Who has the better defense? Chiefs vs. Eagles
People keep saying that the Eagles have the best defense in the league, so I decided to compare the Chiefs stats against theirs to see how the two matched up. However I decided to focus on games played against other playoff teams, because I felt that the data would be more accurate this way.
For reference, here are their stats for the regular season (not including week 18 because both teams rested starters):
| Team | Total yards allowed | YPG | Total points allowed | PPG | Games played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 4972 | 310.8 | 288 | 18 | 16 |
| Eagles | 4494 | 280.9 | 290 | 18.1 | 16 |
The Eagles have a slight advantage in yards, while the PPG is almost identical. All in all, pretty damn close.
But now, here are their stats when facing playoff teams:
In the regular season:
| Team | Total yards allowed | YPG | Total points allowed | PPG | Games played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 2549 | 318.6 | 144 | 18 | 8 |
| Eagles | 2543 | 325.9 | 168 | 24 | 7 |
Including playoff games:
| Team | Total yards allowed | YPG | Total points allowed | PPG | Games played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 3259 | 325.9 | 187 | 18.7 | 10 |
| Eagles | 3642 | 363.3 | 223 | 22.3 | 10 |
YPG - Yards per game
PPG - Points per game
All averages rounded to nearest tenth
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Conclusion: The Chiefs win in every category, but what's most surprising is the difference in PPG. The Chiefs averaged 18 PPG while the Eagles averaged 24 PPG, a 6 point difference. In terms of YPG, the Chiefs win that too, albeit with a less significant margin of 37.4 yards.