The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line looks dominant

The Chiefs offensive line had shown promise in pass protection last season. If they had a weakness, it was that they weren’t terribly physical up front in the run game. The Chiefs offensive line is very athletic but you need a little muscle up front to open up run lanes against a good defense. That’s exactly what they did on Thursday.

I already mentioned that LDT was quickly becoming one of the better guards in the NFL. The guy snapping the ball next to him is also quickly becoming one of the best at his position. I am, of course, talking about Mitch Morse. Morse has always been great on the move but he was physical up front against the Pats as well. Here is Brian Baldinger (another good follow) breaking down how the offensive line (lead by Morse) opened up a great hole for Hunt.

The strength Morse shows to knock LDT’s man off balance so he can pancake him is impressive but so is his ability to quickly move to the second level and seal off the linebacker. Mitchell Schwartz doubles the edge man with the tight end and drive him out of the play, and you can even see Bryan Witzmann do a nice job of making sure Fisher has his man contained before moving to the second level to pick someone up as well. While Morse may be the star of this play, you can see how the entire offensive line is working together to make life easy for Hunt who took full advantage of what the line was giving him.

Let’s look at one more play where the blocking really opened up things for Hunt. This is another tweet from Nick Jacobs that shows Hunt’s long run down the sideline in the fourth quarter. The guys to watch in this one are Eric Fisher and Travis Kelce.

Eric Fisher pulls out and absolutely flattens the edge defender, which gives Hunt space to turn the corner. Just beyond that Travis Kelce puts a textbook cut block on the defensive back that clears the way for Hunt who just has to beat the inside linebacker to make this a huge gain. If the Chiefs are going to run block this well all season, then Kareem Hunt may very well put up some eye popping numbers.

Overall the Chiefs offensive line was GREAT against the Patriots. While the skill players did their part and deserve credit, the line really did allow them to succeed. It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs offensive line can continue this level of play in both pass protection and run blocking as the season goes on. Right now, I am incredibly pleased and optimistic about this offensive line. I’d love to hear what you think about the line’s play and potential this season in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!