Tag: Chiefs offense

Matt Nagy explains the evolution of Chiefs’ deep passing game

#Chiefs OC Matt Nagy told reporters about the evolution of Kansas City’s deep-passing game during a press conference this week.

2023 was an abnormal year for the Kansas City Chiefs offense and Patrick Mahomes, who struggled to connect with receivers deep down the field.

During a media availability session on Thursday, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy spoke to reporters about the effort that Kansas City’s coaching staff put in to develop more explosive plays for Mahomes and his speedy new pass-catchers.

When asked about the deep ball specifically, Nagy explained that he and his staff have made a point to innovate and rethink their approach.

“There was quite a bit,” Nagy said about his work on the deep passing game.  “It’s a unique question because we always try to go into every year with that mindset. You want to have the initiative to be great at that and practice it from day one. We’ve had some success early on, we’ve got to keep it going, but it’s a mindset.”

Over the past few seasons, defenses have been playing deeper coverage against the Chiefs, causing Mahomes to throw more underneath routes and drive more methodically down the field.

Nagy acknowledged the strategy, but made it clear that he wants Mahomes and the rest of his offense to be cautiously aggressive against deeper coverages.

“I think we’ve seen an evolution – not just against the Chiefs in recent years but also the NFL in general – the deep shots aren’t there as much,” Nagy continued. “[We] just [want to have] that balance of being able to… have that touchdown to check-down mentality, but be smart with when we do take those shots.”

The explosive passing attack was almost non-existent for the Kansas City’s offense last season, as the Chiefs’ receivers struggled to create separation down the field.

With the additions of Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy, Mahomes should have ample opportunities to challenge opposing defenses.

Patrick Mahomes, Trent McDuffie excited about Chiefs’ new-look offense

Patrick Mahomes and Trent McDuffie both commented on the renaissance of the deep ball at practices during the #Chiefs’ OTAs.

During the 2024 offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs added speed to their offense, which was desperate for a dependable weapon to take the top off of opposing defenses.

By signing veteran Marquise Brown in free agency and selecting Xavier Worthy in the NFL draft, general manager Brett Veach seems to have solved Kansas City’s offensive woes, at least on paper.

During organized team activities this week, the unit has shown its confidence in the deep ball. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and cornerback Trent McDuffie both told reporters that the Chiefs’ offense is looking more explosive during their media availability sessions on Wednesday.

“I think y’all saw today we tried to throw a few more deep passes, get back to the deep game,” Mahomes explained. “I think we’ve done a great job of mastering the intermediate and short stuff, but we want to get back to having that part of the offense as well. [Head] Coach [Andy Reid] is really pushing us to push it down the field – it’s hard to do against our defense but we’re trying to make it happen.”

McDuffie echoed these comments, emphasizing how often Mahomes is looking to take shots down the field.

“Man, [the offense] is rolling,” Mcduffie said. “Y’all saw today, Pat [Mahomes] is just back there throwing it deep play after play.”

Kansas City’s offense was tough to watch and lifeless at times last season, and there were instances when it seemed that Mahomes lacked confidence in some of his counterparts.

Mahomes and the rest of the offense are focused on flipping that narrative this season, which has been evident through the first few days of practice.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes ‘extremely confident’ ahead of matchup vs. Dolphins

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes told reporters that he is “extremely confident” ahead of Kansas City’s playoff matchup against the Dolphins.

It is no secret that the Kansas City Chiefs offense must play better if the team intends to go on a deep playoff run.

While speaking with the media on Tuesday, Patrick Mahomes expressed his confidence in the unit and told reporters that he believes that the adversity he and his teammates faced during the regular season will serve them well.

“I’m extremely confident,” Mahomes explained. “Not only in our offense but in our football team. You see how the defense is playing, offensively I feel like we’re going to play our best football at the right time. I think if we can just score – we don’t have to score too many points. If we can just score enough points our defense will shut the door and we can find a way to get the win.”

Kansas City’s offense has had its share of struggles throughout the season, but the 28-year-old quarterback feels that those learning moments have helped the Chiefs become a better team.

“We play in a lot of big games, playing games on short rest, we play in night games, whatever it is,” Mahomes continued. “I think just having that experience is going to help us. Having those games where not everything is going your way, and you have to find a way to pull through and get a win. Just being able to rely on our experiences and go out there and be the best team we can be and play our best football and see what happens.”

As Mahomes alluded to in his press conference, if the Chiefs offense can just score enough points, they should be able to find a way to win on Saturday night. The Chiefs are undefeated this season when scoring 21 or more points.

