Exploring what is going wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs pass rush

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The first visit to Lambeau Field for the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend was anything but memorable.

Fans have become all too accustomed to seeing the offense struggle but seeing the defense do the same has been a rarity in 2023.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love went 25 for 36 for 267 yards and three touchdowns, looking relatively comfortable in the pocket for most of the game.

Comfortable in the pocket is how QBs have looked over the past two weeks against the Chiefs pass rush.

While that group registered three sacks combined in those two games, they didn’t get enough consistent pressures in the pocket.

That allowed plenty of big passing plays down the field, with the Raiders racking up 368 total yards and Green Bay 382.

Chiefs Four-Man Rush struggling

What seems to be plaguing this unit at the moment is beating one-on-one blocks.

As good as Mike Danna and George Karlaftis have been this year at bringing down the quarterback, they’ve not won enough head-to-hear battles.

Karlaftis relies a lot on bull rushes instead of mixing in some counters.

The only ones consistently winning one-on-one blocks are Chris Jones and Charles Omenihu.

Not only are one-on-one blocks and four-man rushes not working, but neither are their designed pressures.

Those are becoming predictable without creating the kind of chaos you would hope.

That’s allowing QBs in recent weeks to make hitch passes, which are becoming bigger plays than they should be and leaving the Chiefs susceptible to slant passes.

Cause for Concern?

These issues have only been noticeable over the past two weeks, so perhaps it’s a little early to be truly concerned.

In addition, Karlaftis and Danna are putting together some exceptional seasons in many respects.

Both are putting up career highs for sacks this season, with Danna at 6.5 and Karlaftis at 8.

The secondary has done its job containing some of the best receivers this league has to offer, but it needs more help.

If there continues to be issues in that department in the coming weeks, then Steve Spagnuolo may need to study ways to fix those problems.

It isn’t only Karlaftis and Danna who are struggling, though; in that area, it’s much of the defensive line outside of Chris Jones.

Play-action reps are also becoming tricky as teams often move the pass-rushers launch points, which the young group needs to read better.

Overall, getting to the quarterback as often as they rank sixth in the NFL for sacks solves the issue to a point.

Come playoff time, though, they’re likely to face some teams who can find ways around that.

The Chiefs know all about Tyreek Hill and held him in check when they met in Frankfurt.

However, if the underneath and slant patterns are there, the Dolphins could take advantage of that.

Lamar Jackson is strong at hitches and scrambling, and should CJ Stroud and the Texans make the postseason, that’s another team with speed receivers and a mobile QB.

It’s not time to panic just yet, but they need to make some adjustments as a unit.