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The Kansas City Chiefs pulled out yet another instant classic in the playoffs on Sunday. With the Buffalo Bills in town for yet another critical postseason game, the Chiefs found a way at the very end to beat the Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game and advance to their third consecutive Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid were spectacular in this game, as they usually are, but it was the Kansas City defense that came up with the biggest play of the night. With the Bills facing a fourth-and-5 in the final minute and the Chiefs leading by a field goal, Buffalos tried to run a mesh concept out of a four-by-one set to the left side. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo dialed up the perfect corner blitz off the offense’s right side, fooling Josh Allen and the Buffalo protection and forcing a quick pass that fell incomplete.
Spags. pic.twitter.com/oU2VLsD1Ah
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) January 27, 2025
After the play, the Chiefs were able to run the rest of the clock out with a few first downs and clinch the game.
As it turns out, the play call almost didn’t even happen. Spagnuolo typically goes with a man blitz in these crucial situations, and many people were probably expecting him to do that here. Instead, Spagnuolo “trusted his gut” and switched to a zone pressure right before the play, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That switch may have been the difference in the AFC Championship.
On the final offensive play of the afternoon for the Bills, offensive coordinator Joe Brady went back to a staple. The Bills ran a four-by-one formation that they have become known for over the course of this season and beyond, and they ran a mesh concept that is designed to get players open underneath and beat the man pressures that Steve Spagnuolo has become famous for.
Instead, the Chiefs threw a changeup, and it may just be because they knew what was coming. During last season’s Divisional Round playoff game against the Chiefs, the Bills ran a very similar play on a late fourth down. The formation is a bit different, but notice the four receiving options to the offense’s left and the orbit motion from Khalil Shakir. Allen dumps it off to Shakir in the flat for the easy first down.
Bills ran that same play to Shakir for a key fourth down conversion against the Chiefs last year pic.twitter.com/GjAvS1UTxV
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) September 23, 2024
The Chiefs were ready for it this time, heating Josh Allen up to the point where he couldn’t get the ball to an open Shakir in the flat or to either of his crossing routes in the middle of the field. As a result, Spagnuolo and Kansas City won the rep, the game and the championship.
The post [Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo’s play-call change that secured 4th...
