The Kansas City Chiefs will have their hands full with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks, but here’s how they can walk away the victors.
Both the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks limp into this week coming off of emotional losses.
After a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs will likley need to win this matchup and the last game of the season to remain the AFC’s top seed and AFC West champions. For Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, everything now is a must-win game in order to have a chance of making the playoffs after an overtime loss to the hapless San Francisco 49ers.
Needless to say, this game’s implications are enormous. Here is how the Chiefs can defeat the Seahawks:
Offensively:
Find tight ends in favorable matchups
The 49ers missed several opportunities to find George Kittle open last week against safeties and linebackers. The Chiefs will need to attack the middle of the defense. Bobby Wagner is a talented coverage linebacker and has matched up well with tight ends throughout his career. That being said, if the Chiefs find Travis Kelce matched up with a safety or outside linebacker, they should be attacking the middle of the field.
On this play, the Rams attack the safety with George Everett and score. With the help of an outside receiver that effectively freezes the underneath linebacker, Everett cuts underneath the safety wide open. With some velocity on the pass, Jared Goff delivers a touchdown.
Implement some power run plays and don’t abandon the rushing attack
With news of Spencer Ware‘s potential return against Seattle, the Chiefs should attack between the tackles with a combination of Ware and Damien Williams. The Seattle run defense is 15th in the NFL against the rush. If the Chiefs can attack the middle of the field with running backs, it will set up the outsides of the field for Tyreek Hill and company.
On this play, the Panthers send a man in motion to the right and set up a balanced look. Seattle looks like they are expecting a pass play and drop back off of the snap. This allows an opening for Christian McCaffrey to run downhill for a good gain. I expect the Chiefs could get opportunities with Damien Williams.
Attack Safeties, especially if Bradley McDougald does not play
The Chiefs have struggled along the offensive line to protect Patrick Mahomes against the pass-rush in previous weeks. This has impeded on their ability to stretch the field. With the return of potential return of Cam Erving, I expect the pass blocking to improve enough for the Chiefs to stretch the field. With Bradley McDougald banged up and Earl Thomas out for the season, the back end of the Seahawks defense is struggling. If Tyreek Hill gets a one on one matchup with single high coverage, the Chiefs should be attacking deep a lot on Sunday night.
On this play, Stefon Diggs gets by the cornerback. With single high coverage, the safety has no chance of rotating over in time. If the Chiefs see this matchup, they could score easily. The Chiefs should challenge the Seahawk safeties frequently.