Former Blue Devils tight end Noah Gray wins second consecutive Super Bowl with Chiefs

Third-year Kansas City tight end and former Duke Blue Devil Noah Gray won his second consecutive ring with the Chiefs on Sunday in a 25-22 win over San Francisco.

Former Duke tight end Noah Gray became the second Blue Devil to win multiple Super Bowls on Sunday.

Gray and the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 25-22 in overtime for the team’s second straight championship.

Gray caught two passes for 22 yards in the final game, and he ended the NFL postseason with six receptions for 44 yards.

The former Duke tight end became the seventh Blue Devil to make multiple Super Bowl appearances, but only one of the previous six won a second championship.

Kansas City becomes the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles since the New England Patriots in 2003-04.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won his third Super Bowl MVP award after he threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

Why 13 (personnel) has become the magic number for the Chiefs’ offense

The Kansas City Chiefs are better in 13 personnel than any other NFL team, and that could be big trouble for the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.

When you think of the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense, a “spread-’em-out” ideology may come to mind with multiple receivers, and perhaps Travis Kelce as the only tight end on the field. But that’s not what this offense was in 2022 under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and that’s not what this offense was in 2023, or is in 2024, under offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.

Quite the opposite, and it’s not been gradual, the Chiefs are now the kings of three-tight end sets. 13 personnel, with one back, three tight ends, and one receiver, has become the team’s primary formational constraint. This is clearly something that comes from on high, i.e., Andy Reid.

In the 2022 season, Kansas City led the league in passing out of 13 personnel, and they were ridiculously good at it. Patrick Mahomes had 74 dropbacks out of 13, completing 49 of 64 passes for 716 yards, 326 yards after the catch, nine touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 152.1, which was just about dead solid perfect. Mahomes’ EPA throwing out of 13 was 31.95, which was absolutely preposterous — Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks ranked second at 12.36,

This season, Mahomes has also led the NFL in 13 personnel throws, though the results haven’t been quite as productive, which is a reflection of the entire Chiefs’ passing game. Mahomes has had 50 dropbacks out of 13, completing 28 of 44 passes for 380 yards, 188 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, a passer rating of 87.3, and an EPA of 1.81.

Where the Chiefs have upped their 13 personnel production this season is in the run game, and especially with second-year back Isiah Pacheco. Pacheco leads the NFL in 13 personnel carries with 53, gaining 226 yards, 140 yards after contact, and scoring one touchdown. Mahomes has also run eight times for 52 yards this season out of 13 personnel, so that’s something the San Francisco 49ers will want to consider in Super Bowl LVIII.

On Wednesday, I talked with Matt Nagy about the three-tight end sets, and why the Chiefs are the runaway leaders with all that. As Nagy said, the fact that they do it so much more than any other NFL teams is its own inherent advantage.

“Number one, we feel that we have a good set of tight ends who can do different things. When you’re in 13 personnel, are they receiving tight ends, or are they blocking tight ends, or are they both? We feel like we have a good mix there. So, it starts with personnel.

“The second part is, because there aren’t a lot of teams that do 13 personnel, a lot of defensive coordinators don’t have a lot of calls for 13 personnel. So, they’ve got kind of a limited menu  So now, you can do some different things. If a team shows a multitude of defenses against 13, we take a look at that and decide whether we want to go with it or not. We’ve been that way for a long time.”

Well, here’s the thing. The 49ers have faced three tight ends on just nine of their opponents’ passing attempts, with five catches allowed for 81 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 122.9.

The touchdown was a 31-yarder against the Seahawks in Week 14. The Seahawks motioned tight end Will Dissly across from left to right out of a wing alignment, and this was an interesting example of another way teams can use four-strong – to gain a favorable matchup for the iso receiver on the other side. With Dissly, Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson, and running back Kenneth Walker to the right, and with Fant and Parkinson then running intermediate crossers back over, DK Metcalf had an open one-on-one with cornerback Ambry Thomas as the backside iso. The 49ers could definitely see something like that on Sunday – also, one of the ways the Chiefs stress defenses with four-strong formations is to wind at least one of their tight ends back to the other side.

In the run game, the 49ers have faced rushing attempts out of 13 personnel just 13 times for 50 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was a 16-yard Kareem Hunt run against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Cleveland motioned tight end Jordan Akins across from right to left, keeping David Njoku and Harrison Bryant on the right side. Receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones and David Bell were the ones who helped crack that run open for a 16-yard touchdown.

Based on what Nagy said regarding what defenses do (or do not do) against the Chiefs’ 13 personnel packages in the pass and run games, we should probably expect to see Kansas City to turn it all the way up to 13 in the Super Bowl.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got into why the Chiefs’ 13 personnel stuff is so effective, and what the 49ers might want to try to work against it.

You can watch the “Xs and Os” Super Bowl Preview episode here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

and on Apple Podcasts.

