From The Podium | Bolts Look to Build On Recent Defensive Success

Kansas City’s offense gets the majority of the headlines, but the defense’s aggressiveness is an underrated part of the equation when going up against this Chiefs team.

According to analytics website Pro Football Focus, the Chiefs blitz on 28.8 percent of all defensive snaps, which ranks 10th in the league.

Chargers Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi knows that while their offense can make keep any game close, their aggressiveness on defense can let them compete in any type of game.

“They are very aggressive on defense, and so a lot of times, it creates negative plays,” Lombardi said. “The way that they play, it’s kind of feast-or-famine, at times, and so I just think the aggressiveness of how they play on both sides of the ball, it seems like they are in every game.”

With veteran defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo at the helm of the Chiefs defense, Lombardi acknowledged the back and forth that will likely take place. As aggressive as Spagnuolo and the Kansas City defense can be, there are times where they aren’t.

Lombardi said that even though the playbook doesn’t look that different, the game flow will be a huge indicator of what kind of game the Chiefs defense is playing.

“I think that when you have looked at a defense or a coordinator as long as we have looked at [Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve] Spagnuolo, there are sometimes cycles to the way he is calling games,” Lombardi said. “There are periods where maybe they are less aggressive with the blitzes, and then there are times where it feels like they are dialing it up a little more consistently.

“The overall playbook, I don’t think, has been hugely different. It’s just trying to get a feel for how he is calling a particular game. That’s always part of the cat-and-mouse game,” Lombardi added.

The Chargers will look to build a rhythm regardless of what the Kansas City defense looks like, similar to what they had in the first couple drives of Week 10, as avoiding quick drives…