Dominant Chiefs defense faces the ultimate test: Stopping Ravens' Lamar Jackson

What a reward. After putting the clamps on one of the NFL's most dangerous quarterbacks in surviving the AFC divisional playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs' defense has earned quite the encore act: Try to stop Lamar Jackson.

Sure, Josh Allen was quite the load. Again. But that was so last week.

Now comes the dynamic Baltimore Ravens quarterback, the presumptive NFL MVP, with a whole different set of issues to deal with in the AFC championship game. If the 6-foot, 5-inch, 237-pound Allen was like facing a freight train, the sleek and slippery Jackson looms like a high-speed bullet train.

"Lamar is special," Chiefs coach Andy Reid confirmed. "He's fast, one of the fastest guys on the field, when it's all said and done. And he's shifty, whereas Josh, he'll go right through you. He doesn't care. He's a big man. And probably equally as fast. He's run away from secondary players. We've seen that on tape.

"But this kid," Reid added, getting back to Jackson, "he throws it well, he throws it on the move well. We've just got to stay on top of that part of it."

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Hey, this is the time of year when the challenges get more difficult by the week. Jackson, a premier multi-dimensional threat since he stepped into the NFL, is arguably better now than he was as a unanimous MVP in 2019. He's mastered the offense installed by first-year coordinator Todd Monken. Inside or outside the pocket, he has become a more-efficient passer, evidenced by career highs this season with 3,678 passing yards and a 67.2% completion rate.

During Baltimore's playoff-opening win, Jackson repeatedly made the Houston Texans pay for their heavy dose of blitzes while throwing for a modest 152 yards. And oh, as proven repeatedly, he burned them with his legs, too. In rushing for a game-high 100 yards, Jackson dazzled by bolting up the middle on explosive runs.

The Chiefs are naturally wary. Bracing for such a threat, safety Justin Reid said the mission will be to "try to contain him in the pocket as much as we can, make sure that we get him on the ground those times that he does run."

That is certainly easier said than done, yet the Chiefs have to feel that their chances of slowing Jackson -- and his array of weapons -- are better than ever. Kansas City's trek to a sixth consecutive AFC title game has come with quite the twist, as the improved defense often took up the slack as the typically prolific Chiefs offense sputtered.

During the Patrick Mahomes Era, the Chiefs have never had such an imposing defense. Kansas City ranked second in the NFL for fewest yards allowed and second (to Baltimore) for scoring defense in allowing 17.3 points per game.

That marks quite an ascent under D-coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. In Mahomes' first year as a starter in 2018, the Chiefs ranked 31st for total defense. In reaching the Super Bowl in three of the past four seasons (winning twice), Kansas City's defense never ranked better than 11th. 

Conversely, the Mahomes-led offense ranked ninth for yards and 15th in scoring (21.8 points per game) during the regular season. During the previous five years, the Chiefs fielded the NFL's No. 1 offense three times and twice led the league in scoring, including the 29.2 points-per-game clip in 2022. Until this season, Kansas City's offense hasn't ranked worse than sixth in either yards or scoring.

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So yes, led by the defense, the Chiefs used a different formula to get back to this point.

While all-pro defensive tackle Chris Jones is still a constant, bringing an imposing presence (and inside pass-rush) up front, a key reason for the improvement has come on the back end. With cornerback L'Jarius Sneed blossoming into a star, often matched against the top receiver, the maturity of young defensive backs meshing with savvy veterans has also been a factor.

"Nobody tries to play Hero Ball," said Justin Reid, a sixth-year veteran. "We just play the defense with intensity and a little bit of violence, and good things happen."

In the divisional playoff win at Buffalo, the Chiefs didn't allow a single completion beyond 15 yards. Although the Bills missed on a couple of deep shots, the coverage generally relegated Allen to throw underneath passes. Heading into the game, Spagnuolo praised his secondary for its ability to disguise coverages while limiting big plays. That will be an intriguing subplot on Sunday, particularly considering the result last weekend.

"We've got guys that can truly play off each other," second-year nickel back Trent McDuffie said. "There's times I'm supposed to have a flat, but I see my corner take the flat. 'Ok, I'm going to roll inside.'

"Little stuff like that. When you watch on film, it's, 'Oh, that's the defense.' But we're able to create defenses on our own while we're out there."

It figures that beating the Ravens will take a few extra layers of creativity. While the Chiefs haven't allowed more than 27 points in a game this season, Baltimore has scored at least 30 points in nine games, including postseason. And the Ravens have demonstrated quite the knack for raising their game against the best competition. Their nine victories by at least two touchdowns against teams with winning records is most in NFL history.

Andy Reid knows what all that means for his improved defense.

"This coming week," he said, "will be the biggest test of them all."