Tag: Andy Reid

Super Bowl 54: The worst-case scenarios for the 49ers and Chiefs

How bad could it be? Well, pretty awful, it turns out.

You spend two weeks preparing like mad for the Super Bowl … and then in what seems like seconds, it all falls apart.

Remember last year, when the Los Angeles Rams and their supposedly vaunted offense got completely stuck in the mud against the New England Patriots? That wasn’t exactly how we predicted it would go down in last year’s edition of this post, where we imagine the worst-case scenarios for each Super Bowl team. But it was pretty nightmarish anyway.

So here’s another fictional ride into the maelstrom, enough to make each fan base freak out at whether this can come true or not.

Chiefs

“TAILS!”

Patrick Mahomes’ amphibian-with-an-edge voice resonates throughout Hard Rock Stadium, and the quarterback nails the coin toss. He flashes his “I’ve got this” smile to his teammates before strapping on his helmet … and he proceeds to go three-and-out, the last play a perfect laser to Tyreek Hill broken up by Richard Sherman, who gets right in Hill’s facemask and says some unprintable stuff.

It’s fine, right? Just one stalled-out drive, nothing to worry about.

But out comes Jimmy G, his glowing smile radiating from under his helmet. Raheem Mostert proceeds to take the offense down the field with seven incredible runs. Garoppolo throws exactly once, a little five-yard dink to George Kittle that the tight end turns into 12 by dragging five defenders on his broad shoulders.

Thirty minutes later, midway through the second, the Chiefs are down 17-0. Mahomes has side-armed, under-armed, thrown through his legs and run a failed option play, all for short or no yardage. Travis Kelce is clearly freaking out, with FOX running footage of him smashing his helmet on the bench after he’s gotten just one target.

“WE WERE HERE TWICE,” Mahomes screams during a timeout, the second one Andy Reid has burned before the two-minute warning. “REMEMBER 24-0? HOW DID WE FEEL? HOW BOUT 17-7? DID WE PANIC?”

Mahomes engineers a picture-perfect two-minute drill and heads to the locker room down just 10.

A field goal out of a long beginning-of-the-second-half drive gets the Niners to a 13-point lead, and that’s when Mahomes finally kicks into gear. He and Kelce finally connect, a beautifully-designed reverse to Hill goes for 37 yards, and Damien Williams catches three passes, including a touchdown. Suddenly, it’s a 20-14 game heading into the fourth quarter.

“Troy, it feels like this Chiefs team would rather give itself a hole to dig out of than to lead in these playoffs,” Joe Buck tells his longtime partner Troy Aikman in the booth.

The Chiefs defense wakes up and keeps Mostert and Tevin Coleman from going off. Frank Clark gets two huge third-down sacks. But Mahomes and the offense can’t seem to get a break. A pass goes off the normally-reliable hands of Kelce, and Mecole Hardman gets the rookie jitters and stops running on a deep route that he might have had a shot at.

But they’re still in it. With under three minutes to go, Mahomes has the ball at the Chiefs’ 9-yard line. The FOX cameras look over at Reid … and his mustache is starting to twitch. His pupils are dilating. Only Eagles and Chiefs fans know what’s about to happen.

Damien Williams runs for a few yards, the clock ticks. He catches a pass for a first down and there’s 2:07 on the clock, when the whistles blow.

“Time out, Kansas City. That’s their first,” referee Bill Vinovich announces.

“What?” Aikman exclaims. “They have the two-minute warning coming up!”

The camera cuts to Reid. Smoke is starting to come out of his ears.

A minute later, Mahomes throws to a wide-open Sammy Watkins, his first catch of the game, and the Chiefs are down to the 49ers’ 19-yard line. The offense takes some time to walk to the ball and Mahomes calls for a quick huddle. But then the whistles blow. Time out, Chiefs. The glare Mahomes sends toward the sideline is exactly the same one people direct toward him when they hear he puts ketchup on steak. It becomes a meme.