Super Bowl LVII: How the Eagles cornerbacks can limit the Chiefs’ passing game

How can the Eagles’ outstanding cornerbacks best counter the Chiefs’ passing game in Super Bowl LVII? Laurie Fitzpatrick goes to the tape.

There is a reason why the Philadelphia Eagles are considered to have a shutdown defense. Behind their pass rush, they have arguably the best secondary in the NFL. Most successful defenses are anchored by cornerbacks on the outside.

They went from having the12th ranked pass defense DVOA (3.6%) in weeks 10-14, to the 4th ranked (-25.4%) from week 15 through the NFC Championship game. In their last three games, they’ve had the highest score differential in the league, at +20.3.

Their cornerbacks are a big reason for this!

In matchups including Brandon Aiyuk, Justin Jefferson, Terry McLaurin and in their last matchup against Darius Slayton, the Eagles’ cornerbacks have only allowed eleven receptions for 138 yards.

Let’s dive into the film and see how the Eagles might plan to defend Patrick Mahomes and limit the Kansas City Chiefs high-flying offense.

How the Bengals’ defense stumped Patrick Mahomes with disguises and switches

Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick dives into the Bengals defensive film from the AFC Championship.

On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense made some subtle adjustments that completely changed the outcome of the AFC Championship. What made their performance so fun to watch was the number of different looks and coverages defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s squad used to defend the Chiefs’ usually explosive offense; Cover 1, Cover 3, Inverted Tampa-2. They dropped eight defenders into coverage, used spies and brackets, while rushing three, four and five.

These subtle differences in critical situations forced Patrick Mahomes to look for different receivers deep, which ended up being his ultimate demise.

“They just had a spy on me for the most part,” Mahomes said after the Chiefs’ 27-24 loss. “I usually do a good job of getting around that guy, but they had a good game plan. They were doing a lot of similar stuff in the first half. We were just executing at a higher level, and they stayed with it. They fought and that’s a good football team, but it takes a lot of fight to stay in a game whenever you’re down like that, but I’ve got to be better. When you’re up 21-3 at one point in the game, you can’t lose it. I put that on myself.”

The Bengals dared the Chiefs to run the ball on several third downs, but knowing Andy Reid, and a rushing attack being his Achilles heel, it’s just one thing the Bengals knew he wouldn’t do. So as the Chiefs played a one-dimensional offense, which made it easier for the Bengals to adjust against the pass. They made subtle changes that rattled Mahomes, such as the switches, spot drops and brackets which made him second guess his open windows.

Mahomes can’t be the grim reaper if the Bengals’ defense refuses to die!

A pre-snap read for a quarterback is everything, so mixing up the looks on defense was key for the Bengals. Not only did they switch the number of safeties over the top, but they also disguised their zone and man coverages, which kept Mahomes guessing.

On the clip above, the Bengals switched from a two-high safety look to only one safety. This put more defenders in the middle of the field to clump up the mesh crossers concept, which the Chiefs run often.

Once Mahomes saw the switch pre-snap, he was forced to go through all of his reads, and that resulted in a scramble sack.

The Twitter world was convinced that the Bengals made these switches at the half, when really, these were things they did throughout the whole entire game.

In the second quarter, the Bengals inverted the previous look — this time, they dropped the two defensive backs deep and had the deep safety step up to the middle of the field defending the hi-lo routes. This play resulted in a checkdown from Mahomes.

Not only did the defensive backs disguise their deep coverage, but also on the backside of the trips (bottom of screen) the Bengals’ corner lined up in press coverage which disguised their zone. This happened several times throughout the game.

In the clip below, we see it again against Tyreek Hill, who is lined up in the slot and also against Travis Kelce who is in motion. Cincinnati’s defenders don’t follow them upfield.

Right as Mahomes drops back into the pocket, he expects Hill to have beaten his man one-on-one. But right as Hill reaches the top of his route, middle linebacker Logan Wilson and the Safety Vonn Bell both step up into the lane, forcing Mahomes to throw it to the flat.

When the Chiefs came out in trips, the Bengals did a great job clogging the middle of the field with safety, no. 24, Vonn Bell. The backside safety would step up; this tool is called “stubbie”. Which I learned from Coach Vass while tuning into his YouTube channel, Coach Vass Football, where he breaks down in detail NFL games after each week. Also check out his Make Defense Great Again Podcast.

These subtle adjustments made in the secondary were often when number one receiver, Hill or number two, Kelce were running vertical.

On the very next play, we can see it is used again which helps the defensive line get a sack.

“Stubbie” often isolated other players on the outside. Unfortunately, Mahomes never looked their way. which caused his offense to suffer as they punted the ball four times in the second half.

