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. We already discussed the defense; now, let’s move on to the offense.
In the Vic Fangio-style defense, the coverages you get are predictable. Fangio will play a zone-style defense on early downs, starting with two deep safeties and cornerbacks playing off coverage. He’ll rotate each safety interchangeably, but you know you’re always going to get zone coverage with the intention of keeping things underneath and generating long third downs. On third downs, Fangio will mix it up with more man coverage and five-man pressures, but even then, it’s never the most exotic pressure you’ll see.
What has always made this style of defense work is that Fangio’s gamble is that by conceding 3-4 yards per play, you’re eventually going to make a mistake. Whether it’s a lousy run play, an offensive lineman blowing protection, a drop, a misthrow or a miscommunication by the quarterback, one mistake against this style of defense sets you back into third and long, where the Eagles; talent takes over, and it’s hard to thrive.
However, what I find interesting about this game is that it is the exact way the Chiefs want to play. This season for Kansas City has not been about their ability to generate explosive plays but methodically picking up five or six yards a play and keeping themselves in positive down-and-distances. If Fangio concedes that airspace and yards are important to the Chiefs, we will have an entire season of film to suggest that the Chiefs are comfortable playing that style.
So, my question is this: does Fangio change his gameplan?
Fangio is a smart enough coordinator to watch the Chiefs’ offense and understand how they operate, so could we win a gameplan-specific change by him? To me, that would involve more man coverage across the board. The Eagles have talented cornerbacks. They’re well-coached and work across a variety of matchups. I would wager they could feel comfortable playing more man coverage against the Chiefs’ weapons, who aren’t great at separating by themselves.
If the Eagles are committed to playing more man coverage, I think it becomes a matchup game for the offense. Their cornerbacks are hard to beat one-on-one, but you can get a favorable matchup on their safeties or linebackers. Reid is one of the best at using motion to isolate a defensive player in a poor matchup, and he should look to do that this week. Using Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown in certain motions to get the right matchup could get the Eagles' defense scrambling.
For this entire season, the question going into every game is, “How will the Chiefs’ tackles hold up this week?” However,...
