The Kansas City Chiefs defense had a rough ending to Sunday’s victory over the Carolina Panthers. The highly praised unit couldn’t protect a two-point lead in the fourth quarter, as Carolina tied the game with a two-point conversion.
Safety Bryan Cook spoke after the game about the defense’s need to improve as the postseason approaches.
“We’ve got to do better. We’re doing good in the red zone but that’s only a third of the field. Overall, we just have to do better.” said Cook. “At the end of the day, we’re all vets in the room for the most part. As I said before, we got to go back to the drawing board, see what we’re doing, and correct it from there.”
Cook and the defense had lapses throughout the game as Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was able to convert on quick releases ahead of blitzes in the second half.
“Whether it’s then, the beginning of a quarter, or the beginning of a game, it comes down to execution. You have to execute,” said Cook. “They’re at a high level, and I know we had times where we didn’t execute at the highest level, and the team exploited that. So, we got to figure that out, go back to the drawing board, and see what we can do.”
Trent McDuffie, Nick Bolton, and Mike Danna were able to get their hands on Young for sacks, but the second-year starter proved elusive under pressure.