Instead of the Bengals ditching their gameplan, as they were down by eleven, they just became more physical and focused on communication. This is when the defense really started to gain the momentum.

Before the half came to a close, the Chiefs lined up with two receivers to the short side of the field. Once the ball was snapped, they both crossed each other which often is referred to as a pick or rub route.

In order for the Bengals defense to not get sucked into a collision, the cornerback Eli Apple makes a critical switch, picking up Hill as he runs across the line of scrimmage.

This was one of the plays that was a turning point of the game.

Later on, the Bengals defense avoided another clash at the line of scrimmage because of communication. At the bottom right-hand side, No. 21 and No, 22 are behind one another at the line of scrimmage. Instead of calling a switch if the receivers cross, one defender steps up and jams at the line of scrimmage, making a clear lane for nickel cornerback, Mike Hilton, to keep up with his receiver in the flat.

What makes this defensive play call so interesting is the Bengals actually drop eight guys as Mahomes scrambles to try and find a open man.

The Bengals did this a few times in the red zone. On the very next play of the game, the defense had a Tampa-2 look as linebacker Logan Wilson dropped into coverage.

As the Chiefs ran an empty formation, the communication by the Bengals had to be seamless. This was really where they played their best ball.

The key was to bracket Kelce and Hill with two defenders each, and force Mahomes to look for other guys.

By the end of the game, Mahomes looked defeated. The Chiefs made several questionable play calls throughout the day. They called back-to-back screens after the first one was intercepted by a lineman, and then in overtime, the offense came out with 12 personnel on third-and-10. The Chiefs just didn’t know how to adjust.

All the switches, disguises, brackets, and spot drops became too much for Mahomes. The longer he held onto the ball, the chances were raised for the pass rush to get home.

The game plan wasn’t a simple one and the defensive backs nearly played a perfect game. This was the primary reason the Bengals were able to move onto Super Bowl LVI.

Chargers DB Derwin James key to erasing Chiefs TE Travis Kelce

Derwin James is one of the very few players who can cover Travis Kelce effectively on a snap to snap basis.

If the Chargers want to come out of Week 3 with a win, eliminating the passing attack of the Chiefs takes top priority.

Among quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ slew of big-play weapons capable of taking over the game is tight end Travis Kelce.

Through two games, Kelce is leading all players at his position in receiving yards (185) and is second in touchdowns (3).

While Los Angeles has been stout against opposing tight ends thus far in the season, Kelce is a different breed who will require plenty of attention.

Therefore, the team will be banking on safety Derwin James to blanket him, just like he did when the Chargers made that great comeback in 2018, in which he limited Kelce to two catches for a measly two yards.

The season after, James held Kelce to just one reception for six yards.

Since James was out the entire 2020 season with an injury, he didn’t get the opportunity to match-up against Kelce, but his presence was greatly missed after Los Angeles surrendered 90 yards and a score on nine catches.

Kelce is a huge body who can make big plays and extend drives, which is why someone who has the movement skills and cover awareness of James is key to slowing him down.

Having James shadow Kelce as opposed to double covering him will allow L.A. to bracket the speedy Tyreek Hill with multiple defenders to minimize him from taking command with his top-tier short-area quickness and long speed.

Expect the Chargers to play a great deal of dime defense (six defensive backs) to prevent explosive plays from occurring. If they can do so, Los Angeles will have a great chance of taking out Kansas City in front of their home crowd for the second week in a row.

Patrick Mahomes wants to be even better. Here’s how it’ll happen in 2021

Patrick Mahomes has vowed to eliminate his problems in the pocket under pressure. Good luck, defensive coordinators.

Since he became the Chiefs’ full-on starting quarterback in 2018, Patrick Mahomes ranks fifth in the NFL in passing attempts (1,652). sixth in completions (1,092), second to only Matt Ryan in passing yards (13,868), and first in passing touchdowns — 114. and Russell Wilson is second with 106. Mahomes has been a big play waiting impatiently to flip the switch since he met the NFL head-on, and it’s tough to come up with other quarterbacks who have been as dynamic or effective in their first three full seasons.

But as Mahomes recently told Kevin Clark of The Ringer, he is looking for more, and the improvements he seeks seem to be a refutation of one of the things that makes him so spectacular — the ability to create plays outside of structure. There was no greater (though unsuccessful) example than this pass he tried to complete in the Chiefs’ 31-9 loss to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Down by that same score in the fourth quarter, and desperately trying to make anything happen, Mahomes defied gravity after breaking the pocket, and made a miracle throw that fell incomplete against a brilliantly-designed Bucs defense that was able to generate consistent pressure, and still solve all problems in coverage.

