Chiefs in danger zone with impotent offense, while Steelers disappoint on defense; plus, 3 NFL closers

Former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks knows the ins and outs of this league, providing keen insight in his notebook. Today's installment covers:

• The stunning struggles of a proud defense.
• NFL closers: Three players who routinely sew up wins.

But first, a look at why a modern dynasty suddenly finds itself in the danger zone ...

As the Kansas City Chiefs sit at 0-2 heading into this week's road game against the New York Giants, the football world is seemingly poised to re-enact a scene from The Wizard of Oz. With Kansas City all alone at the bottom of the AFC West standings as one of 10 winless NFL teams, opposing coaches, scouts, players and fans appear ready to break into a spirited rendition of "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead."

For the Chiefs, this Sunday Night Football game has taken on a must-win feel. In previous seasons going back to 1990, 165 teams started at 0-3; only four of them ultimately made the playoffs, and none hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. Though it is hard to bet against a franchise that has appeared in five of the last six Super Bowls (winning three) and piled up nine straight division titles, Kansas City looks quite vulnerable in this moment.

The preseason optimism that prompted me to wonder if the Chiefs would be fun again has abruptly waned. The offense, once a laser light show that scored points in bunches, still lacks the electricity that left the building when Kansas City traded Tyreek Hill back in March of 2022. While the team has repeatedly tried to replace the potent playmaker, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have struggled to create explosives for years. Xavier Worthy injured his shoulder on the first drive of this season, while Rashee Rice is serving a six-game suspension, leaving K.C.'s current receiving corps woefully short on dynamism. With Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, Travis Kelce, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton headlining the aerial attack, Mahomes is averaging a miniscule 6.5 yards per attempt, below last year's career-low mark of 6.8.

Part of Kansas City's struggles can be attributed to the soft zone coverage opponents are utilizing against the Chiefs to eliminate downfield throws. Teams are essentially positioning their safeties in the stadium parking lot. Consequently, Mahomes has been forced into a dink-and-dunk mode that prioritizes YAC (yards after catch) on bubble screens and crossing routes. But with the Chiefs' current pass catchers unable to consistently break tackles or run away from defenders in the open field, the offense routinely stalls, underscoring the flaws of a station-to-station approach that requires extraordinary efficiency from the quarterback.

To combat the light boxes and soft coverages, Kansas City needs a more effective running game. Putrid production from Isiah Pacheco (3.1 yards per carry) and Kareem Hunt (3.6 ypc) makes it sensible for opponents to continue to sit back in a conservative zone. The Chiefs' running back tandem lacks the juice and big-play potential to command plus-one boxes on early downs. As a result, Mahomes rarely sees single-high-safety looks with one-on-one coverage on the outside, leading to fewer downfield opportunities for an offense that desperately needs more chunk gains.

The Chiefs' offensive line isn't helping the cause, either. The leaky pass protection around Mahomes leads to quicker throws and, inherently, fewer deep shots. Despite investing heavily in the O-line this offseason -- handing Jaylon Moore a two-year, $30 million deal and then using a first-round pick on Josh Simmons -- the unit continues to struggle at the point of attack. Although Creed Humphrey remains the gold standard at center, RT Jawaan Taylor, RG Trey Smith and LG Kingsley Suamataia have underperformed. The individual and collective struggles of the group have led to scattershot play from a 17th-ranked offense that is being propped up by Mahomes' heroics, particularly as a scrambler (leads team with 123 rushing yards). However, the Chiefs' QB1 cannot win against the AFC's heavyweights as a one-man show. Despite his aura as a three-time Super Bowl MVP, Mahomes cannot just put on his sparkly red shoes, click his heels and transform K.C.'s offense back into the old machine that was fun, flashy and fascinating to watch.

Kansas City is 0-2 for the first time since the 2014 season -- the last time this franchise missed the playoffs. If the 2025 Chiefs are to avoid that fate, they need to get their offensive groove back. And for that to happen, the playmakers and protectors must perform better, allowing Mahomes to make Andy Reid's fancy X's and O's come to life.

No D in Pittsburgh?

My eyes must be deceiving me, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers surrender points like this. Mike Tomlin's squad just allowed 30-plus points in its first two games of the season, something the proud organization hadn't done since 2002. The Steelers' opponents in those games -- the Jets and Seahawks -- aren't exactly offensive juggernauts. While there are a handful of blue-chip players in each of those lineups, the most expensive defense in football -- costing $162.8 million this season, per Over The Cap -- shouldn't struggle so mightily against two incomplete attacks.

