grade hidden within the loss, and that’s a sign that Kansas City is playing at the top of their game.
Steele’s screenshot of the article has since gone viral on X, and was first posted on September 25. It has over 3.5K likes and counting at this time.
Chiefs DL Mike Danna Listed as Top Week 3 ‘Stud’ Not Named Patrick Mahomes II
USA Today Chiefs Wire’s John Dillon named 10 KC “studs” from Week 3 and outside of Patrick Mahomes II, defensive lineman Mike Danna was the second player on the list.
“Danna managed to sack Bears quarterback Justin Fields in this matchup and further established himself as a key cog in Kansas City’s defensive machine,” Dillon voiced. “If he can build off of this performance heading into the middle part of the Chiefs’ schedule, Danna could blossom into one of Kansas City’s top pass rushers before the season’s end.”
The next defender on this ranking was another unsung hero versus Chicago. With star middle linebacker Nick Bolton out, veteran Drue Tranquill stepped in, and he was up to the task.
“Tranquill led Kansas City in tackling and managed to tally half a sack in the Chiefs’ win over the Bears,” Dillon wrote, putting Tranquill fourth on his list. “With star linebacker Nick Bolton out due to injury, Kansas City’s defense didn’t miss a beat with Tranquill’s tenacious play to buoy their efforts.”
As good as the offense was in Week 3, the defense was better. Steve Spagnuolo’s side of the ball has been blossoming in 2023, and really looks like the strength of this Kansas City franchise for the first time in a long time — and that’s not a knock on the offense.
The Bears were unable to put any points on the board up until the fourth quarter of play, and by then, Mahomes and most of the starters were already out of the game. It truly was a splendid performance by this KC defense once again, and Danna and Tranquill were at the heart of it.
Nobody Willing to Power Rank Chiefs No. 1 in NFL Despite Week 3 Blowout
Arrowhead Pride’s John Dixon compiled all of the various NFL power rankings heading into Week 4, and the highest that the Chiefs were ranked was No. 2 in the league by The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer.
“The Chiefs’ defense is the big story early in the season,” Iyer explained. “They’re getting slowly revved up offensively toward their super standards with more diversity in the passing and running games for Patrick Mahomes, but Chris Jones’ pressure and a dominant pass defense have been more impressive early.”
Besides Iyer, the Chiefs mostly came in at No. 3 or 4 in the NFL around the league. Considering Kansas City has one loss — and there are three undefeated teams left — that average rank is not all that surprising.
Having said that, one or two more dominant performances and the Chiefs could find themselves back at the top of the league, or at least the conference. They face the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.