“This is working, the ground game. Let’s keep going to it.”



Fox NFL analyst Charles Davis said these words at the end of a third-quarter soliloquy about the virtues of running the ball in the Chiefs’ 34-30 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.



His overall point, which he made multiple times throughout the course of the game, was that the Lions were working a good game plan against the Chiefs by running the ball early and often. By controlling the clock and slowing the game down, they were able to push the Chiefs to the limit and almost pull off a massive upset. That’s the narrative that has been pushed since the game ended as well, and it’s a very common one throughout the league.



The problem: It’s not accurate.



The Chiefs’ run defense had very little to do with why that game was close, and hasn’t really impacted the Chiefs so far this season. That may be hard to believe, but it’s what the...