'Watch out': Defense powers Chiefs as offense tries to ignite

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Patrick Mahomes scurried off the Levi's Stadium field in jubilation. Despite registering the worst passer rating of his brilliant career Sunday, Mahomes wore a wide grin after his Chiefs handed the 49ers a 28-18 defeat that improved Kansas City's record to 6-0. Before he disappeared into the tunnel, hundreds of lingering fans cheered him on as he pumped his arms toward the sky.

When Mahomes reached the front entrance of the visitors' locker room, team owner Clark Hunt greeted him.

"That is a Kansas City win!" Hunt shouted as he embraced his franchise quarterback.

Mahomes was quick to focus the spotlight on Kansas City's defense.

"It took everyone!" Mahomes replied. "How 'bout that defense!"

This rematch of last year's Super Bowl featured more dominance from the back-to-back champs; Sunday marked Kansas City's fifth consecutive victory over San Francisco. A litany of injuries affected both teams, but the Chiefs emerged with the win thanks to a defensive unit that's remained lights out under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

"With Spags - it all goes back to the love and care that he has for his guys," defensive end George Karlaftis told theScore. "All of us on defense, we can feel it. We just have the ultimate amount of respect for him. Everybody wants to play with him and follow his game plan to the best of our ability. So that's what it's about."

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw a season-low 212 passing yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns - a chaotic outing in stark contrast to the stellar offensive performances in February's Super Bowl. Mahomes countered by completing just 59% of his passes (16 of 27) with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.

That's not a winning formula on its own, but this season, Kansas City is proving it can beat opponents in a multitude of ways. The Chiefs are fifth in points allowed (17.6 per game) and 10th in yards allowed (306.2 per game).

"It's obviously fun to win and score a lot of points, but whenever you play these high, tense moments against great teams, you see where you're really at," Mahomes said. "We were able to find ways to win because our defense continues to play special, honestly."

Spagnuolo's exotic defense typically features a variety of pre-snap looks. All the extra movement near the line of scrimmage is meant to test the patience of opposing quarterbacks. But the unit's success is rooted in its ability to stop the run. That trait was on full display against the 49ers, who managed just 101 rushing yards (4.2 average) to pair with Purdy's ugly performance.

When asked about the dominant run defense, Karlaftis began to discuss the details, but five-time All-Pro Chris Jones interjected from his neighboring locker stall.

"We could be so much better!" Jones shouted as he pounded his metal stall with a fist.

Jones and Karlaftis' on-field chemistry shows the importance of winning consistently at both the edge and interior. The duo has combined for 54 total pressures and 35 quarterback hits this season.

With the linemen asserting their will and dominance up front, linebacker Nick Bolton shared that one of Spagnuolo's biggest points of emphasis throughout the year has been effective tackling. While it sounds simple, the defense's second and third levels have been consistent overall in their efforts to bottle up the ball carrier. Niners running back Jordan Mason had just 14 carries for 58 yards.

On the season, Kansas City has the third-fewest missed tackles (40) in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. San Francisco, which regularly deploys a top defense, has 65 missed tackles.

"With Spags … the thing I'm really proud of is his ability to (connect) with a lot of the young guys," Bolton said. "The mental part of their game is up here. You can see that. They've got the IQ, youth, legs. The pre-snap motion and disguises, we can do a lot of different things with the people we have in the building.

"It's about population to the football with Spags. Our D-line, those guys are filling their gaps, creating holes for us to crash. I think we have the best tackling defensive backs in the league. When the ball does spit out, they are always there to help us live another down."

Spagnuolo had Purdy in a blender, but it was the coordinator's ingredients that impressed, making this team's already noteworthy season look even more promising. Rookies Chris Roland-Wallace and Jaden Hicks had combined for 14 defensive snaps all season before they were thrust into action Sunday due to injuries, and each picked off Purdy once. Veteran safety Justin Reid recorded Kansas City's third interception.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie's eyes lit up while he discussed his fellow members of the secondary.

"There's a strong foundation. There's a standard," McDuffie said. "Anyone who comes in, whether it's a rookie or free agent, they come in and adopt those things. They plan their training and preparation around how we do it … We got two rookies with their first pick. I think it goes to show not only the coaching, but the leadership that follows them on this team.

"This defense and our DBs … we are going to hit. That's something Spags would tell you, that's something that we'll tell you. That's just our game. I think they've drafted the right guys who are going to come in and embrace that aggressive mindset. I think it really does help with the run game - being able to not let them hit the edges and when they do hit the outside, being able to stop them from big gains."

Later, as players and coaches filed out of the visitors' locker room, Mahomes shared more embraces with Reid, Jones, and Spagnuolo. Across the way, wide receiver Justin Watson lingered. Before he joined Mahomes and the rest of their teammates for their return flight, Watson expressed his excitement for what's ahead.

Watson has faith that Mahomes will figure it out in the pass game. Until then, the Chiefs will enjoy the quarterback's occasional magic, such as the epic rush in which he tiptoed down the left sideline.

Perhaps more importantly, in an NFL season that has been defined by lackluster offenses, Kansas City has remained unbeaten with its Spagnuolo-led defense.

"Man, all of this adversity on offense just gives us a lot of confidence that we can find all these different ways to win games," Watson said. "We're still in the process of finding out as an offense what we're good at, what we're not good at. So to get through our first six games, while we're still figuring things out, undefeated - it's an awesome achievement.

"Going against our defense in training camp, in practice, those guys - they play us harder than any defense will play us all season. We really focus on that competition all week, and I think it's paying dividends right now. They're playing unbelievable right now."

Watson concluded: "They'll keep bailing us out for now. But when we find a way to put it all together, watch out. We know New Orleans (site of Super Bowl LIX) is where we want to be."

Josh Tolentino is theScore's lead NFL writer.