Steve Spagnuolo on Chiefs’ pass rush: ‘It’s a step away’

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Through Week 5, the Kansas City Chiefs have the fewest sacks in the NFL (4).

Of course, the team doesn't have the extra game that 30 other teams do, but the team is also has a league-worst 2.6% sack rate.

According to Pro Football Reference, the Chiefs rank in the middle of the pack in pressure rate (24%), so defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's unit just needs to finish more pass-rush reps. When Spags was asked about the pass rush during his press conference on Thursday, he pointed to the players being close.

It's a step away," Spagnuolo told local media. It's a half of a second of getoff; it's a quicker counter move if you really want to get down into the detail. Our guys have been there, would we like to have more sacks? Yes, but I still like the fact that we get the quarterback off the spot, we make him throw off time or off balance, and if we can keep doing that, that's a good thing."

Our guys have a lot of pride, but we do talk about staying away from the S" words: stats and standings, Spags shared. "Try to deal in the W" word: wins.

In Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City hit quarterback Kirk Cousins 10 times, but didn't register a sack. Defensive end George Karlafits accounted for over half of the hits on Cousins, including one at the end that led to an interception by rookie safety Xavier Nwankpa.

That's a great illustration of being a relentless pass rusher," Spags said about Karlaftis' pressure. We were covering a lot of people obviously; they had to throw to the sideline, but that's him; most of his pressures and his success come because he is relentless. He did that way back when he was in college. Let's keep doing that."

The team has a strong chance to reverse the trend in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers, a home game against a quarterback who has been sacked 17 times in five games.

Still, if the defense limits the Chargers' offense and comes out on top, as the Chiefs did in their previous two games, Spags will be satisfied. The veteran coach pays attention to only one statistic.

We all want [sacks], but it's a stat. You know the stat I like? The stat that we harp on is the one stat that helps our football team win the game, and that's points allowed," Spags preached.

This season, Kansas City ranks seventh in points allowed (19.2), just under the 20-point mark that usually indicates whether an NFL defense is pulling its weight or not.