There’s 1:03 left. All the time in the world. But Reid calls for a throw to the end zone … and Mahomes is picked off by Sherman. Reid goes catatonic, and he’ll talk to the press mostly about winning the 1971 Punt, Pass and Kick competition the rest of the night.

49ers

It’s a slow start for San Francisco … but the same goes for the Chiefs, whose defense plays well. The first quarter ends 0-0. But Kyle Shanahan opens things up, and Raheem Mostert scores the first touchdown of the day.

Minutes later, it’s Jimmy Garoppolo to George Kittle, 14-0. With just over two minutes to go, Emmanuel Moseley picks off Patrick Mahomes … and he’s off to the races! It’s 21-0.

Shanahan jumps around, high-fiving his coaches and hugging his defense as they come off the field. But he stops in his tracks.

He hears a low, rumbling laugh.

“Uh, guys, did you hear that?” he asks into his headset.

“Hear what?” Curtis Modkins responds.

“That … laugh? Never mind.”

Shanahan shakes it off and runs into the locker room just after Harrison Butker kicks a field goal as the first half expires. It’s 21-3. He’s got to make sure the Niners don’t falter. The sequence of events, the positions of the touchdown scorers … something seems familiar about this whole situation.

In the middle of his rousing speech, he hears it again. Clearer.

“Hehehehehe.” It sounds like this:

He finds a way to ignore it.

“No quit, on three!” he yells as the Niners break it down and head out for the second half.

And they don’t quit early in the third quarter. Garoppolo drops back to pass and sees Tevin Coleman open and being chased by Reggie Ragland. It’s easy: he’s in. Touchdown.

“HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!”

The evil laughter drowns out the crowd noise at Hard Rock Stadium. It’s deafening to Shanahan. And as he looks up at the score, his stomach drops.

It’s 28-3.

He instantly recognizes the laughter in his ears. It’s Bill Belichick’s laugh. Shanahan is terrified. He sees Coleman heading toward him … and he’s in shock.

“You heard it too, didn’t you?”

Coleman nods.

Shanahan looks over at Garoppolo, who jogs over. He’s not smiling.

“Did you hear it?”

“You mean Tom Brady’s voice? Yeah, I’ve heard it since the beginning of the third quarter.”

Shanahan tries as he must to fight the dark side. But he can’t help it. The game slips away with every series as he tries to bleed precious seconds off the clock. First down, run, Second down, run. Third down … he can see Garoppolo’s shoulders slump as he directs the quarterback to hand the ball off.

Mahomes leads the Chiefs all the way back, the 49ers never score another point the rest of the night, and Williams gets a toss and runs in for the Super Bowl game-winner in overtime. Deja vu all over again.

Shanahan spends the rest of his night blindfolded, drawing new plays on a whiteboard in the coach’s room as if he’s back to being up 28-3. Every time he draws a running play, a drone gives him a little zap.

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Super Bowl 54: Why time management could be the biggest factor

If Super Bowl 54 comes down to the wire, Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan better fix their time management issues of the past

If Super Bowl 54 comes down to the wire, Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan better fix their time management issues of the past

Several with Giants connections among best coaches to never win a Super Bowl

Several former members of the New York Giants and others more loosely connected have been listed among the best coaches to never win it all.

The New York Giants have participated in five Super Bowls, winning four and there have been many players and coaches in sphere over the years that have been involved in countless others.

Touchdown Wire has compiled a list of the best coaches that have never won the Super Bowl and several of those names have Giant connections.

From our friend Doug Farrar:

Does a head coach need a Super Bowl win to be considered great? There are 20 head coaches in NFL history with at least 50 wins over the .500 mark in the regular season and the postseason. Only three — George Halas, Curly Lambeau, and Steve Owen — did not play their trade in the Super Bowl era (Okay, Halas retired as a head coach after the 1967 season, but we’ll give him a pass here).

