Turnovers fueling Chiefs during streak
Turnovers are the NFL’s version CLEVELAND— of Turbo Boost. A defense that forces turnovers can go from mediocre to good; from good to great; from great to historic. The ability to force turnovers changes games, defines seasons and can make a player a lot of money.
It’s no coincidence that all of the NFL’s top nine teams in takeaways are either fighting for or in the playoffs. Same goes for the top nine spots in turnover differential. Look across the NFL and you’ll find teams that win in different ways. One thing that doesn’t change, though, is turnovers can always tilt the balance in a team’s favor.
“It is obviously what you want playing offense, (your) defense taking the ball away and scoring points,” Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said in a conference call on Wednesday. “Any--
time they can get takeaways, it is awesome. The last couple weeks they have had a few touchdowns, as well. You love that. Those are huge plays in games, especially this time of year.”
During Kansas City’s first six games, when they started 1-5, they were a measly plus-2 in the turnover department, including a loss to Denver that included five Chiefs turnovers. During their eight-game winning streak, they are plus-17, forcing 21 turnovers and scoring four defensive touchdowns.
Overall in 2015, Kansas City has scored 119 points off of turnovers.
A big reason for their success is rookie cornerback Marcus Peters. The 18th overall selection in last April’s first round is tied for second in the NFL in interceptions with seven and has scored twice, including last Sunday against Baltimore.
“He has tremendous ball skills,” Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “For a defensive back, a lot of times, they are playing DB for a reason. You know the old saying. This guy has ball skills like a wideout. For a young player, he really understands route concepts and route schemes. He is not afraid to take a chance. You will see him get beat every once in a while for him taking a chance but then you will see him make four plays. He is a savvy — I don’t want to say — he is almost like a savvy veteran as a young player or he really understands football and he has tremendous ball skills.”
“Here’s a guy that can press. He plays bigger than he actually is,” Browns head coach Mike Pettine said. “He’s got a good sense of timing. He does a good job of getting hands on. He’s having a good year for them.”
It’s hard to see the Browns winning this game even if they protect the football. If they start turning it over, they’ll play right into what has made the Chiefs’ turnaround this year possible.
Here are some other things to watch today at Arrowhead Stadium.
Protect the asset: Usually if a team is forcing a lot of turnovers, they’re likely doing a good job of getting to the quarterback. Check that box for Kansas City. The Chiefs are third in the NFL in sacks with 41. Keeping Johnny Manziel — or any quarterback, for that matter — clean is always ideal, but even more so against a defense like the Chiefs’.
“I tried to protect Johnny a little bit last week in Seattle,” DeFilippo said. “I am not saying we are going to do the same thing this week because each week is different. We ran a few draws. We ran some screens. We still had our run/pass options up. Those are ways you can still attack a weakness of a defense. They want to rush the passer and get up field. What do you do? You throw the ball over their head, a short distance where it is a high completion play. Those are the things that I think you can do.”
Left guard Joel Bitonio and right guard John Greco are both out for the season with injuries. Austin Pasztor is starting at left guard. He replaced rookie Cameron Erving, who is back in the spotlight thanks to Greco’s injury, starting at right guard.
The Chiefs are without their sack leader, linebacker Justin Houston and could be without their second-leading sack man, Tamba Hali, who had thumb surgery this week and is questionable. There’s still plenty of firepower, though. Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey have 4.5 sacks each. Veteran Derrick Johnson is still going strong with four sacks. Safety Ron Parker has four sacks as well.
Flip the script: The other side of the Chiefs turnover numbers above is that they rarely return the favor. During their eight-game winning streak, they have turned the ball over just four times. Smith, after throwing three interceptions in the team’s first three games, has thrown just one in the past 11 games.
While it’s difficult to get Smith to turn the ball over, it hasn’t been difficult to get to the veteran quarterback. He’s been sacked 43 times this sea- son.
“Some of that is a product of him not wanting to turn the ball over if he doesn’t like the look,” Browns defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said. “Some guys might force a throw into bad coverage. I don’t think he has a problem eating it if he doesn’t like the look.”
Yards after the catch: The Browns don’t have many downfield options in the passing game. It’s basically just Travis Benjamin. Meanwhile, Kansas City is tied for the eighth-fewest passing plays allowed of 20 yards or more and are in the top half of the league in plays of 40 or more yards. It’s not impossible to throw down the field on them, but it’s not easy, either. Browns receivers will need to make plays after they catch the ball.