Film Room: Demarcus Robinson earns MVP honors against Raiders
By Grant Tuttle
On Sunday, the Chiefs rallied to win against the Raiders in the final game on dirt at Oakland Coliseum. Here are our MVP, LVP, and unsung hero for the game.
The Kansas City Chiefs are feeling good after a victory in Oakland over the Raiders. After falling into a 10-0 deficit, the Chiefs rallied to score 28 points in the second quarter to coast to victory. While the game wasn’t the blowout that we would have loved to see, it showed us several things about the team.
The defense stepped up and shut down the Raiders after the first quarter. After that point, the Raiders did not score and turned the ball over twice. The offense showed greatness in the passing game, but not so much in running the ball. Just as in every game, there are players who shine, players who look flat, and players who fly under the radar.
After watching the tape, here is this week’s MVP, LVP, and unsung hero.
Most Valuable Player
Robinson looked good in more ways than the box score will show, in which he tallied career numbers. When the game was all said and done, Robinson finished the day with 6 receptions, 172 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Robinson showed what the Chiefs saw in him when they drafted him in the first place. The tape showed me traits that I had not realized.
Robinson has deceptive speed. While I always considered him more of a possession type player, I didn’t realize that he could keep and create separation the way that he showed against Oakland. He has quick feet and can flat-out run right by defenders.
Here, we see Robinson take a jab step inside and see a whole bunch of wide-open field. This is brilliantly designed by Andy Reid to create an easy mismatch. He sends the running back out to the flats, another receiver deep, and keeps extra blockers. This brings the linebacker out of the middle of the field and leaves part of the field completely exposed. Robinson runs a good route and scoots right out to the opening in the defense. Easy yardage.
Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, and Travis Kelce are certainly the best receivers on the team. That being said, I think one could make an argument for Demarcus Robinson having the surest hands on the team. He does not seem to drop passes, no matter how tight the window or difficult the catch.
To me, this is Robinson’s best play of the game. On this play, Robinson runs a double move that makes the defender hesitate. Despite a decent recovery, Mahomes places the ball perfectly and Robinson holds on for the tough catch. He holds on to the ball despite being knocked completely off of his feet and knocked to the ground. This is certainly a reception that many players in the NFL would drop.
Least Valuable Player
Overall, Reiter has been a solid player. That being said, this week he struggled majorly. While he was not a bad pass blocker, the defenders for the Raiders gave him fits in the ground game. That struggle was consistent throughout and was part of the reason the rushing attack had severe limitations.
Here, we see LeSean McCoy take the hand-off. At first glance, there is a window for him to gain some significant yardage. Once Reiter gets to the second level, he tries to take on the linebacker. Due to a bad angle and terrible technique, the linebacker sneaks in to make a tackle instead of McCoy having a big run.
Once again the hand-off is made and Reiter is overwhelmed immediately. This time the defensive tackle slides on to the wrong side of him and plugs the gap. The running back is forced to try to change direction as soon as he takes the ball. Reiter holds his man in place, just in the wrong place, once again.
Unsung Hero
Kendall Fuller had a much better game than many have given him credit for. In the Spagnuolo scheme, he is allowed to play more aggressively. As a sure tackler in space, Fuller is beginning to shine. Against the Raiders, he showed pieces of why Brett Veach was so interested in him in the first place.
As aforementioned, Fuller is allowed to play more aggressively in this scheme. The defense has crashed down on ball carriers at a more effective value than last season. Kendall Fuller is a great piece of this style of defense and we see that here.
On this play, Fuller shoots the gap on the screen and makes an impressive tackle for just a two-yard gain. While Hitchens did well to get out to the flats and engage the blocker, Fuller had to make the tackle, or the offense would have had 10-15 yards. Fuller makes a very underrated play here.
Here is one of the places that we hope to see consistency out of Fuller. While it is a nice quarterback scramble from Derek Carr, the scramble was forced by good coverage. Fuller is lined up in the slot about ten yards off of the line. Notice how he predicts the route, cuts off the receiver and then runs in perfect coverage down the field.
Previous weeks:
Week 1:
MVP: WR Sammy Watkins
LVP: CB Charvarius Ward
Unsung Hero: LB Damien Wilson
Final thoughts:
The Chiefs had a weird game. Twenty-eight points in a quarter for the offense is great, but when you don’t score for the remainder of the game, it is a strange coincidence. Robinson stepped up in the absence of Hill and had a phenomenal game. If the Chiefs are going to beat the Baltimore Ravens next week, they will need consistency from all of their offensive linemen and continued excellence from Robinson and company.
On defense, they had a good performance against the Raiders. Chris Jones has been dominant and a few players have flown under the radar. Fuller and the other cornerbacks will have to continue to improve every week to have a serviceable defense. Nonetheless, the defense has more talent on it than some are acknowledging.
Next. Getting perspective on Mahomes' historic young career. dark