KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It becomes easy to overlook the Kansas City Chiefs defense simply because of the star power on the other side of the ball.
Patrick Mahomes, a two-time league MVP. Travis Kelce, a four-time All-Pro tight end.
Yet the high-flying Kansas City offenses of yesteryear struggled to soar last season, when a weak group of wide receivers were the culprit in dragging down the entire unit.
And it was the defense of coordinator of Steve Spagnuolo that stepped up, finishing second in the NFL in scoring and total defense while helping the Chiefs win a second consecutive Super Bowl.
Very little has changed four weeks into this season.
The wide receiver group is similarly depleted now that Rashee Rice has joined Marquise Brown on injured reserve, and Mecole Hardman is potentially out for Monday night's game against New Orleans with a knee injury. And the defense has similarly stepped up, shutting down the opposing run game while making key plays late in games to help Kansas City to a 4-0 start.
“For us — not specifically the team we play but everybody — it's about stopping the run,” Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis said, “and earning the right to rush the passer. Regardless of who we play, stopping the run is going to be a focus.”
Especially against the Saints, who lead the league in scoring and are in the top 10 in rush offense and total offense.
Yet the Chiefs have a track record that proves they can do it.
It began with the opener against Baltimore, when the Chiefs held Derrick Henry to 46 yards rushing. That kept them in the game until the fourth quarter, when they forced an incompletion in the end zone on the final play to preserve a 27-20 win.
Then it was shutting down Zack Moss of the Bengals. And doing the same against Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, holding him to 31 yards rushing and stuffing him on fourth down in the final minute to close out a 26-22 victory.
Last week, the Chiefs held the Chargers' JK Dobbins to 32 yards rushing. And after allowing a field goal with 3:53 to go in the first quarter that put Kansas City in a 10-0 hole, its defense forced six punts, made a fourth down stand at its 3-yard line and held the Chargers to a missed field goal as the Chiefs rallied for a 17-10 win over their AFC West rivals.
“I thought our defense stepped up in key situations,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Whether it was (Drue) Tranquil ending up with 10 tackles. Chris Jones had two big sacks, then a big fourth down play. The list goes on.”
Lest anyone think Jones would rest on his laurels after signing a five-year deal worth $158,750,000 in March, the two-time All-Pro already has three sacks in four games. Defensive back Trent McDuffie has similarly followed an All-Pro year by taking down opposing wide receivers, and running mate Jaylen Watson allowed no catches on five targets against Los Angeles.
Maybe there is just as much star power on the Kansas City defense as there is on the offense.
That's not to say there isn't room for improvement. The Chiefs have struggled to cover tight ends, and they've been particularly poor on opening drives, when teams have been able to drive downfield to take an early lead.
“We're giving up too many points in those drives,” Spagnuolo acknowledged Friday. “Sometime in there in that first drive, we have to make a third down stop. I always think that first third down, it's important to get that stop."
Outside of those first-possession woes, though, even when opponents have been able to reach the Chiefs' red zone, it has been tough to score. They were second best in the NFL behind the Browns last season in the percentage of opposing drives that ended in scores, and they aren't far behind this season — the Chargers were the latest to fail to score inside the 20.
“I think it has a lot to do with different factors,” Jones said. “You have play-calling, which can play a lot into what players are doing. Then, you have the player’s mind frame on standing post, to not let them in, saving four points. It all goes hand in hand.”
That's a good way to describe the Chiefs: Their high-profile offense and impressive defense working in hand in hand, helping them to overcome a rash of injuries and remain one of two unbeatens left in the NFL as Week 5 began.
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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert throws under pressure from Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, left, is sacked for a 6-yard loss by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
“Joker: Folie à Deux” is the No. 1 movie at the box office, but it might not be destined for a happy ending.
In a turn of events that only Arthur Fleck would find funny, the follow-up to Todd Phillips’ 2019 origin story about the Batman villain opened in theaters nationwide this weekend to a muted $40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, less than half that of its predecessor. The collapse was swift and has many in the industry wondering: How did the highly anticipated sequel to an Oscar-winning, billion-dollar film with the same creative team go wrong?
