Arrowhead Pride
The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday in Super Bowl LIX. In two separate posts, we’ll address the Chiefs’ three biggest questions on both sides of the ball. Let’s begin with the defense.
When talking about the Eagles' offense, the first thing you have to discuss is what you will do against their run game. The Eagles led the league in rushing rate in the NFL at nearly 56% of their total plays. Saquon Barkley has been the best running back in the NFL all season, and I thought he had a credible argument for MVP. Barkley, at times, looks like he’s playing a different sport than everyone else. His speed and explosiveness allow him to turn any normal 5 or 6-yard run into a 70-yard touchdown. Combined with his vision and an elite offensive line, Barkley has been a nightmare for defenses.
Everything about how you play the Eagles starts with him. The first thing you must ask Barkley is how you will align the box against him. Intuitively, you would think that putting an extra defender in the box is the best option against Barkley. Not allowing the Eagles to have a numbers advantage in the box seems smart.
However, that isn’t always the case. While having that defender helps at times, it does expose you to huge runs. If one of your box defenders misses, that leaves only one line of defense — the free safety — to tackle Barkley. If that player misses, you are giving up a touchdown. Barkley’s first touchdown against the Commanders is a perfect example of this:
To keep a lid on his explosive runs, keeping two safeties deep helps limit his massive runs. However, that leaves you lighter in the box. Once you also account for the quarterback being a “plus-one” in the run game, you’re always giving up bodies and gaps in the run game. With the Eagles' offensive line and Barkley, that’s a recipe for them to get six yards on every down, which is not a successful strategy for stopping the run.
So, for Steve Spagnuolo, is he more comfortable having his defense defend with light boxes, or does he live with the threat of explosive runs? If it was me, I’d keep my safeties deep. Justin Reid and Bryan Cook are on the slower side of safeties, particularly against a player like Barkley. I don’t want to have them be my only line of defense against him. I want to keep those guys deep and allow both to play Barkley from either side.
Another variable is the Chiefs should look to get funky with their fronts. Run stunts, slants, and pressures should all be included in the game plan. Could we see some 6-1 fronts that limit the zone runs? Anything should be on the table. Getting Leo Chenal on the field and taking defensive linemen off makes sense in a 3-3-5...