Of the 17 remaining coaches on that list, five — Paul Brown, Andy Reid, Marty Schottenheimer, George Allen, and Bud Grant — never won a Super Bowl. Brown and Grant are in the Hall of Fame. Marv Levy, who finished his career 31 games over .500 and lost four Super Bowls as Grant did, is also in Canton.

A quick side note on Owen, who coached the Giants in the pre-merger, pre-Super Bowl days from 1931-53, the longest tenure of any New York Giants head coach (268 games). He has the most victories (151 – Tom Coughlin is second with 102) and won the NFL Championship in 1934 an 1938.

The only other coach mentioned above to never win the Super Bowl that actually coached the Giants was Reeves. He took the helm in 1993 and coached 64 games between then and 1996. He won the AP NFL Coach of the Year in ’93 with an 11-5 record, but the Giants got bounced out of the playoffs by the score of 44-3 by the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round that year.

That game was both Phil Simms’ and Lawrence Taylor’s last in the NFL and the last Giants’ playoff game for the next four years. Reeves went 9-7, 5-11 and 6-10 after that and was canned in favor of Jim Fassel in 1997.

Reeves was also on the other end of the Giants’ first Super Bowl victory as the head coach of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. Levy was their victim in Super Bowl XXV as head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

Other coaches with Giants’ connections: The Giants beat both Andy Reid and Dennis Green in 2000 on their way to Super Bowl XXV. John Fox was the Giants’ defensive coordinator under Jim Fassel and Marty Schottenheimer was a Giants’ defensive assistant in the mid-1970s.

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The Chiefs know what you think of their defense, and they’re tired of hearing it

The Chiefs come into Super Bowl LIV with a defense that is better than people think, and they’re ready to prove the doubters wrong.

It was just Tuesday of Super Bowl week, and Chiefs linebacker Reggie Ragland was already fed up with people questioning his team’s defense. When I spoke with him about several members of that defense, and Ragland mentioned that every one of them had a chip on their shoulder, I asked him about the collective chip, and where it came from.

“Oh, yeah. Because we were talked about… everyone was saying some of the worst things possible about this defense. And we just steadily kept running and fighting as a whole. People still want to count us out, to this day. That’s why we love each other, and why we’re so tight. Because we don’t care what anybody says about us.”

Well, they do. And the skepticism regarding Kansas City’s ability to stop Kyle Shanahan’s multi-faceted schemes in Super Bowl LIV is not entirely without merit. This was a team that suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship game when they couldn’t stop Bill Belichick’s crew from scoring the game-winning touchdown in overtime. New England converted three third-and-10 plays on that fateful drive, Patrick Mahomes never got a chance, to respond, and all of a sudden, the Chiefs were off on an off-season reset.

Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was fired, replaced by Steve Spagnuolo, perhaps best known as the guy who designed the defensive game plans that upset a historically great Patriots offense in Super Bowl XLII. Spagnuolo’s combinations of exotic pressures and interesting coverages were a balm to a Chiefs defense that was out-manned and out-schemed too often in 2018.

Not that things took off right away. Through the 2019 season’s first nine weeks, Kansas City allowed 14 touchdowns and had just six interceptions, though their seven dropped interceptions (tied with Cincinnati for the league lead) was a precursor of better things to come. Kansas City allowed 7.02 yards per attempt, and an opposing QBR of 90.50. Not the worst in the league in any of these departments, but hardly the kind of defense Spagnuolo or head coach Andy Reid wanted. Their opponent completion rate of 62.96% ranked 11th-best in the league.

But from Weeks 10-17, the Chiefs tied with the Ravens for the fewest passing touchdowns allowed with seven, and picked off 10 passes — tied with the Falcons, Browns, Colts, Saints, and Dolphins for the most in that span. They also had seven dropped picks in the second half of the season. Only the Steelers, Packers, and Ravens allowed a lower completion percentage than Kansas City’s 57.36%.

