Blocking, or the inability to, was the defining story of Super Bowl LV. It’s not a profound thing to learn about the game of football, but it was startling that even the great Patrick Mahomes could almost look like a mere mortal against the Buccaneers.
It wasn’t just that the Chiefs were physically outmatched as their patchwork offensive line took on the Bucs front seven, but they were schematically outmatched too. Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles knew that the Chiefs offensive line didn’t have much time playing or practicing together, so he got a little creative with the ways that he attacked them.
Mahomes still put together a Herculean effort that featured multiple insane throws under duress, but the Chiefs receivers weren’t able to haul them in.
One of the first blitzes that Bowles used to attack the Chiefs was a double cornerback blitz that left Mahomes scrambling and trying to find a receiver deep down the field.
To be fair to the Chiefs, this would be a pretty hard block to pick up even for a veteran offensive line with hundreds of snaps together. An offensive line that was missing both starting tackles and the left guard from Kansas City’s Week 1 lineup simply had no chance.
Bowles deployed overload fronts, which is usually three or more rushers on one side of the line of scrimmage, and ran twists and games to free up rushers to rattle Mahomes. Shaq Barrett is tough to block by himself, but getting him an unblocked pressure just isn’t fair to the Chiefs offense.
The Bucs also stacked the offensive line with five man fronts featuring inside linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White over the offensive guards. David and White have the athleticism and range to blitz and cover, which puts a lot of stress on the offensive line. Prior to the snap, the offensive line can only guess whether or not they’re going to drop into coverage or blitz.
Early in the game, David ended up dropping into coverage on one of these five-man blitzes while White ran a twist with pass rusher Anthony Nelson. Nelson was a little clumsy on the play, but his twist with White confused the Chiefs offensive line just enough where he could get into the backfield and disrupt Mahomes — who still somehow managed to make a perfect throw.
When the Bucs weren’t playing games with the Chiefs offensive line, they were just beating them down. There was a severe talent disadvantage for the Chiefs offensive line. Mike Remmers, the Chiefs left tackle for the game, struggled immensely.
Barrett was able to get past him for a sack.
Vita Vea, a 350 pound nose tackle, was able to bully him into the backfield.
And Jason Pierre-Paul was able to get past Remmers with ease.
The Chiefs caught a string of bad luck with their offensive line injuries and the Bucs capitalized. The injury to Eric Fisher was the one the Chiefs simply could not overcome after so many other changes. This game, then, is not a grandiose statement on the quality of Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, or Eric Bienemy.
Bad injury luck caught up to the them. The game is the game.
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