After this throw, you can see it on Mahomes’ face: “I have now done this miracle [expletive] to the highest level any human possibly can, and there are times when even the miracle [expletive] doesn’t work.”

Mahomes was pressured a Super Bowl-record 26 times on 56 dropbacks, completing nine of 26 passes for 78 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 27.4. When he left the pocket under pressure in that game, Mahomes completed two of 10 passes for 10 yards, minus-5 air yards, his one interception, and a passer rating of 0.0. He would have been much better off hurling the ball into Section 250 over and over than doing what he did.

Thus, an offseason in which the Chiefs completely redefined their offensive line (there is not one projected starter who was a starter last season), and a sea change in Mahomes’ philosophy.

“I kind of get back to that backyard-style football a little bit too much,” Mahomes told Clark. “And you could definitely see that in the Super Bowl. I mean, there were times that pockets were clean and I was still scrambling,”

This was true, and it happened right from the start. It was as if Mahomes went into the Super Bowl estimating that his depleted offensive line would be overwhelmed by Tampa Bay’s excellent pass rush, and reacted accordingly from the first play.

“I’ve been going back [working] on that,” Mahomes continued. “Making sure that I trust the guys around me and trust the pocket, make the read within the pocket, and not try to make the big play happen.”

The problem with the miracle [expletive], even when practiced by such a dangerous purveyor as Mahomes, is that you can’t build an entire passing game out of it. Quarterbacks still have to win in the pocket under pressure, and that’s just as true now as it was for Sammy Baugh, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning. Whether you’re mobile or not, and capable of creating magic out of havoc or not, that’s the frosting. What you do in the pocket is the cake.

It’s not that Mahomes was terrible from the pocket last season — quite the opposite. Including the postseason, per Sports Info Solutions, he attempted 545 passes from the pocket, completing 379 for 4,499 air yards, 2,091 air yards, 26 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 110.4. But in the pocket with pressure added? That’s where things got dicey. In those instances, Mahomes completed 71 of 141 passes for 832 471 air yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 78.4.

You may argue the point that most quarterbacks are far less efficient in the pocket under pressure, but that’s not always the case, and certainly not always to that degree. Russell Wilson had a 101.8 passer rating in such instances. Kirk Cousins? 104.7. Matthew Stafford? 96.8. Chargers rookie passer Justin Herbert completed 94 of 157 passes under pressure from the pocket for 1,203 yards, 664 air yards, eight touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 102.3.

As Mahomes’ team faces Herbert’s team twice a season, Mahomes had a front-row seat to stuff like this. In Week 17, Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr. motioned from right to left pre-snap, made himself available for the backside quick read, and watch how Herbert moved around to avoid pressure, made an off-platform throw, but stayed (just barely) in the pocket as opposed to bailing and having to re-set everything.

Again, folks, this is a rookie.

Now. Mahomes did have reasons to believe in his ability to create artistry outside the pocket. So, let’s not throw this out entirely. Under pressure outside the pocket last season, he completed 43 of 94 passes for 568 yards, 392 air yards, seven touchdowns (the most in the NFL), one interception, and a passer rating of 101.8. Mahomes is able to create shot plays out of chaos consistently because he’s a brilliant on-the-run passer, and his offense is set up for big plays outside of structure. So, it would be easy enough for Mahomes to stand on all that and say, “This is who I am — like or lump it, take it down the road and dump it.” The fact that he has no interest in doing so is an encouraging sign for a player who is already slamming previous quarterback performance marks against the wall.

And it’s not like you want to eliminate this kind of wizardry when your quarterback can actually pull it off.

Mahomes mentioned to Clark what he’s trying to learn from Tom Brady, the winning quarterback in that Super Bowl. It’s relevant, because while nobody will ever mistake Brady for Michael Vick, Brady is the best in-the-pocket mover in NFL history — capable of ripping defenses to bits under pressure by employing subtle and correct movement in the pocket and keep everything in front of him. In Brady’s case, it’s made him vulnerable to interior pressure right in his face, but it’s easy to see Mahomes imagining what he could be with his already-established gifts, AND the ability to dance in the box.

“The way he’s able to move within the pocket and find those lanes and still make those big time throws downfield is something that I think I need to get better at and something that I need to continue to grow with. And so that’s definitely one thing I take from him.”

Mahomes also mentioned Aaron Rodgers as an evolutionary example, and Rodgers provides perhaps the ultimate paradigm for Mahomes. Rodgers has become an amazing example of a quarterback who can do everything you want in structure, and still blow things up in a positive sense when the play falls apart.