The Chiefs allowed 6.22 yards per attempt — only the Ravens, 49ers, and Steelers were better, and only the Steelers have allowed a lower QBR than Kansas City’s 68.72. The Chiefs’ defensive Positive Play Rate (the percentage of plays in which an opposing offense has Expected Points Added over zero) dropped from 46% to 42%.

Chiefs linebacker Reggie Ragland has made it clear: It’s time for people to respect his defense. {Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

Football Outsiders’ Weighted DVOA, which tracks a team’s opponent-adjusted efficiency through the entire season, but places higher weights on a team’s performance from Week 7 on, and amplifies it as the season goes along, has Kansas City’s defense with a corresponding uptick heading into the Super Bowl.

Yes, the Chiefs allowed the Texans to go up on them 24-0 in the divisional round, and then spotted the Titans 10 points to start the 2019 AFC Championship game, but not all of those disasters were on the defense, and Spagnuolo’s crew was able to shut it down when it counted. Now, they face a 49ers team that has hidden quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo through most of the playoffs, and presents a problem with their highly-effective running game for a defense that finished 29th against the run in Football Outsiders’ defensive metrics.

Defensive lineman Chris Jones, who will help to anchor the inside of Kansas City’s run defense — and generally does so at an elite level — shared Ragland’s awareness of, and animosity for, those who would doubt his efforts.

“I’ve had a chip on my shoulder since I came into this league,” said the four-year veteran, who made his first Pro Bowl in 2019. “That’s what gives me an edge, and what keeps me going. The doubters. The naysayers. The people who don’t believe. The critics. The analysts who say the Chiefs don’t have enough — that’s what keeps me going.”

If the 49ers aren’t taking Kansas City’s defense seriously, it sure doesn’t sound like it.

“I see a good defense,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk told me on Tuesday. “I see a good front seven. I have a ton of respect for their linebackers. Every one of those guys is a challenge in the run game. They’re all very good at taking on blocks, and that’s something I’m going to have to deal with. Also, a guy like Frank Clark can really… he can just change games. He’s very disruptive. And then, you look in the secondary with Tyrann Mathieu, who really plays everywhere. He’s almost a position-less player, because he plays in the nickel, he plays safety, he plays dime linebacker. He’s their chess piece on defense, so it really makes it tough to predict what kind of defensive personnel they’re in with him, because he can play so many of those different roles.”

For Spagnuolo, who was last seen in the NFL as the Giants’ defensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2017, the year off in 2018 was a time to recharge his batteries, spend his Mondays watching tape at NFL Films with NFL Matchup producer Greg Cosell, and getting a sense of how to make a modern defense go in different ways.

“It was quite the challenge, and yet very rewarding, being away from the game. It was an emotional challenge, but the reward was, you got a chance to sit back and see things big-picture. When you get in the middle of things, and you’re wrapped up in the week-to-week football, that’s your focus. When you’re out of it, you can see the game of football [in a different way]. I was living outside of Philadelphia, so it was a 40-minute drive to NFL Films. I had access to all the games, and I chose to study things I maybe didn’t get a chance to do. My background is mostly in coaching linebackers and defensive backs, so I spent a lot of time looking at the defensive line.

“And a lot of it was situational football — looking at teams that are really good on third down, really good in red zone. I just took a bunch of notes, and accumulated a lot of knowledge. So, when I got the chance that I did, I would be able to share that film with the players and the coaches. So, that’s been a real asset, that library of film.”

So, when Spagnuolo took over Kansas City’s defense, it wasn’t just about acquiring high-ticket players like Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu — it was also about creating the best opportunities for existing players to succeed — something that had not always been done on Sutton’s watch.

“He’s put guys in the right positions to make plays,” Ragland said of Spagnuolo. “He’s found everybody a role so they can make plays. Small role, or a big role. Like blitzing with me at times, and putting me in coverage at times, he made me a better player this year by doing that. He just put us in positions to be successful.”

