With 9:50 left in the Bills’ Monday night game over the 49ers, and Buffalo already up 27-17, quarterback Josh Allen threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Gabriel Davis in which several San Francisco defensive backs appeared to be very confused. It was a bad play for the 49ers in what turned out to be a 34-24 win for Buffalo.
Pre-snap, you can see cornerback Richard Sherman communicating with safety Dontae Johnson. What might Sherman have been saying? Sherman was probably imploring Johnson to make an alert call to run the coverage to the actions of slot receiver Cole Beasley. Beasley ran a quick five-yard in-cut, while Davis ran up the boundary. In a basic Cover-1 or Cover-3 call, you probably have Sherman on Davis to the boundary, but based on Beasley’s actions, that was never the call. Sherman expected to take Beasley inside, while Johnson was supposed to cross and take Davis to the outside. It’s a coverage called “Palms,” and it was an unfortunate bust for Robert Saleh’s defense. Safety Tarvarius Moore was also in the deep third to that side, so… yikes.
“We were in Palms coverage,” Sherman explained after the game. “Two into the flat. I adjusted, but we had a few busts on the play. It’s unfortunate. The motion put us in a look we hadn’t seen before. It’s just one of those plays — just a miscommunication down the line, and you can’t have those plays in games like this.”
The look the 49ers hadn’t seen before may have been Beasley going in motion from left to right, which could have confused the coverage rules.
For those who don’t know, “Palms” coverage can also be called 2-Trap or 2-Read or Soft-2, based on which playbook it’s in. When I watched tape with Sherman in 2015, he explained how the Seahawks used “Palms” coverage against Dez Bryant and the Cowboys on this play in which Sherman was playing outside until Bryant took the quick screen behind the line of scrimmage. At that point, Sherman was supposed to crash down on Bryant, which he did, for a three-yard loss. It appeared as if there was a coverage void over Bryant in the slot with Sherman outside, but that’s exactly how it was supposed to look.
“It’s like… they call it “Soft 2,” Sherman told me back then. “You have two receivers to your side. If “2” [the slot receiver] goes to the flat five yards or less, the cornerback takes him. If “2” goes vertical past five yards, the corner has man coverage on “1” [the outside receiver]. Since he went bubble [ran a bubble screen], that’s five yards or less, and you shoot your gun. I’m on “2” until he gets past this point, and then I’m on “1”. Which sounds easy until… I still had to take a gamble on that play, because if I go underneath and I miss, [Bryant’s] got at least 20–30 yards. Then, [safety] Earl [Thomas] will have to chase him down—it’d be a footrace between him and Dez. If I take that and [Bryant] blocks me, he’s up the seam.”
So, if Bryant had gone up the seam, the safety would have been responsible for him, and Sherman would have stayed on the outside receiver. The defining point is the slot vertical (if it’s there) after five yards. Holding the safety back might give a bust disguise look pre-snap. Of course, it helps if your safety is Earl Thomas in his prime.
As this X&O Labs article shows, the responsibility for the “alert” call into Palms could come from the playside safety in certain instances. We don’t know exactly how the miscommunication started in this case, but we sure know how it ended — with one of the easiest touchdowns Josh Allen will ever experience.
And if you really want to get into the weeds, here’s our friend Cody Alexander on “Palms.”. The 49ers might want to check it out.