“I think the biggest thing with Aaron is you see how he’s evolved throughout his game. It’s kind of like what I’m talking about, where he used to scramble a lot more, make all the different throws, and now he can just completely dice you up through the pocket,” Mahomes said. “And then when those opportunities come and he starts scrambling, he makes the throws, and he can still do all that stuff. So, I really watch that.”

The perfect quarterback has yet to be created, but if Patrick Mahomes can put it all together in the pocket, he may be as close to that ideal as we’ve seen to date.

Why you could see a very different Chiefs offense in the 2021 NFL season

Kansas City’s offensive line fell apart in Super Bowl LV. Here’s why that disaster has given Andy Reid the room for a major philosophical rebuild.

We all remember what happened to the Chiefs’ patchwork offensive line in Super Bowl LV — the Buccaneers’ defense pretty much killed it, pressuring Patrick Mahomes on 31 of his 56 dropbacks (per Pro Football Focus), and forcing Mahomes into some ugly numbers under pressure — 9 of 26 for 78 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception in Tampa Bay’s 31-9 win. After the season was over, the Chiefs released offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, both of whom were not able to play in the big game.

In late April, just before the draft, the Chiefs traded their 2021 first-round pick (No. 31 overall), their 2021 third-round pick (No. 94), their 2021 fourth-round pick (No. 136), and a 2022 fifth-round pick to the Ravens in exchange for offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., Baltimore’s 2021 second-round pick (No. 58 overall), and a 2022 sixth-round pick. The move to get Brown solidifies the left tackle spot, and the second-round pick of Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey in the 2021 draft put some more power in that front five.

Why the Chiefs may have hit the jackpot in the Orlando Brown trade

Geoff Schwartz, former NFL offensive lineman and brother of Mitchell Schwartz, pointed this out from the Chiefs’ training camp video:

Mitchell Schwartz was also impressed.

If the Chiefs are about to move away a bit from inside and outside zone to more of a power/counter/trap/pull man-on-man series of blocking schemes, they couldn’t have done much better from a personnel perspective than Brown and Humphrey. Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, the Ravens ran more straight-up man-on-man stuff, and power blocking with pulling guards, than any other NFL team, and it wasn’t particularly close — 363 snaps.. The Patriots ranked second with 256 overall. In the run game on those concepts, Baltimore led the league with 313 rushing attempts for a league-leading 1,899 yards, a league-leading 862 yards after contact, a league-leading 105 first downs, and a league-leading 15 touchdowns.

The Chiefs weren’t even in the ballpark — they had 102 rushing attempts on such concepts for 497 yards, 201 yards after contact, 31 first downs, and three touchdowns. Obviously, Baltimore’s run game is more complex, and far more of a staple than Kansas City’s, but you can’t blame Andy Reid for wanting to flip the script, if that’s the idea.

In addition, as he showed in this rep against Cleveland edge-rusher Myles Garrett last season, Brown (no. 78) has quite enough practice in protecting his mobile quarterback from pressure over an extended period of time. Blocking for Lamar Jackson will tend to make that happen.

As for Humphrey, selected out of Oklahoma with the 63rd overall pick, he was quite the bully in power schemes. From 2018 through 2020, again per SiS, the Sooners ran man of some sort on 48% of their rushes, and Humphrey was responsible for blowing things up to his gap to the tune of 6.9 yards per carry.

Interestingly enough, Brown and Humphrey were teammates at Oklahoma, as well — Humphrey was redshirting for the Sooners in 2017, which was Brown’s last season there before the Ravens selected him in the third round of the 2018 draft.

The connection appears to be strong here.

Brown, new left guard Joe Thuney, and Humphrey all have the athletic attributes and understanding to present more power to opposing defensive lines. Add in tackle Lucas Niang, a second-year third-rounder who is highly regarded in the organization, and you have the makings of a front five capable of presenting as much power as necessary to opposing defenses.

What might this look like? We got a bit of a preview last season — the Chiefs signed veteran left guard Kelechi Osemele last July, and when healthy, Osemele showed that he was more than happy to go old-school and take people to the woodshed. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who gained 138 yards and scored a touchdown on 25 carries against the Texans in the 2020 season opener, seemed pretty happy about the whole thing. Knee issues limited Osemele to just five games last season, but he showed a particular paradigm that the Chiefs appear to be extending for the 2021 season. Not that the Chiefs will entirely scrap their zone concepts, but don’t be surprised if Reid and his staff want to give defenses that much more to think about as his team tries to get to the Super Bowl for the third straight season.

How Kelechi Osemele expands and perfects the Chiefs’ impossible offense