Week 6’s Sunday Night Football matchup between the Chiefs and Patriots featured one of the highest scoring games of the season. It also gave defensive coordinators some film of Patrick Mahomes not being Superman, with the Patriots taking a 24-9 lead into half after 2 Mahomes’ interceptions. Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the key plays from the game.
- Game situation: 1st Quarter, 5:23, 1st & 10 at KC23, 3-3
After tight end Demetrius Harris (#84) motions to the left side of the formation, the Chiefs are running the following route combination with play action:
The Patriots are in Cover 1. Because Harris is staying in to block, Patrick Chung (#23) can act as an extra pass defender. As for the front 7, one consistent strategy from the Patriots was to have box defenders stand and/or move around pre-snap, making it more difficult for Mahomes to decide protection schemes and discern who was rushing. Here, defensive end Trey Flowers (#98) is also aligned extra wide to jam Travis Kelce (#87) at the line:
Post snap, the Patriots rush four and linebacker Dont’a Hightower (#54) is sucked in by the play action to Kareem Hunt (#27). This normally clears throwing windows, but Hightower is able to make an incredible recovery to undercut Travis Kelce’s route and intercept the pass. While watching live, I thought Hightower had faked a blitz, dropped, and fooled Mahomes. After film review, I think it’s likely that Mahomes discounted Hightower based on his reaction to the play action. Mahomes held onto the ball for a split second longer because of Chung’s presence, and Hightower flipped his hips in time to make a great play:
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Mahomes also misses Sammy Watkins (#14) on the deep over route. Duron Harmon is the deep Cover 1 safety and is playing outside the right hash, presumably because Tyreek Hill is the outside receiver on the play. Nobody else is on the left side of the field, giving Mahomes tons of grass to air the ball out and let Watkins run under it:
- Game situation: 3rd Quarter, 13:39, 3rd & 2 at KC33, 24-9 New England
On the first drive of the 3rd quarter, the Patriots force a third and short with a 24-9 lead. Pre-snap, the Patriots are showing a look that could be a blitz with man coverage, Cover 1 or Cover 5, behind it. However, when Tyreek Hill motions across the formation, Jason McCourty widens with him and no defender follows him. This is generally a zone indicator. The Patriots have 6 defenders up at the line of scrimmage to cause confusion in pass protection. Tyreek Hill takes an inside release and runs a deep curl. The Chiefs route combination also includes a pivot and dig combination, sometimes referred to as “X Follow,” with Kelce running a spot route and Hunt swinging out of the backfield:
Post-snap, the Patriots are in Cover 2. They rush 3, and Dont’a Hightower tries to rob underneath Travis Kelce’s spot or short hook route. The initial coverage is excellent, and Mahomes is forced to escape the pocket to his right. Here is where Hill’s speed comes into play—with no outside vertical threat, deep half safety Devin McCourty clamps down on Hill. But when Mahomes escapes, Hunt converts his route from a swing to a wheel route, and nobody is back deep:
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This play and throw from Mahomes is simply incredible. Cornerback Jason McCourty actually plays this pretty well, sinking with the route and forcing a precise deep throw while on the run. If the ball isn’t deep enough or too far inside, it’s either intercepted or broken up:
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- Game situation: 4th Quarter, 4:33, 3rd & 8 at KC27, 37-33 New England
On a crucial third down with the game on the line, the Patriots once again tried to confuse Mahomes pre-snap with box defenders standing and moving. The Patriots show Cover 0, with no middle of field help. However, Hightower and Kyle Van Noy(#53) show blitz, occupy lineman, and then drop off for any crossers or shallow routes:
Tyreek Hill ends up open, but the Patriots accomplish their goal by forcing an underthrow off Mahomes’ back foot. With better footwork, it’s likely a huge play:
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- Game situation: 4th Quarter, 7:12, 1st & 10 at KC24, 33-30 Kansas City
At this point, a fake bubble/swing screen with a seam or wheel behind it is a huge play in the NFL every week. Here, the Chiefs are in Cover 3. Julian Edelman motions to the backfield and runs a bubble/swing screen, with Chris Hogan running up the seam:
Both the underneath hook defender and the safety fly up toward Edelman, leaving Hogan wide open behind them. Note from the end zone angle how well Brady uses his shoulders and eyes to sell the fake before throwing the ball to a wide open Hogan:
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- Game situation: 4th Quarter, 3:50, 1st & 10 at NE21, 37-33 New England
With an opportunity to put the game away with a touchdown or run out the clock, the Patriots come out in 21 personnel. The Chiefs aim to stop the run with a 3-4 front and are playing Cover 1. Brady sees the defensive look and checks the call to a play action:
Post snap, because the defensive back Jordan Lucas (#24) is so close to the line, the Patriots left tackle blocks him. Gronk runs underneath the block, and is wide open for a huge play. It’s hard to believe this is how the Patriots drew it up. But it is plausible they are coached to do this if a man to man defender is this close to the line of scrimmage. I’ve never quite seen this in an NFL game before:
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- Situational football
Finally, a note about situational football at the end of the first half. The last four minutes of the first half decide a game more often than the average fan thinks. Good teams consistently score just before half and get the ball right back to start the third quarter, and also make sure their opponents don’t “double up.” Teams who mismanage the clock or turn the ball over before half miss out on “double up” opportunities. This is precisely what happened to KC, who was down 24-9 with :17 left on New England’s 15 yard line. They had 1 timeout and were getting the ball back after half. On 1st & 10, Mahomes turns the ball over on this play:
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Getting the ball back after half and down 15 points against a potent offense means Mahomes has to throw this ball away and make sure the Chiefs score to get the opportunity to double up.
Unfortunately, I learned tragic news this week. Kyle Janeczek, one of the players I had the privilege of coaching, passed away suddenly. He was attending Dartmouth medical school, and was one of the kindest smartest people I knew. Kyle was also an incredibly gifted athlete who made me a better person and coach. I hadn’t posted an X’s & O’s breakdown in a while, and reminisced this week on Kyle’s successes as a football player and person. Kyle, this one’s for you buddy, RIP.
