Arrowhead Pride
The Chiefs offensive line and company made a tremendous impact on the game.
In the Kansas City Chiefs' dramatic 32-29 AFC Championship win over the Buffalo Bills, multiple players and position groups made plays when the team needed them the most.
Among these units included the Chiefs offensive line, who plowed the way for running back Kareem Hunt and kept quarterback Patrick Mahomes on his feet. While the line did the majority of the blocking, the Chiefs special teams used a well-timed play of their own to set up Kansas City in a big spot.
With the game being so close, every play counted.
Kareem Hunt had a productive 17 carry 64-yard day, and he added another postseason touchdown to his resume. This touchdown for Hunt gave him seven through his career and put him in a multi-way tie for second on the active postseason rushing touchdown list— notably tied with Mahomes, Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, and Derrick Henry.
Using a variation of the full-house look, the Chiefs show a zone look in the backfield that quickly turns into a classic counter play. With the motion and movement, the Bills' linebackers and secondary are out of position, setting Hunt up for a big gain.
The play starts with Joe Thuney creating solid movement off the snap with his down block on the 3-technique. With Trey Smith kicking out and Jawaan Taylor pulling through the hole, Hunt hits the hole hard and blasts through arm tackles on his way into the end zone.
The physical blocking from Smith and dominating run from Hunt set the tone for how the Chiefs offense wanted to play the rest of the game.
The Chiefs utilized more eye candy from motioning wide receivers to get the Bills linebackers where they wanted them to go, and it opened up more favorable angles for the run game to expose.
This time, Smith and Taylor have the big down blocks on the Y counter look while Mike Caliendo kicks out, and Travis Kelce leads the way. Hunt finds the crease, once more running through arm tackles and getting every extra yard he could find.
The numbers don’t look pretty in the box score, but the Chiefs moved the ball well on the ground when needed.
For the majority of the game, the Chiefs' pass protection did a good job of keeping the rush off of Mahomes and giving him ample time to find his targets down the field.
The Bills tried everything in their repertoire to pressure Mahomes, but the offensive line handled all the line games and stunts well, leading to some big plays down the field for the Chiefs.
The Bills go with an end tackle stunt on both sides of the line, and the Chiefs do a fantastic job of picking it up. On the left side, Thuney passes the end down to Caliendo, then quickly transitions into blocking the defensive tackle who looped around.
On the opposite...
