ng to our YouTube channel here.Welcome back to chiefStats Eric Fisher Jersey , the place where we cover five statistical topics regarding the Chiefs upcoming game.Last week, we talked about what happens to teams playing their first game with an interim coach. We learned the first game for an interim coach typically is a blowout (by either team), and that’s exactly what the Chiefs did to the Browns last week.This week the Chiefs are facing the Cardinals, and here is their overview:1. Chiefs defense has to improveEvery Chiefs fan wants the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl, and that’s why I’m choosing to focus on defensive improvement through the season.In the past 10 seasons, the majority of teams who have won the Super Bowl have had a top-10 defense.Super Bowl Winning DefensesYearTeamDefensive PPG RankYearTeamDefensive PPG RankObviously, the Chiefs have a great offense and they may not necessarily need the best defense in the NFL to win a Super Bowl in 2018.However, it will only help the Chiefs chances of going the distance if they can continue to improve on the defensive side of the ball.The Chiefs defense currently has allowed the 19th most points per game (25.1). We want to watch that ranking drop, and we want to watch the Chiefs defense continuously allow fewer and fewer points over the course of the season.Let’s see how the defense is progressing thus far:As the season has progressed, the Chiefs defense has consistently improved — except for games against the Steelers and Patriots which is pretty understandable.This is exactly the kind of improvement we need to see from the Chiefs defense if they are to maximize their chances of making a deep run in the playoffs.Fortunately for the Chiefs, the Cardinals offense should give them an opportunity to continue their improvement.2. Cardinals offense is offensiveLike the title suggests, the Cardinals offense is not having a good year. Here are a list of items in which the Cardinals offense is ranked in the bottom five of the league:31st - yards/play (4.3)32nd - first downs (110)31st - passing yards/game (165.8)31st - TD% (2.8)29th - INT% (4.0)31st - yards/pass attempt (5.9)32nd - yards/rush attempt (3.4)As you can see the Cardinals have been very, very poor offensively so far in 2018. This is borne out even further when you look at the Cardinals’ offensive efficiency metrics (taken from Bill Connelly’s advanced stats guide).If the Chiefs defense gives up a ton of points to this Cardinals offense, I will be incredibly disappointed Cameron Erving Jersey , and the Chiefs will have lost a great opportunity to continue to build momentum on the defensive side of the ball.3. Checking in on Josh RosenSometimes, when teams with a young quarterback struggle, it’s not necessarily all on the quarterback — think the Colts.So far in 2018, Rosen is responsible for the following stats (keep in mind I didn’t include the game where Rosen came in for an injured Sam Bradford):55.6 Cmp%207.2 yards/start1 TD/start1 INT/start69.9 passer ratingThe only quarterbacks with a worse rating so far in 2018 are Sam Darnold (68.3) and Josh Allen (61.8). Needless to say, Rosen is part of the problem on the Cardinals offense and I doubt he’ll like playing in Arrowhead for the first time.4. Defense - not a problemThe Cardinals defense has not been as much of a problem for them this season. Below is a defensive overview for the Cardinals:8th - yards/play (5.3)16th - Takeaways (12)7th - first downs allowed (95)16th - yards/pass attempt (7.5)12th - passer rating allowed (91.2)7th - pass yards/game (224.6)15th - yards/rush attempt (4.3)17th - points/game allowed (24.9)I’d describe the Cardinals defense as slightly above average, particularly in the important yards-per-play stat.I think the Cardinals would likely give up fewer points per game if their offense was capable of putting together more drives. It looks to me as though the Cardinals defense is better than their points-per-game totals would suggest—the issue is an offensive unit that doesn’t give much relief to their defense.Complimentary team football is huge in the NFL, and it looks like the Cardinals offense is bringing their defense down too. That’s bad.5. Cardinals pass rushLooking at the numbers, the Cardinals front seven is their clear strength — particularly their pass rush.So far on the season the Cardinals have the fifth-highest defensive sack percentage in the NFL (8.4).On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs come into the game with the fourth-best sack percentage allowed (3.6).So for this game, the Cardinals’ strength will be going against one of the many Chiefs strengths. One of the goals for the Chiefs offense will be to keep Patrick Mahomes off the ground.Chandler Jones leads the Cardinals in sacks with 6.5 on the season. Interestingly enough, no one else on the Cardinals defense has more than two sacks on the year. Essentially, the Cardinals have a number of guys who can rush the passer, but they also aren’t going to dominate the game.Mahomes’ ability to maneuver in the pocket could be a big deal on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it! Our own John Dixon wrote a fantastic piece Tuesday regarding how Patrick Mahomes cares little about the Kansas City Chiefs’ six-game home playoff losing streak—the reason being, as Mahomes said himself Reggie Ragland Jersey , is that Saturday will be his first professional playoff game. The life of a punterHe has little frame of reference (sure, he was a backup for the Titans disaster last season) for all the Chiefs home playoff failures.The same cannot be said for punter Dustin Colquitt, who was drafted by the Chiefs in 2005 and has suffered some of the heartbreak many Chiefs fans feel heading into Saturday’s divisional round game against the Colts. Colquitt has been a Chief for six playoff losses in total, three coming at home in 2010, 2016 and 2017. That is why if anyone in the locker room would know if this year could be different, it’s the 36-year-old punter.“It’s very different,” Colquitt said. “Everybody in this locker room has changed and matured a year—new outlook, new guys that are the face of our program, and so it’s totally new. It’s impossible to really look back when you have somebody new, in particular, at the quarterback spot, in which coach (Andy) Reid and (Eric) Bieniemy have been able to do. It’s fun to watch and something we never had before, so it’s hard to look back when we have nothing but going forward.”Colquitt mimicked the words of linebacker Justin Houston, who made a point of there being only three weeks left in the locker room shortly after the Chiefs’ Week 17 win.“We have three weeks to really put things together Jarvis Jenkins Jersey ,” Colquitt added. We’re just concentrating on each other and how we can be in our spot...not doing anything different or out of the ordinary, but like coach Reid said, let your personality show, and that’s just being you.”Colquitt was also asked about some of the other pillars of the franchise, including Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson and Jamaal Charles, and what it would mean to have lasted long enough for the home playoff victory that eluded them all.“It would be great,” Colquitt said. “Obviously, this is a six-year-kind of build. I think this is the best we’ve been. We’ve got great players that are playing at high levels right now—offense, defense and special teams—and we just have to go out and just be us, and that’s the biggest thing we can do.”The last Chiefs home playoff win came 25 years ago Tuesday. Colquitt, the oldest player on the Chiefs by three years, was 11 at the time.It is time.