For Spagnuolo, that was a fairly easy call.

“We came in with an initial system, because you’ve got to begin somewhere,” the coach recalled. “That’s your foundation and your beginning. And you slot the guys where you think they best fit. But you find that it takes being in the heat of the battle – in the game – to find out where the guys fit.

“Reggie was a really good example, and it’s a credit to Reggie, too. People thought Reggie was slotted as a MIKE linebacker. It’s what he did at Alabama. He could have done that for us, too, but it was apparent to us that Anthony Hitchens fit that a little better. And Reggie, going back to Alabama film and looking at things he’d done for us, had a unique ability to do things as a pass-rusher. I didn’t know that coming here, but we figured it out as we went along.

“If you go back and watch Alabama tape, they did that with him. We recognized that, he embraced it, and we’ve been able to do that along the way. It’s helped us.”

Spagnuolo said that while it’s not one player who’s primarily responsible for the defensive turnaround, it’s hard not to cite Mathieu, signed in the offseason after he was cut by the Cardinals in March, 2018 when he wouldn’t take a pay cut, and then spent a season with the Texans. One more guy with a chip on his shoulder, but as Spagnuolo pointed out, Mathieu has used his past to bring a formidable football ethic to the conversation.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has created an environment in which every defensive player can strive to his full potential. Tyrann Mathieu (No. 32) leads the way. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

“To me, it’s his elite competitiveness and his desire for perfection. If he makes a mistake, you’re gonna know he’s made a mistake because he’ll let you know. He’ll get frustrated, and want to repeat it [the play], and ask if we can do that again until we get it right. I think that’s the mark of any professional, no matter what business you’re in – somebody who strives to be perfect. There can be a downside to that, but for him, all the other guys recognize that he wants to do it right,

“I don’t think it’s one player, one coach, or one anybody. But one guy can have an effect on every other guy, and when they start to elevate what they’re doing, it permeates, and it just goes like that. It’s the ripple effect, and I think Tyrann has that. But I don’t think it was any one guy. I credit the guys who were here a year ago, went through that tough loss, and being that close, and then embracing the newness.”

The newness of the Chiefs’ defensive improvement, as undersold as it has been, is something Chris Jones would like you all to know about. When I asked him if his defense was about to shock the world, he looked at me with an intensity that would make any quarterback nervous, and said definitively:

“We will.”

From the coaches on down, Kansas City’s defense believes together. The players I’ve talked to are far more comfortable talking about others then themselves. And the extent to which they’ve been downplayed, when the statistics and tape in the second half of the season tells a different story, has made for a whole lot of irritated Chiefs.

Touchdown Wire editor Doug Farrar previously covered football for Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, the Washington Post, and Football Outsiders. His first book, “The Genius of Desperation,” a schematic history of professional football, was published by Triumph Books in 2018 and won the Professional Football Researchers Association’s Nelson Ross Award for “Outstanding recent achievement in pro football research and historiography.”

Andy Reid calls getting booed in Philadelphia ‘a badge of honor’

“I loved my time in Philadelphia.”

Andy Reid has the Kansas City Chiefs back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years and a win on Sunday would make him beloved by fans who have been dying for this opportunity to have their team win a championship.

Reid, of course, spent 14 seasons as a head coach in another passionate sports town, which hasn’t been lost him. His long run with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he brought them to one Super Bowl but fell short of taking home the Lombardi Trophy, hasn’t been lost on him to this day.

Reid has been the head coach in Kansas City for seven seasons, but he’s still thought of in Philadelphia and has fans there cheering for him to win it all on Sunday. One popular sports radio station is even having an “Andy Reid Day” on Thursday.

Reid spoke Wednesday about how he used to get booed sometimes in Philly, calling that a “badge of of honor,” and how he loved his time in Philadelphia.

Reid continues to be one of the biggest stars of Super Bowl week.