Just three weeks ago, tracking services pegged the movie for a $70 million debut, which would still have been down a fair amount from “Joker’s” record-breaking $96.2 million launch in Oct. 2019. Reviews were mixed out of the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered in competition like the first movie and even got a 12-minute standing ovation.
But the homecoming glow was short-lived, and the fragile foundation would crumble in the coming weeks with its Rotten Tomatoes score dropping from 63% at Venice to 33% by its first weekend in theaters. Perhaps even more surprising were the audience reviews: Ticket buyers polled on opening night gave the film a deadly D CinemaScore. Exit polls from PostTrak weren’t any better. It got a meager half star out of five possible.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” cost at least twice as much as the first film to produce, though reported figures vary at exactly how pricey it was to make. Phillips told Variety that it was less than the reported $200 million; Others have it pegged at $190 million. Warner Bros. released the film in 4,102 locations in North America. About 12.5% of its domestic total came from 415 IMAX screens.
Internationally, it's earned $81.1 million from 25,788 screens, bringing its total global earnings estimate to $121.1 million. In the next two weeks, “Joker 2” will also open in Japan and China.
Second place went to Universal and DreamWorks Animation's“The Wild Robot,” which added $18.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly $64 million. Globally, it's made over $100 million. Warner Bros.' “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" took third place in weekend five, Paramount's “Transformers One” landed in fourth and Universal and Blumhouse's “Speak No Evil” rounded out the top five.
The other big new release of the weekend, Lionsgate's “White Bird,” flopped with just $1.5 million from just over 1,000 locations, despite an A+ CinemaScore.
Overall, the weekend is up from the same frame last year, but “Joker's” start is an unwelcome twist for theater owners hoping to narrow the box office deficit.
Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix have said they aspired to make something as “audacious” as the first film. The sequel added Lady Gaga into the fold, as a Joker superfan, and delved further into the mind of Arthur Fleck, imprisoned at Arkham and awaiting trial for the murders he committed in the first. It’s also a musical, with elaborately imagined song and dance numbers to old standards. Gaga even released a companion album called “'Harlequin,” alongside the film.
In his review for The Associated Press, Jake Coyle wrote that “Phillips has followed his very antihero take on the Joker with a very anti-sequel. It combines prison drama, courthouse thriller and musical, and yet turns out remarkably inert given how combustible the original was.”
The sequel has already been the subject of many think pieces, some who posit that the sequel was deliberately alienating fans of the first movie. In cruder terms, it’s been called a “middle finger.” But fans often ignore the advice of critics, especially when it comes to opening their wallets to see revered comic book characters on the big screen.
It has some high-profile defenders too: Francis Ford Coppola, who last week got his own D+ CinemaScore for his pricey, ambitious and divisive film “Megalopolis,” entered the Joker chat with an Instagram post.
“@ToddPhillips films always amaze me and I enjoy them thoroughly,” Coppola wrote. “Ever since the wonderful ‘The Hangover’ he’s always one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect.”
Deadline editor Anthony D’Alessandro thinks the problem started with the idea to make it a musical. “No fan of the original movie wanted to see a musical sequel,” he wrote on Saturday.
The first film was also divisive and the subject of much discourse, then about whether it might send the wrong message to the wrong type of person. And yet people still flocked to see what the fuss was about. “Joker” went on to pick up 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director, and three wins. It also made over $1 billion and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, until this summer when Marvel's “Deadpool & Wolverine" took the crown.
Joaquin Phoenix arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Todd Phillips arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Lady Gaga arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Director Todd Phillips, center, and actors Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix pose for photographers upon arrival at the photo call for the film 'Joker: Folie a Deux' in London, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Lady Gaga pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'Joker: Folie A Deux' on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows promotional art for "Joker: Folie à Deux." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Lady Gaga in a scene from "Joker: Folie à Deux." (Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Lady Gaga in a scene from "Joker: Folie à Deux." (Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix, foreground center, and Brendan Gleeson, background center, in a scene from "Joker: Folie à Deux." (Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
