Wyman’s Football 101: Chiefs showed old-school defense still wins
Feb 5, 2020, 12:24 AM
In the Super Bowl, Kyle Shanahan’s so-called “modernized” San Francisco 49ers offense had a chance to bring a championship back to the Bay Area. Instead it was the Kansas City Chiefs who won the Lombardi Trophy after quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a fourth-quarter comeback to seal a 31-20 win.
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While Mahomes was MVP and running back Damien Williams had the big plays for the Chiefs’ offense, they probably don’t win the game without the stellar performance provided by the Kansas City defense.
A decidedly old-school Kansas City defense, at that.
In this week’s Football 101 video, former NFL linebacker and current Seahawks color commentator Dave Wyman breaks down what stood out to him on the defensive side of the ball in the Chiefs win. What’s perhaps most surprising is how similarly Kansas City played to the defenses Wyman was familiar with in his pro career in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the Seahawks and Denver Broncos.
Perhaps that has a lot to do with Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who Wyman takes some time to detail the long and winding road that led him to leading a Super Bowl-winning defense.
For more from Wyman or the 710 ESPN Seattle show he co-hosts – Bob, Dave and Moore – click any of the links below.
• Wyman: Why do sacks matter? Look at the 26 drives when Seahawks had one
• How much of Hawks’ defensive struggles should be credited to Ken Norton?
• Moyer: Pass rush would help improving Seahawks CB Tre Flowers
• Wyman’s Football 101: Do Hawks need to modernize on offense? 49ers didn’t