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Super Bowl 54: 7 bold predictions for the Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. It doesn’t feel like they will win Super Bowl LIV.

The Kansas City Chiefs look to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years when they face the San Francisco 49ers at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium Sunday. The bold preditions are on tap:

The Chiefs will score first

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City has fallen behind by double digits in each of its first two playoff games. If that happens in the Super Bowl, don’t expect a repeat of Kansas City’s Kardiac Kids. Patrick Mahomes will get the Chiefs in gear and they will be the team to first take a 0 off the scoreboard.

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Super Bowl LIV Prop Betting: Which team will score first?

Analyzing the sports betting odds and chance of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs to record the first score of Super Bowl LIV.

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The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers meet in Super Bowl LIV Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Below, we look at which team is most likely to score first, based on the sports betting odds and lines at BetMGM for Super Bowl LIV.

Here at SportsbookWire, we have you covered for all your prop betting needs for the big game.

Which team will record the first score of Super Bowl LIV? (Including overtime, conversions do not count)

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 4:40 p.m. ET.

With both the 49ers (-106) and Chiefs (-115) averaging at least 28 points per contest to rank among the league’s top-five scoring offenses during the regular season, and the game’s Over/Under total being set at 54.5, we’d best start right from the beginning.

Both the 49ers and Chiefs rank among the league’s best in terms of first-quarter scoring, with San Francisco averaging 6.7 points (third overall, including the postseason) and Kansas City averaging 5.4 first-quarter points per game (10th).

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Getting even more specific, the 49ers and Chiefs also ranked among the league’s best in terms of first-drive scores during the regular season. The Niners scoring on 10 of their 16 opening possessions (six touchdowns and four field goals). The Chiefs scored on nine of 16 opening drives (seven TDs and two field goals). The 49ers scored a first-quarter TD in each of their two NFC playoff games, with one coming on the opening possession. The Chiefs have scored a total of seven first-quarter points in their two playoff contests with no opening-possession points.

Defensively, both Big Game combatants owned top-10 scoring defenses during the regular season. The Chiefs allowed 19.3 points per game to rank a shade higher than the Niners (19.4). During the playoffs, Kansas City is allowing an average of 25.5 points while the boys from the Bay Area have limited foes to 15 points per outing.

(Photo Credit: Cary Edmondson – USA TODAY Sports)

In the first quarter this season (including the playoffs), the Niners are allowing 4.1 points per contest (11th-fewest in the league) while the Chiefs are surrendering 6.2 (28th). In its two playoff contests, the Chiefs have been outscored 31-7 in the first quarter while San Francisco owns a 14-7 advantage.

On opening defensive possessions, the Chiefs have surrendered scores in 10 of 18 games, allowing six TDs and four field goals. The Niners, meanwhile, have given up points on only six of 18 opening possessions (four TDs and two FGs) for the opposing offense.

Our best bet: 49ers (-106)

Going by the just-digested numbers, we have to give the edge to the Niners, who not only have been more productive offensively early in games – a nod to some strong opening scripts by head coach Kyle Shanahan, arguably the game’s best play-caller – but they have been stingier defensively as well, particularly in the postseason. The Chiefs have dug themselves early-double-digit deficits in each of their two contests.

Strangely, though, Kansas City is the slight favorite here, with bettors having to pay a little more juice when siding with the formidable offensive duo of QB Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.

Everything considered, however, it’s not wise to wager too much either way on this prop as the winning side may simply be determined by the coin toss and which team takes possession first.

Still, if you must have action here, play the percentages and give the nod to the Niners striking first on the scoreboard in South Beach.

Also see:

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Redskins’ Alex Smith credited for setting example for Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes

According to Chiefs HC Andy Reid, Smith played a big part in mentoring QB Patrick Mahomes in his rookie season, teaching him how to be a pro.

The Washington Redskins can glean a lot from the two teams who are competing in the Super Bowl in Miami this weekend, and they are actually on a similar path to one of the teams.

