Bleeding Green Nation
Plus: the one weapon that Philadelphia needs to stop.
Goodness me, the Eagles are in another Super Bowl! I’ve watched a ton of Chiefs film ... so this might be a long one. I decided whether or not to focus on a few specific areas, but it’s the Super Bowl! I’ll just cover as much as I possibly can. Hopefully, this is as comprehensive a preview as you will need!
I use a bunch of stats in this one, and credit goes to Team Rankings, PFF, and Sports Info Solutions. Lastly, my podcast co-host @ShaneHaffNFL is responsible for putting some of the graphics together in this one.
Last week, I rewatched the All22 of the Chiefs vs. Bills AFC Championship Game and commented on every play. I enjoyed it and found it extremely useful. I’ll comment quite a bit on that game in this one. If you want to check out the video, I did it on my Patreon, which you can subscribe to here. I learned a lot from doing it!
The Basics
The Chiefs run as much heavy personnel as any team in the league. Less than 50% 11 personnel is pretty insane in the modern NFL. You will see this throughout the article, but it is no surprise that the Chiefs rank 1st in using RPOs.
There are a lot of designed rollouts and screens, too. This offense is all about the short throws!
Misdirection, RPOs & YAC
The name of the game is misdirection. This is not a standard dropback offense. Everything this Chiefs’ offense does is about confusing the defense. Everything. They do not have enough talent to take a 5-step drop and throw it on time. It’s not what they do. It’s all RPOs with misdirection. It’s frustrating as hell. But it’s hard to stop.
I came into the film expecting everything to be about Travis Kelce. It is not. Xavier Worthy is the X-Factor. His speed and skill set create so much confusion. He is constantly moving, stretching the defense horizontally and vertically. Look at the rep below. The Chiefs fake GH Counter, but the tight end does a 180 and ends up lead blocking for Worthy. That is so clever.
Fake the run to the left and throw it to the right to a receiver coming across the formation who ran a 4.21 40. Football is simple. The Bills don’t play man coverage here, but they still can’t stop Worthy because the linebacker is caught staring into the backfield. Andy Reid must have sprinted to the podium when Worthy is available. He’s the perfect fit for this offense.
More misdirection... Worthy is eye candy on every single play. You must be so disciplined on defense.
The Chiefs don’t just run simple RPOs and throw it to the flat every time. They have some fantastic designs. Travis Kelce will always be a threat, so Reid uses him as eye candy here. The defenders' eyes naturally go...
