Steve Spagnuolo Explains Why Stopping the 49ers Begins with the Eyes

The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are familiar with each other. Will that benefit the Chiefs' defense on Sunday?

Jan 7, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo looks on from the sideline during the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs' defense has been excellent through its first five games of the 2024 season, but the San Francisco 49ers will provide a fierce and familiar test on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo discussed the team's focus while they prepare to face 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense. Spagnuolo said, for stopping the 49ers, it all begins with the eyes.

"We've talked a lot about the whole eye candy," Spagnuolo said. "There's a lot of movement up there for a reason. They get your eyes all over the place, they can disrupt support in run systems and that’s why they do it, they try to soften you up a little bit. We have a good group of guys that have worked well together. We need to do that all day long out there in San Francisco because all it does is take one missed fit and just any running back they put back there, but especially No. 24 [Jordan Mason] has been doing a really good job of it. That’s what the system is built for, and we've got to negate that by kind of being on point. I think our eyes are probably the biggest thing."

Looking back to recent history in the Chiefs' win over the 49ers in February's Super Bowl, Spagnuolo was asked how he thought the Chiefs' defense was able to limit the 49ers to just 22 points, including overtime.

"I don't know, I think back and I always think we could’ve done a little bit better," Spagnuolo said. "We did some good things. I mean, they kind of moved the ball, we played decent in the red zone. I'm trying to go back now. It was the trick play they got the score on, right? Early on, they were moving the ball. It was really good to get that turnover in the first drive, that kind of helped us. I thought the guys played really hard. They were on point. We had two weeks to prepare. I really kind of just put it back on the players. They were just that hungry. Listen, this offense is still a headache to defend. I know they’re minus the running back [Christian McCaffrey], but I think the guys that are plugged in there for him still make that whole system effective, so we’re going to have a pretty good challenge in his one too."

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