Between the two quarterbacks set to take the field on Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is among the greatest talents in the NFL. His rise with the Chiefs has been historic, and part of it can be accredited to the coaching staff and mentors that he had around him in his early years. Among those voices in his corner was Alex Smith, who is now occupying a similar role with the Redskins. Just as he helped to mentor Mahomes during his rookie year in the NFL, Smith has been able to give the same attention to Dwayne Haskins in Washington.

There is no evidence yet that Haskins will eventually turn into a Mahomes-level talent, but it’s encouraging to know that a man who has been near the Chiefs’ young franchise quarterback for all of his career attributes some of his success to Smith’s teaching. Now the Redskins hopeful franchise quarterback will be subjected to the same lessons and the same motivation. If you’re a fan, that’s got to make you happy.

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Super Bowl 54 Strategy Guide: Breaking down the Kansas City Chiefs

A comprehensive look at how the Chiefs play.

Andy Reid is in the Super Bowl again, but this time the future Hall of Famer has a dynamic offense filled with capable skill players at his disposal. Oh, and a quarterback who effortlessly makes every throw. (Also, Reid doesn’t have to scheme against Bill Belichick, which is nice for him.)

Reid has been one of the league’s top offensive minds for nearly three decades now, consistently finding ways to move the ball even when his players aren’t better than the ones on defense. We’ve always wondered what he’d do with the right pieces … and now we know.

We decided to take a look at how Reid’s offense works, and the results aren’t all that surprising: the offense can be somewhat predictable, but the Chiefs are relentlessly efficient doing what they do.

On defense, a series of changes brought on when Reid hired a new defensive coordinator helped fix a leaky secondary.

Here’s a detailed look at the Chief’s plans and personnel on offense and defense as they prepare to take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54.

(All statistics from Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted.)

CHIEFS OFFENSE

Andy Reid hasn’t played with his personnel groupings this season as often as he has in the past. You can pretty much count on Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams to be out on the field every snap with Mecole Hardman, DeMarcus Robinson or backup TE Blake Bell filling the remaining skill player spot. On the rare occasion when the Chiefs have two backs on the field, they are one of the more run-heavy teams in the league — but they are deadly when they do pass out of those looks.

Kansas City does a little bit of everything in the passing game and they do so at a hyper-efficient level. Patrick Mahomes takes deep drops (five to seven steps) with no play action at one of the highest rates in the league, and it’s easy to see why Reid has called so many of those plays with the Chiefs averaging 0.44 Expected Points Added per dropback.

Reid is always looking for ways to create downfield opportunities for his star receivers. He leans heavily on the old “all go” concept to do so. The veteran coach has several different variations of the concept but this one, with Kelce running a crossing route from the backside, shows up on tape the most.

With attention on Kelce, Hill is left with a one-on-one in the slot that he easily wins before hauling in an easy touchdown pass from Mahomes. Depending on the coverage tendencies of the defense, Hill will sometimes run the deep over route, where he can use his speed to outrun, well, basically anyone in the league.

With all of the speed he has at his disposal, Reid loves him some deep crossing routes, which test the long speed of opposing defenders. There are countless route combinations that feature a deep crosser in the Chiefs’ playbook, including the old Air Raid staple “Y-Cross.”

The vertical route by the lone receiver takes the top off the coverage, while the gravity of Hill’s shallow crosser creates a nice window for Kelce to run into. With all the star power the Cheifs have in their receiving corps, it’s basically impossible to hone in one target. It helps having a quarterback who can get the ball anywhere on a football field.

While Kansas City’s pass game has layers to it, the run game isn’t all that complicated. The Chiefs will pull a guard every now and then but they are mostly a zone-blocking team, especially when there is a second tight end or running back on the field. In spread sets, Reid will call more man blocking runs.