How can a team loaded with current and former Pro Bowlers like T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey fall so far below the standard established by the "Steel Curtain" in the 1970s? It's one of the biggest surprises of the young season.

A franchise known for bullying opponents with an ultra-physical defense has been unable to impose its will through two weeks. Despite defensive coordinator Teryl Austin relentlessly dialing up five-man blitzes, the Steelers have produced just three sacks, with Watt failing to get on the board thus far. Going back to last season, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year has gone six straight games without registering a sack, the longest drought of his career. Considering the Steelers gave the 30-year-old a three-year, $123 million extension in July, this certainly isn't what anyone had in mind. Pittsburgh needs Watt -- who has racked up 108 sacks, 33 forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries and seven interceptions in a prolific career -- to provide the splash plays that have become his calling card.

While Watt is expected to play to a Hall of Fame standard, the perennial Pro Bowler also needs Heyward and Queen -- two typically disruptive teammates -- to deliver alongside him in pivotal moments. This front-seven trio should dominate opponents via individual and collective talents, but that just hasn't been the case. Consequently, the Steelers have struggled to affect the game at the point of attack.

Pittsburgh has been gutted on the ground, giving up 299 yards in the first two weeks. That's a stunning figure for a defense that traditionally ranks as one of the league's best against the run. And it helps explain why Austin has turned to the blitz more frequently. Per TruMedia, Pittsburgh has blitzed on 43.3 percent of snaps, the fourth-highest rate in the league through two weeks. By bringing back the traditional pressures from the "Blitzburgh" era, Austin is attempting to cancel out running lanes with defensive linemen, linebackers and the occasional defensive back crisscrossing at the point of attack.

Now, injuries have played a factor in the Steelers' defensive downturn. After suffering a knee sprain in the preseason, first-round pick Derrick Harmon has yet to take a snap. Although the defensive tackle is likely to go through some rookie growing pains upon return, his absence has still weakened the middle of Pittsburgh's D. The Steelers' defensive backfield has also been bitten by the injury bug, with CB Joey Porter Jr. and S DeShon Elliott missing time. Despite the veteran status of the remaining starters in the secondary -- Ramsey, Slay and Juan Thornhill -- the revamped group's lack of reps together has resulted in some communication errors and blown assignments.

Throw in a subtle schematic shift to feature more man-to-man coverage this season, and you get a better sense as to why the Steelers have given up more explosive plays than we are accustomed to seeing in Pittsburgh's back end. Austin aspires to field a lockdown unit that takes away easy throws with sticky coverage, but miscommunication on potential switches has resulted in more big plays down the field. Additionally, the Steelers are playing with their backs to the ball when locked in man coverage, leading to bigger plays on the perimeter due to the lack of vision on the quarterback and the ball. Until the defensive backfield gets accustomed to this new, blitz-heavier system, the big plays and eye-popping numbers will continue to dot the stat sheet.

That said, the Steelers' collection of talented and experienced playmakers at multiple levels makes me think this is a temporary blip. I can't imagine the defense will continue to play this poorly, especially once some of the injured players return to action. With more reps and in-game experience, the chemistry, communication and superior ability will eventually click and result in the kind of imposing defense we've long associated with the Steel City.

Three true closers in today's NFL

There is a reason closer entrances have become adrenaline-soaked spectacles in baseball. These swaggering relief pitchers specialize in shutting down opposing batters in high-leverage situations, singlehandedly sewing up victories for their respective teams.

The collective nature of football does not always lend itself to such individual heroics -- which makes it all the more notable when a player shows the equivalent ability to impose his will on the outcome of an NFL game, stepping up in the midst of palpable pressure to secure a win. Like Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, whom Dak Prescott dubbed "a closer" deserving of his own walk-out music after Aubrey hit a couple of clutch boots -- a 64-yarder to reach overtime and a 46-yard winner as time expired in the extra period -- in last Sunday's narrow triumph over the Giants. Or 49ers defenders Nick Bosa and Bryce Huff, who drew this praise from Kyle Shanahan after taking turns helping San Francisco start the season 2-0:

"There's not many people who coaches will call 'closers,' " Shanahan told reporters in his postgame press conference. "Those are two that are closers."

In light of these performances -- and with MLB pennant races heating up -- I thought I'd identify three true closers in today's NFL.