The Kansas City Chiefs are 4-0 to start the 2026 season, but there are still things they can improve upon.
That’s not a bad thing, as teams want to be hitting their stride down the stretch. Winning while still working on some issues is a positive thing. The Chiefs are lacking in an important statistical category this season, but there is a silver lining.
Kansas City Chiefs Aren’t Registering Enough Sacks, but Are Getting a Lot of Pressure on QBs
ESPN released their latest power rankings for Week 6, along with identifying what each team’s biggest issue on defense is. Analyst Nate Taylor pointed out that the Chiefs are a statistical anomaly because they aren’t recording a lot of sacks, but are getting a ton of quarterback pressures.
“The Chiefs can generate pressure on the quarterback, whether it’s via Chris Jones, George Karlaftis or rookie R Mason Thomas. But they have one of the biggest statistical anomalies of the 2026 season: zero sacks in the first month. Before their bye week, they couldn’t put Raiders QB Kirk Cousins on the turf despite a season-high 21 pressures. If the Chiefs can start collecting sacks, their defense could be a top unit in the second half of the season.”
Chiefs Have to Turn More QB Pressures Into Sacks
Kansas City’s pass rush started the season off hot, sacking Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix four times. Since then, however, it has not posted a single sack in any of the last three games. Despite that, the Chiefs’ defense has still played pretty well overall. Before going on the bye week, the unit had recorded the 11th-most quarterback pressures in the NFL with 39.
Defensive end George Karlaftis has the seventh-most with 12. While those are important, the Chiefs are going to need to start translating a good portion of those into sacks. Quarterbacks are able to escape pressures and still make plays at times. Getting sacks puts offenses in tough long-yardage situations.
One solution could be to blitz more. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a notorious heavy blitzer, but hasn’t laid it on as thick this year. It’s probably safe to assume he will dial it up more as the season unfolds, especially if the secondary continues to play well.
Chiefs’ ‘Statistical Anomaly’ Has Both Helped and Hurt Them This Season