The Chiefs’ menu of run calls is mostly made up of outside zone and inside zone. Reid will attach RPOs to give Mahomes an option to throw a quick pass if the defense is loading up against the run. He has several different concepts he’ll pair with his runs, including a bubble screen on the backside of outside zone.

Reid will also employ downfield RPOs. Those are typically quick slants or stick routes. Here the Cheifs have married an inside zone run with a stick concept to Mahomes’ right.

When Mahomes was still nursing a knee injury and defenses could get away with playing more man coverage, the effectiveness of these RPOs was limited. But now that Mahomes is capable of scrambling, the Chiefs are seeing more zone coverages, which is what RPO offenses want to see.

All-pro Mitchell Schwartz is the lone star on a solid Chiefs offensive line. Eric Fisher is a dependable blindside protector on the left side, but he isn’t dominant in either phase of the game. The interior has struggled in the run game, which explains why Kansas City’s ground game has not been efficient this season after ranking near the top of the NFL in 2018. But the guards and center have been able to keep the pocket clean for Mahomes, which is far more important.

CHIEFS DEFENSE

The Chiefs play dime (six defensive backs) more than any team in the league. In general, they do not match personnel. They’ll go light most of the time, fielding at least five defensive backs against two-receiver sets and fielding six against three-receiver sets. As you can see in the efficiency numbers, Kansas City is sacrificing its run defense in order to stop the pass. Opponents are averaging -0.24 EPA per drop back against the Chiefs’ dime sets but adding an average of 0.18 per play on the ground.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo isn’t married to one family of pass coverages. The Chiefs mostly play Cover 3 with match principles but they are not afraid to play man coverage despite fielding a less than stellar group of coverage players — outside of do-it-all star Tyrann Mathieu, that is.

The season-ending injury to standout rookie safety Juan Thornhill forced the Chiefs to shuffle their secondary. Cornerback Kendall Fuller took Thornhill’s spot at the back of the defense. Mathieu is almost exclusively playing in the slot, though he will sometimes drop deep and play at a traditional safety spot. Daniel Sorensen, who had been playing as a dime linebacker, has had to drop deep more often with Thornhill out.

The Chiefs have defended the pass well but their cornerbacks are a major concern. Bashaud Breeland has been a liability while Charvarius Ward has been solid at best. Rookie Rashad Fenton has received more playing time of late and has looked good in coverage. He broke up a would-be touchdown pass in the AFC title game while isolated in coverage.

Kansas City’s cornerback group may be a concern, but it’s far from the biggest one heading into a matchup with the 49ers. Kyle Shanahan has been known to pick on linebackers who struggle in coverage. Well, he has three to choose from here. Reggie Ragland earned the highest coverage grade from PFF this season, but he hardly plays with the Cheifs employing so much nickel and dime. On obvious pass downs, Spagnuolo will call on reserve linebacker Ben Niemann, who is the best of Kansas City’s linebackers in coverage.

As bad as the Chiefs linebackers are in coverage, they’re not much better against the run. Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson struggle to beat blockers and make tackles near the line of scrimmage. That could be an issue against the 49ers run game.

If San Francisco does enjoy early success on the ground, look for backup defensive tackle Mike Pennel to get more playing time than Derrick Nnadi, who can get pushed around at times.

Pass rush depth is a concern. Outside of Chris Jones, the Chiefs don’t have a player capable of putting consistent pressure on the pocket. Frank Clark has played well at times but has been inconsistent during his first season in Kansas City. Tanoh Kpassagnon has the potential to develop into a good edge rusher but he’s not there yet. And Terrell Suggs, while still productive, is a million years old and is mostly playing on passing downs. When he’s on the field, Kpassagnon kicks inside to defensive tackle alongside Jones.

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Chiefs show love for coach Andy Reid in floral shirts, Air Force 1s at beginning of Super Bowl week

Andy Reid sported a suit arriving in Miami Sunday, but Monday night was in his signature floral print.

Andy Reid sported a suit arriving in Miami Sunday, but Monday night was in his signature floral print.