[ad_1]
Within the week of preparation main as much as the AFC Championship recreation, a lot of the consideration was on Kansas Metropolis’s offensive aspect of the ball. How would QB Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense fare in opposition to the most effective protection they’ve seen within the Baltimore Ravens?
The Chiefs’ protection noticed all that focus and matched it with one phrase, one which was worn on the shirts of many Chiefs’ defensive gamers after the sport: In Spags We Belief.
In Kansas Metropolis’s 17-10 AFC Championship victory over Baltimore, the Chiefs’ protection had been the celebs of the present. They held the Ravens to a -0.20 EPA per play and a 28% first down fee, and pissed off the Ravens’ offense a lot that each time the digicam panned to Baltimore’s sideline, somebody was throwing a helmet. The Chiefs received the Ravens to play their fashion of recreation, after which constricted Baltimore into making errors left and proper. How they did it was mighty spectacular, and it begins with their play on the again finish.
Lamar Jackson had a tough recreation on Sunday, and numerous it was as a result of sticky protection of the Chiefs’ secondary. His 3.34 Common Time To Throw was the very best of any participant within the convention title video games, and would’ve been the very best of any QB this season. So many performs had been attacking downfield, however there was nothing open to attempt to hit on. Charles Omenihu’s strip sack of Jackson within the first half is an ideal instance of the Chiefs shutting off all of the water downfield, after which the stress making huge performs at huge instances.
Kansas Metropolis bumps with the movement of Zay Flowers, and with this burst movement the Ravens run Dagger out of it off play motion. The Chiefs additionally know this, and what they do is maintain a buzzing defender proper within the window the place the Dagger route comes open. What this does is forces Jackson to carry onto the ball longer and should work to the bottom, however by then Omenihu is there and forces the turnover.
This play actually felt like a microcosm of what the Ravens handled on Sunday. Spags and the Chiefs protection continued to alter the questions as quickly because the Ravens thought they’d a solution (shoutout to Roddy Piper). Chiefs’ CB L’Jarius Sneed is in press alignment, and with three safeties on the sector enjoying reasonably low, this appears like man protection. Baltimore has a slant-flat choice to the bottom in opposition to man if Lamar likes it. Nevertheless, the Chiefs’ kaleidoscope adjustments, and Sneed drops into the flat, being the half defender in Quarter, Quarter, Half. Even when this throw will get caught, Hill is getting popped by Sneed for no achieve. The Chiefs had each reply and compelled the Ravens into their recreation.
As soon as the Chiefs begun constricting the Ravens’ offense, you would inform that Baltimore began forcing the difficulty. Jackson was making an attempt to will issues open downfield and it simply wasn’t occurring with out the specter of a run recreation or fast recreation. The offense turned one-dimensional, and that advantages the Chiefs.
I feel Lamar was making an attempt to will one thing open downfield all recreation. Once you select to not run the ball (nonetheless stunning to me) and haven’t any fast recreation you basically turn out to be a one-trick pony and it strains each the offense and the QB pic.twitter.com/uW7ifuVuW1
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) January 29, 2024
What stands out probably the most in regards to the Chiefs is how bodily they performed Baltimore on Sunday. The Ravens bullied each workforce they confronted this yr, and had been in a position to grind groups down offensively. The Chiefs compelled the difficulty, and routinely beat the Ravens up entrance with blitzes, forcing Jackson off his spot. On this stress, the Chiefs deliver Nick Bolton and Trent McDuffie, and play man protection behind it. That is picked up nicely by the Ravens in concept, however they simply get walked again by a great McDuffie rush and Chris Jones being abnormally robust. With nowhere to go along with the ball, Jackson has to filth it.
This was my favourite play from the Chiefs’ protection, nonetheless. That is nice workforce protection in opposition to the run. With Kansas Metropolis wanting to stay in a two-high shell in opposition to Baltimore’s pin-pull, it’s necessary for the entrance to spill these pullers, that means hit them along with your exterior shoulder and power the ballcarrier to take it to the sting, the place the numbers profit you. With the movement pulling all of the backers right into a stack alignment, this must be an enormous play for Baltimore. Nevertheless, LB Drue Tranquill spills his block, the nostril deal with is ready to maintain Bolton free, and S Justin Reid comes flying off the roof with an emphatic run match. That is elite workforce protection.
Because the Chiefs prepare for an additional Tremendous Bowl in opposition to one other dynamic workforce in San Francisco, all eyes will likely be on Spagnuolo and this Chiefs protection, who within the span of two to 3 years has turn out to be the spine of this workforce.
[ad_2]