Ravens reflect on AFC Championship loss to Chiefs during Locker room cleanout day

After having exit meetings on Monday, the Baltimore Ravens met the media and offered their reactions to the AFC title game loss to the Chiefs

The Ravens are again staring disappointment in the face after a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game at M&T Bank Stadium.

Jackson and the Ravens offense imploded with three turnovers, and the team is 0-8 in team history when committing three or more turnovers in the postseason.

Jackson finished 20 of 37 for 272 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as Baltimore tied a season-low with 10 points.

The consensus favorite for NFL MVP, Jackson will have to wait another year to escape the notion that he’s unable to win games in the most crucial moments.

With a critical offseason and major decisions ahead, the Ravens cleaned out their lockers and had exit interviews with the coaching staff.  Afterward, they met with the media, and here are the instant reactions.

Takeaways and observations from Ravens 17-10 loss to Chiefs in AFC Championship game

We’re looking at the takeaways from the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game

The Ravens are again staring disappointment in the face after a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game at M&T Bank Stadium.

The consensus favorite for NFL MVP, Jackson will have to wait another year to escape the notion that he’s unable to win games in the most crucial moments.

Jackson and the Ravens offense imploded with three turnovers, and the team is 0-8 in team history when committing three or more turnovers in the postseason.

Jackson finished 20 of 37 for 272 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as Baltimore tied a season-low with 10 points.

With a critical offseason and major decisions ahead, we’re looking at takeaways and observations from the shocking loss.

Ravens vs. Chiefs: 10 takeaways from first half of AFC Championship game

We’re looking at ten takeaways from the first half as the Kansas City Chiefs hold a 17-7 lead over the Baltimore Ravens

The Chiefs heard all the noise and responded upon entering M&T Bank Stadium, jumping out to an early lead on the Baltimore Ravens and taking a 17-7 lead into halftime.

Sunday is the 5th time the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens have trailed by double digits at halftime (0-4 in the first four games).

Three other times, it has been vs. the Chiefs (2019 and 2020).

Kansas City answered the questions about Baltimore’s physicality, attacking the Ravens in the trenches on both sides of the football.

With the second half underway, we’re looking at takeaways from the first half.

WATCH: Travis Kelce throws Justin Tucker’s helmet so Patrick Mahomes can warm up

Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce tried to chump Ravens kicker Justin Tucker and make him move so Patrick Mahomes can warm up

We’re a little over an hour away from the Ravens and Chiefs kicking off the AFC title game, and star tight end Travis Kelce just added some drama to the contest.

Baltimore’s All-Pro kicker, Justin Tucker was down in the Chiefs end of the field warming up with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kelce and the Kansas City offense took the field for some early pregame warmups of their own.

After watching Mahomes take a couple of dropbacks with Tucker still stretching, and his helmet in the Chiefs way, Kelce took upon himself to tell the kicker to move, while tossing his helmet.

Social media reacts to everything, and this altercation was no different.

Ravens vs. Chiefs inactives: Baltimore to employ 9 defensive backs against Kansas City

Ravens vs. Chiefs inactives: Baltimore to employ 9 defensive backs against Kansas City

We’re a little over an hour away from the Ravens and Chiefs battling for the AFC Championship game, and Baltimore has 9 defensive backs active aganst the Kansas City offense.

Mark Andrews and Marlon Humphrey are officially active.

5 reasons why the Ravens will beat the Chiefs in AFC Championship game

We’re looking at five reasons why the Baltimore Ravens will defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game

The time has come, and we’re a little over 3 hours from one of the biggest AFC Championship tilts in NFL history when the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.

Since becoming Kansas City’s head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has been 4-1 through the regular season against the Ravens, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been 3-1.

Last Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in Buffalo 27-24 to advance to the AFC’s final game, while Baltimore is riding high after a 34-10 win over Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

With pregame warmups already underway, we’re looking at five reasons the Ravens will win the AFC Championship.

AFC Championship picks: Who the experts are taking in Ravens vs. Chiefs

We’re looking at the NFL expert picks for the AFC Championship game and the Ravens are projected to defeat the Chiefs

We’re a little over 32 hours from one of the biggest AFC Championship tilts in NFL history when the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.

Since becoming Kansas City’s head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has been 4-1 through the regular season against the Ravens, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been 3-1.

Last Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in Buffalo 27-24 to advance to the AFC’s final game, while Baltimore is riding high after a 34-10 win over Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

With preparation for the matchup set to begin, we’re looking at one thing to watch at each offensive position group.

Marlon Humphrey among 3 listed as questionable for AFC Championship game

The Ravens are listing Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin and Tylan Wallace as questionable for the AFC Championship game, while Mark Andrews will play

The Ravens released their final injury report, and the team is listing Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin and Tylan Wallace as questionable for the AFC Championship game, while Mark Andrews will play after missing six games.

Head Coach John Harbaugh said he is “confident” that Humphrey will play on Sunday, which is a big boost to the secondary. Ronald Darby has played well with Humphrey sidelined, and it could give Baltimore’s secondary even more versatility.

Andrews enters the game with no injury designation.