Chiefs worst plays of 2019, Week 1: Gardner Minshew’s breakout

Worst Offensive Play

The Chiefs had very few plays on offense that were not at least net positives, that finding an offensive play that stood out as “the worst offensive play” was a struggle. So I picked the play that had the most net negative effect on not just the game but the season at large.

Chiefs’ fans know exactly which play I chose.

With 9:05 left in the first half, the Chiefs are looking to maintain the offensive dominance they have had up to this point. Already back to Jacksonville’s 7-yard line, the Chiefs are all but guaranteed at least a field goal, so there is no need to work on gaining yards, meaning every play is designed to score points.

The Chiefs first down and second down plays fail to find much success, so the Chiefs find themselves in the precarious position of drawing up a 3rd-and-goal play from the 7. Too far to rely on tight set running plays, so close that any pass play will be unable to spread out and allows for defenders to play tighter and be more effective. Thankfully for the Chiefs, they have the best offensive playcaller in the NFL.

This play is absolutely brilliant given the space and talent that the Chiefs have, utilizing all of the Chiefs’ weapons and misdirection to make a play that should have been a guaranteed touchdown.

The play is meant to misdirect and attack the Jag’s linebackers, with the key to the play being the pre-snap motion from the running back. When he rolls out from the offensive backfield and into the flat on the left side, Mahomes is watching the linebackers. If one of them shifts with him or moves to cover a receiver while a corner moves with him, then not only are they showing man, but that also tells Mahomes that there are less defenders in the middle of the field, which put Travis Kelce, who is running a double move into a post, open for the pass in the middle of the field.

If the linebackers stay put, that tells Mahomes that the Jags are running zone, which opens up quite a few more options to score. In the case of the corners stay with the x receiver who is running a deep in route, the running back’s wheel route would also be open and in prime position to score. If the corner stays in the curl flat area, then the X receiver will be in prime position between the numbers and the hash marks along the goal line. If all else fails, the slot receiver serves as a good checkdown route underneath the zone, and the Y receiver pulling the attention of left side linebackers to the middle opens up the left side of the field for Mahomes to scramble.

This play should have worked, and to be fair, it almost did: the running back is wide open on the left sideline, Travis Kelce’s double move faked a defender out so bad that a tight pass between his numbers would all but guarantee a touchdown, and the Jaguars are allergic to stopping Sammy Watkins which makes him a prime target in almost any play.

The problem is that Mahomes does not have the time nor space to make any of those throws, after the pocket almost immediately collapses on him.

This is not due to the Jaguars running anything special, if anything, the play they called is exactly the play that the Chiefs play is made to beat.

Only rushing four, the Jaguars zone play is set up to stop a dagger, focusing almost all of their coverage players on the right side of the field opposite of almost all of the Chiefs receivers. Three players split the entirety of the end zone, while the remaining four players cover the middle and right side of the field. This play sacrifices the underneath and outside routes in order to prevent the Chiefs’, and specifically Kelce’s, ability to score in the middle of the field.

The coverage is not what made the biggest effect on this play however; instead that would be the Jaguars’ linemen. Right off the snap, the Jaguars left side defensive end shoot off the line and beats the left tackle around the bend, forcing Mahomes to bring the ball down and shift down in the pocket. Unfortunately for Mahomes, the right side defensive end has already made his way to this spot in the pocket with an aggressive and strong bull rush that has completely eliminated any space remaining in the pocket. As the pocket collapses, the rest of the offensive linemen find themselves lost and unable to maintain their block, allowing the defensive tackles to finish the job that the defensive ends started.

It was this play that would see Mahomes’ ankle get rolled up awkwardly and send the MVP limping off of the field. Was the play design the reason that Mahomes ankle was injured? No, that would be due to the defensive linemen’s dirty tackling and choice to keep toppling into Mahomes after the whistle. But the poor blocking by the offensive linemen, and the slow feet by the offensive tackles surely did not help keep Mahomes healthy and would be a struggle for the Chiefs throughout the rest of the season.

What could be learned from this play? Besides the fact that the Jaguars play dirty and use their aggressiveness and post-play behavior to hurt and cause offensive players to make choices out of anger? (See the fight that also broke out after this play between the skill players and Myles Jack.)

The Chiefs’ offensive linemen struggled getting off the line and beating defensive ends around the edge quite a bit throughout the season, which was made even more problematic after Mahomes ankle injury. Fortunately for them, the answer found itself in the later half of the year, and it took the Chiefs back to the root of their success in the 2018 season: the mobility of Mahomes.

After he had time to rest and heal his ankle and knee, Mahomes could not be contained in the pocket, rolling out every which way and making the defensive linemen of the league look foolish. Unlike other mobile quarterbacks of the league however, the Chiefs’ playcalling was not centered around the running ability of the quarterback, but rather, Mahomes used that mobility and shiftiness to open up passes and make plays that otherwise would not have been there in the initial play that was called.

The Chiefs’ coaching would also eventually incorporate more blocking from the running back position as the season went on, further protecting Mahomes. Sure, this gives them one less option in the pass game, but when given time, almost every receiver on the Chiefs roster has the ability to make themselves open. With more time to sit in the pocket, Mahomes can hit any opening he is given.

Between the changes made to the blocking schemes throughout the 2019 season, the additions made to the line in the draft, and the abilities of Patrick Mahomes, this line is set up to hopefully keep protecting the SB MVP in the 2020 season.