Underrated Defense and Forgettable Details: Chiefs' Win Over Falcons Won't Stick, and That's Fine

It wasn't all impressive or pretty, but the Chiefs' 22-17 win over the Falcons was, in fact, a win.

Sep 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) breaks up a pass against Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) in the end zone during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Despite the fact that most teams and coaches take every week of NFL action "one game at a time," some games are more important than others.

A matchup between conference rivals can have an outsized impact on playoff seeding. A late-season showdown can determine the fate of a franchise's year. A prime time battle can undercut or reinforce narratives that may follow a team for the rest of the season. And, with that logic, some games also matter less than others. For the Kansas City Chiefs, considering the good-enough result of a 22-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons, KC's win on Sunday Night Football may be all but forgotten by most Chiefs fans by the mid-season mark.

Anything beyond the final score is a footnote in Kansas City's first road game and first NFC matchup of the 2024 season. Was the offense stuffy and underwhelming at points? No question. Is something still not quite right about Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce? Yeah, that's worth tracking. Could the defense have been a bit more productive in how they hassled Kirk Cousins and defended Drake London? Sure, though we can discuss the defense more in a moment.

Ultimately, I'm not sure if I can argue that we learned much about the Chiefs on Sunday night. The team reinforced that they can win an ugly game without picture-perfect offensive production. We've known that for a while now. This was a relatively common sight for Kansas City; the Chiefs completed a business trip, while Atlanta was hoping to throw a party.

On Sunday morning, Adam Schefter tweeted that "various Falcons officials said this past week that they believe this is the most significant and important game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their franchise since it opened in 2017." Perhaps that was true. For the Chiefs, it was a Sunday.

Various Falcons officials said this past week that they believe this is the most significant and important game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their franchise since it opened in 2017. Coming off a memorable Monday night win in Philadelphia, the 1-1 Falcons will be hosting… pic.twitter.com/szuTUY1czi

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 22, 2024

An important caveat to Kansas City's night on defense: the Chiefs were about to leave the field after a stop on 3rd and 6 when Chris Jones was flagged for roughing the passer. While it's not a shocking penalty to see called given the NFL's recent evolution of what "roughing" means, Jones was flagged despite his "hit" of Cousins being absolutely devoid of violence.

That flag — justified or not — gave the Falcons a fresh set of downs on their third offensive drive of the game, ultimately leading to a touchdown. Aside from that drive, the Chiefs' defense allowed a mere 10 points to Atlanta. Late in the first half, a Tershawn Wharton pressure led to a Chamarri Conner interception that put the Chiefs in field goal territory, essentially giving KC three more points in that sequence, followed up by two forced turnovers on downs on the Falcons' final two drives.

Those achievements from the Chiefs' defense should be the main takeaways from a game that feels poised to fade into the blur of a long NFL season. With the luxury of the victory, the Chiefs had two more impactful wins against familiar opponents in the first two weeks of the season before they head to Los Angeles to take on a divisional opponent in Week 4. As a team with obvious Super Bowl aspirations, the Chiefs won't be able to prove much until the playoffs arrive. There was no opportunity to three-peat with a win over the Falcons in September. At this point, the Chiefs need to stay as healthy as possible while remaining in pole position for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That recipe will produce a few less-than-thrilling games over the course of a 17-game regular season, but there's nothing wrong with a forgettable victory. Those are to be expected when playoff wins are the measure of a team's success.

Read More: Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 22-17 Win Over the Atlanta Falcons