Chiefs defense, youngest in NFL, has powered Kansas City to precipice of Super Bowl repeat

The Chiefs defense, like most, had dealt with its share of injuries. Each time, someone stepped up. Willie Gay Jr. went down. In flew Tranquil, gobbling up ball carriers, or Leo Chenal making plays. Safety Mike Edwards stepped in, giving the Chiefs versatility on the backend when Cook got hurt.

A bully of a defense has surged in the postseason, its 13.7 PPG in the playoffs marking the fourth-lowest since 2000 by a team that reached the Super Bowl, behind only the 2000 Ravens, 2002 Bucs and 2013 "Legion of Boom" Seahawks. To have such a young Chiefs defense in a category with those legendary units is an eye-catch.

Credit goes to Spags, but the DC won't take praise, instead flea-flickering the bouquet back to his players.

"This is a group of smart, passionate guys that love playing together, and that's a good recipe for playing good defense," he said.

K.C.'s defense kept the club afloat when the offense meandered through the season. Entering Sunday, the Chiefs allowed more than 21 points twice all year, including playoffs. They never gave up more than 24 in any game all season.

During the postseason, they ran the gauntlet, smothering the high-flying Dolphins, withstanding a bulldozing Josh Allen, and discombobulating Lamar Jackson. It's been quite the run, especially considering the youth-filled roster.

"I think this year, with a lot of new faces, we was more so doubted that ever," Jones said. "When you've got a lot of new guys, you never know how rookies can pan out, you never know that second-year progression for guys, like George Karlaftis coming in and having six sacks, this year he was able to almost double that, and going into the playoffs, he's been striding. You've got a guy like Trent McDuffie, whose first year it's like he's got potential, second year he'll All-Pro. So I think a lot of guys grew over the course of the year, and just the journey we had to take. Going to play the Miami Dolphins, the best offense in the league, then having to go to Josh Allen, who beat us this year, and having to deal with that Buffalo crowd, and then having to play the best team in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens, with MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. So that journey right there speaks volumes for this team and what we had to go through to get here."

The next stage of the journey is attempting to slow Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Brock Purdy with a Lombardi on the line.