The Chiefs are headed to the AFC title game with a new identity - ESPN

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS cornerback L'Jarius Sneed approached defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo during the offseason with a simple request. Instead of having him bounce back and forth between slot and outside coverage, as he had done in 2022, how about allowing him to follow the opponent's top receiver each week?

Spagnuolo didn't give Sneed an immediate answer. But the more he thought about the idea, the more it made sense.

The Chiefs had been burned by some big receiving games in 2022 with Sneed frequently away from the action. They had an option for slot coverage in their other starting cornerback, Trent McDuffie, so Spagnuolo figured why not give it a try.

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The experiment worked. There are several reasons the Chiefs finished the regular season yielding the second-fewest points (17.3) and yards per game (289.8), and Sneed's work is high on the list.

«The thing about LJ is he loves a challenge, he wants to go against their very best,» Spagnuolo said. «That's why we do it. When you have a guy like that, that you have confidence you can put him on their best guy, I think the other 10 guys rally around him.»

Sneed is part of a defense that has helped the Chiefs create a new identity in a season filled with offensive struggles. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is having the worst statistical season of his career, and the wide receivers lead the NFL in dropped passes. But the Chiefs will play in their sixth straight AFC Championship Game on Sunday (first time on the road), largely because of their defense, which