Steve Spagnuolo is the MVP of the Chiefs half-season
Kansas City's defensive coordinator had yet another strong game against Miami.
Steve Spagnuolo took barely a minute to re-introduce himself to Tua Tagovailoa.
With the Dolphins facing 3rd and 9 on their first drive of the game, the Dolphins’ quarterback dropped back thinking he was about to look down the field and survey the routes once they got past the sticks. He likely assumed he would be able to at least plant and fire towards his first read.
(Narrator’s voice) He would not.
Spagnuolo, the Chiefs 5th-year defensive coordinator, utilized one of his very favorite calls against Tua to try and throw him off, sending cornerback Jaylen Watson (who was temporarily replacing L’Jarius Sneed) from the slot. Watson screamed around the edge completely unblocked thanks to his own acting and the manipulation of the protection by Spagnuolo (we’ll circle back to this), and Tua was forced to eat the football barely two seconds after it was snapped.
If first drives are a harbinger for things to come in a game, Tua should’ve had an ominous feeling as he picked himself off the field and jogged towards the sideline. And he would’ve been absolutely right.
Spagnuolo, who is having by far his best season as the Chiefs defensive coordinator , had the Dolphins quarterback in hell on multiple snaps throughout the morning (evening?). And it paid off in a big way, as Kansas City’s defense once again carried them to a win against what has been the best offense in the league this season, holding Miami to well under their season averages.
It’s worth noting that Spags’ performance was even better than the bare numbers would indicate, as the only reason the Dolphins were able to score a touchdown on one of their touchdowns was thanks to a turnover from Kansas City’s offense and then an inexcusable penalty from Chris Jones that gave Miami’s subsequent drive (which had gone nowhere) life following a 3rd down stop.
Given the Chiefs’ defense hot start, it’s high time Spagnuolo gets talked about. And his work against the Dolphins provides us with the perfect template to do so.