During the era, no team in the has been better than the . Since Mahomes became the team's full-time starter back in 2018, Kansas City has won 66 regular-season games -- 10 more than any other team. The Chiefs have outscored their opponents by 679 points during that span, 117 points more than the next-closest squad. They have also made (and hosted) the AFC title game five times, been to three Super Bowls and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy twice.Of course, most of the team's succe s during this time has been driven by its elite offense. Kansas City has scored nearly 300 more points than the next-closest team since 2018 Ray Guy Jersey -- an average of more than an extra field goal per game. The Chiefs have gained nearly 2,000 more yards than the next-closest team and averaged almost half a yard more per play than the No. 2 team as well. According to Tru Media, Kansas City leads the league in expected points added (EPA) per play by such a large margin during this time that the second-place team's mark is actually HALF that of the Chiefs. (K.C. has averaged 0.14 EPA/play and the are up next at 0.07 EPA/play.)By contrast, the defense has been fairly average during this time. The Chiefs rank 27th in yards allowed, 19th in yards allowed per play, 10th in points allowed and 26th in EPA/play. Depending on which measurement of defense is your favorite, you might think they have been somewhere between below average and slightly above average on that side of the ball.But that's not the case so far this year. Despite having faced the and in two of their three games, the Chiefs currently check in sixth in yards allowed and fourth in points allowed, as well as third in EPA/play and ninth in FTN's DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average). They have yielded a touchdown or field goal on only 21.9% of opponent drives, the second-best rate in the league; and they have forced a punt on 46.9% of drives, which ranks third best in the NFL. They have limited opponent first downs (fourth), locked down in the red zone (tied for fifth) and prevented explosive plays (fourth). Now, on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC), they'll face a Zach Wilson-led Jets offense that has trouble moving Bryan Edwards Jersey the ball on any defense.And the Chiefs just look like a very good defense. That's a change of pace, especially when you consider that the Chiefs under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo have traditionally started somewhat slowly on defense before rounding into shape by the end of the year, as Spagnuolo figures out the best way to utilize the personnel he has on hand. It's also pretty encouraging, given that Kansas City has yet to get defensive lineman (currently serving a six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy) on the field, and played the season opener without the services of , who has yet to even play more Desmond Trufant Jersey than 51% of the team's defensive snaps in a game.The most important improvement has come in the Chiefs' ability to deal with opposing pa sing games. They have yet to allow more than 250 pa sing yards to any opponent, and they have forced at least one turnover in every game. When you look at how the Chiefs have performed (in FTN's DVOA) against all different types of pa ses, you can see that this is pretty clearly their best pa s defense of the past few years: DVOA (vs. position, area of field)202120222023WR1173110WR221107WR3274TE172027RB262811LEFT14810MIDDLE32911RIGHT26235DEEP19145SHORT102411The team's top two cornerbacks -- second-year pro and fourth-year man -- have combined to allow just 17 receptions for 160 yards and zero touchdowns, averages of just 5.7 catches for 53.3 yards per contest. McDuffie is Pro Football Ken Stabler Jersey Focus' highest-graded corner, and has yielded just a 73.9 pa ser rating on throws in his direction. and have played well in sub-package roles. Safety is lining up all over the place: According to PFF, he has aligned in the box for 56 snaps, in the slot for 53, as a free safety for 47, along the defensive line for 14 and as a wide cornerback for eight.Kansas City's other 2022 first-round pick was edge rusher , and he, too, appears to be breaking out. He ranks sixth in the NFL with 16 pre sures so far this season; only , , , and have more. His 18.8% pre sure rate also ranks sixth among the 134 players who have rushed the pa ser at least 50 times, per Tru Media, and checks in behind only Garrett, Parsons, , and .He's more of a power rusher than your traditional, bendy, turn-the-corner type of guy, but that actually pairs pretty well with Jones, who is a ridiculous athlete and can both push the pocket and knife through the gaps between guards and centers to generate quick pre sure. Jones already has 2.5 sacks in two games where he barely played, and his pre sure rate (18.9%) is right on par with that of Karlaftis. During the 1.5-ish seasons he played with San Francisco, Omenihu had a pre Marquel Lee Jersey sure rate on par with that of players like and , so adding him to the mix later in the year should help the pa s rush even more. Having multiple players capable of generating pre sure at such a high level frees up Spagnuolo to get creative, which he can do because of the depth and versatility the team has built on the back end, thanks to its copious investments over the past few years drafts. Kansas City used 14 of its 23 selections over the last three drafts on the defensive side of the ball, with half of those being devoted to the defensive backfield. The result is a mostly homegrown secondary that works behind a solid crop of homegrown linebackers in , Willie Gay, and as well as offseason addition .In short, this group just fits really well together, and due to the resources the Chiefs have poured into it and the congealing of the talent they have identified, it's playing at a higher level than at any previous time during the Mahomes era. If they can keep this up, fellow contenders, AFC and NFC alike, should be very afraid of what it means for their prospects of dethroning the Chiefs as champions.