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Chiefs offense vs. Titans defense
Andy Reid is one the most creative offensive minds the NFL has ever seen and you have to look to no further than the first meeting between these two teams to see that. The number of formations and motions the Chiefs used was astounding, with the usage of Travis Kelce being the most interesting to watch. Whether that is using him to dictate coverage pre-snap or tossing him a shovel pass on the goal-line. My favorite play of that game came in the third quarter when the Chiefs faked the run to one of their one way and faked Travis Kelce to come underneath the O-line but then work back outside and get the ball to him on a throwback screen for a nice gain.
Kansas City also loves those 3-by-1 sets with Kelce as the single receiver. He excels at using the space between the corner who is leveraged outside and the safety over the top and just when that safety starts breaking on any type of curl route, you see the Mahomes go for the kill-shot with Tyreek Hill or Mecole Hardman on a deep post across the field. They almost hit one of those in the first game in Nashville. Moreover, when the Titans showed man-coverage by following guys across the formation they did have their linebackers holding up crossers and allowed primary cover-guys to come over the top, but what the Chiefs did was take force those LBs to come upfield with the backs running swing routes and that made it almost impossible for anybody to stay with the speedsters they have on that offense. Matching up one of those 4.3 guys with somebody in the slot for fade routes will once again probably be part of the plan as well as running guys off with in-breaking routes and then throwing screens to Damien Williams & Co back behind them.
When I go back to the theme of the last time this Titans defense faced Kansas City’s explosive attack, the one thing that really stands out to me is that they did not respect the ground game whatsoever. The Titans rarely had more than two stand-up linebackers on the field and they immediately dropped at soon as the ball was snapped. Even when running RPOs with pulling linemen, the D-line stayed pretty static and everybody got depth, but more importantly width in their drops to take away those easy completions on in-breaking routes behind it.
Early on Tennessee played a ton of man-coverage with more zone against condensed formations and in third-and-long situations, but as Eric Bienemy made those defenders run their asses off with picks and route concepts out bunches, they used a lot more two-high looks. While DC Dean Pees did to Baltimore what they usually like to do themselves defensively – which is showing all-out pressure looks and keeping the opposition off balance by not knowing who is actually coming – what they did a lot against Kansas City are slot blitzes.
On those, they only bring at the last moment and usually roll one of those safeties down where the nickel was, but in the last meeting, the space between that middle and the linebackers made them very vulnerable, as Tyreek exposed it twice for big yardage. With that being said, I was very impressed by the Titans DBs in the last two games, because those guys not only more than adequate speed but also break on routes very aggressively and excel at playing the point of the catch.
Since Tennessee did not respect the Chiefs run game at all when these two last met up, I think you should see more commitment to that part of the offense – which Andy Reid is known for neglecting at times. Their most success on toss plays with pullers out in front and outside zone plays to the edge. I would also like to see more fly sweeps and some Tyreek Hill in the backfield to force the front to flow more with the play. The Titans backers really shot up those inside gaps and it left them vulnerable once you got past them.
KC’s play-action should be mostly about moving the pocket or to get the ball to the backs with quick fakes to them and then take advantage of the space underneath as the defense drops out. The Titans use a lot of late coverage rolls to force opposing QBs to hold onto the ball, the only problem being Mahomes is the best at extending plays and throwing off-platform, which we already saw on that jump pass in the first game.
To me, the only way to slow this offense down is to change up your looks and be willing to stay ahead of the curve with in-game adjustments before these guys figure you out and start shredding you. On the other hand, Mahomes can’t get too aggressive and take some free dump-offs in the flats. He almost started the last game with a pick, as he was rolling to the right and threw the ball all the way across the field. From my film study, Kevin Byard lining up over Kelce is a huge tell for man since they don’t trust Kenny Vaccaro against him and the combination of misdirection and screen plays should be a big factor once again.
