Arrowhead Pride
On Friday night, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in their season opener at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, Brazil.
While Kansas City had a rough game in all three phases, Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert cooked the Chiefs’ defense, recording 25 completions on 34 attempts for 318 yards and three touchdowns. It was only his third career victory over Kansas City — and his passer rating of 131.7 was the second highest of his career. It was also Jim Harbaugh’s first victory over the Chiefs since becoming the Chargers’ head coach.
Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit struggled to generate pressure against the Los Angeles offensive line — and had multiple coverage miscues, too.
But the Chargers also played smart situational football.
Los Angeles offensive coordinator Greg Roman consistently put Herbert in situations where he could succeed against the Chiefs’ defense, which looked a step slow throughout that game. That started early on.
On this first-down play, Los Angeles comes out in an offset I-formation with fulback Scott Matlock lined up as the H-back and an extra offensive lineman on the line of scrimmage. This heavy personnel package on an early down looks like a running play, so Kansas City stays in its base defense to stop it.
But on the snap, Herbert shows the ball and then pulls it. Even with Drue Tranquill coming, the extra bodies on the line solidify the Chargers’ pass protection, allowing Herbert to set up in the pocket. Los Angeles runs a modified flood look. The outside receiver clears space as the fullback runs an out route from the backfield. Meanwhile, the running back heads into the flat.
In a modified Cover 2 shell, the Chiefs’ Chamarri Conner and Trent McDuffie both end up on the outside receiver, which allows the fullback to be open on his route. Conner can’t reach him quickly enough, so the play results in a first down.
This was a great example of how the Chargers kept the Chiefs off balance, finding ways to pick up yardage while keeping Herbert clean.
Later, Los Angeles used a pre-snap alignment (and motion) to set up a score.
Before this snap, wide receiver Ladd McConkey comes across the formation, causing Kansas City safety Jaden Hicks to move across the secondary with him. At the snap, Hicks keys on wideout Quentin Johnston, who has now become his responsibility. Now Hicks is fully facing the opposite sideline — and with one cut, Johnston blows past him. The pass rush generates no pressure, allowing Herbert to deliver the ball on the dot.
With these unpredictable formations (and well-designed plays), the Chargers picked the Chiefs apart, getting big plays on early downs that helped them build a big lead.
But it was their third-down efficiency that helped them keep the lead.
Los Angeles converted over half of their third downs, frustrating Kansas City to no end. There were...
