For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Kansas City Chiefs were playing in the Wild Card round. It started slow against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ironically, a mistake by the Chiefs offense, which led to a Steelers defensive touchdown, was the thing that awoke the beast that is the Kansas City offense.
Mahomes and Co. exploded for 42 points in just around 22 minutes of game clock. Meanwhile, the defense was collectively locked in and forced some low percentage throws, as well as created a turnover and quick three and outs. The Chiefs won by a score of 42-21. And now, they get a shot at avenging one of their worst performances of the regular season. Hosting the Buffalo Bills next Sunday night, Kansas City will be looking to prove themselves once again.
What did we learn from the Chiefs in this Wild Card victory over the Steelers? We will list our top headlines following a dominant showing. Let’s kick it off.
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Andy Reid Went For Broke
Even with a slow start to the game, Kansas City’s offense was able to keep the Pittsburgh defense on their heels. The screen pass game was elongated, but came at the right moment from the game’s outset. On top of that, throws on crossing routes over the middle led to greater opportunities down the line. Those quicker hits for Mahomes and his pass catchers eventually led to more explosive gains down the field later on.
This included the deep over routes that produced a touchdown for Travis Kelce, or the catches made with plenty of yards after the catch coming from outside the numbers for guys like Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle. All in all, the passing game was unrelenting in testing the Steelers offense to the deeper or vertical areas of the field.
In the running game, Andy Reid was quick to get his offensive linemen moving in space. He was smart to not give the Steelers defensive front decisive chances to attack and make plays in the backfield. Furthermore, the lack of true gap controllers in the Pittsburgh defense made it an easier decision to lean on Jerick McKinnon. Reid allowed him to work in all sorts of run play calls. McKinnon did just fine with all of inside zone runs, gap/power runs, outside zone runs, etc. Most importantly, Reid did not let his foot off the gas pedal.
Mahomes Taking What Is Given
Throughout this contest, Mahomes was able to work the ball to all areas of the field. He was staying aggressive. As a result, it allowed for many yards after catch opportunities for his pass catchers. Mahomes was also able to spread the ball around to a long list of players.
There are a few things that have stood out recently about Mahomes’ turnaround during the second half of this season. First off, he is focused on getting the ball out much quicker when the opportunity arises. Instead of taking deeper drop backs and longer wind ups, Mahomes is focused on adjusting the depth of his drop back or the timing of his release during each play. Moreover, the Kansas City quarterback has got back to being comfortable with his legs. Mahomes did not feel comfortable working outside of the pocket for a bit this season. Now, he is quickly pouncing on opportunities to take off and run, or to make throws over defenders’ heads from off-script plays. The opposing defenders’ eye discipline becomes much more frazzled in these situations.
It all stems from taking what the defense is giving to him. Mahomes has grown when understanding when to take the inside throw, compared to the outside throw, based on what he is seeing. The same could be said for comparing a chance at hitting on a throw down the field and taking the throw underneath. That greater understanding of decision making can certainly result at different points of a quarterback’s career. For Mahomes, it has only made him more dangerous to defend.
- Ep. 197: Fields to Pittsburgh, Still Available Free Agentsby Full Press Coverage on March 18, 2024 at 8:00 pm
Is McKinnon’s Play Style Best Fit For Offense Among Running Backs?
No one would argue that both Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams are dependable NFL running backs. Their production, improved field vision and ability to make people miss in space has been necessary for the Chiefs offense this year. It has become more well-rounded with the punishing combination of the running backs and the road graders at offensive line. However, what McKinnon displayed against the Steelers was a breath of fresh air from the Kansas City running back position.
His play style is arguably the best of any of the Chiefs running backs within their offense. McKinnon has the speed to outrace opponents in the open field. To boot, his long speed is essentially non-existent from the other Kansas City running backs. That explosiveness has not been very common with recent running backs in KC under Reid. And while defenses have that to worry about, he does well to decipher and read through traffic quickly. This allows McKinnon to hit the hole urgently, while also showing off his prolonged thinking of what area he is trying to attack defenses from. Having the wherewithal to consistently realize cut back lanes or bouncing runs to the outside, is not as common with the other Chiefs running backs.
On top of all that, McKinnon is not just a determined runner with burst. He displayed power throughout much of the night against the Steelers. Whether it was running through defenders, or staving off weaker tackle attempts, McKinnon simply continued to make the opponent look helpless. In the end, the running back finished with 61 rushing yards on 12 carries (5.1 yards per carry), 81 receiving yards on six receptions (13.5 yards per reception) and one receiving touchdown.
Kansas City’s Secondary Bounced Back
Following the last two games, Sunday night was a chance for the Chiefs secondary to bounce back. They achieved almost everything that Steve Spagnuolo wants to see from his defensive backs. For example, the outside cornerbacks maintained inside leverage when working down the field. This forced Ben Roethlisberger to place the ball perfectly when Pittsburgh wanted to attack deep. Kansas City also maintained balance between getting depth and staying disciplined with their eyes and feet. Thus, the Chiefs’ back seven was never out of position and rarely left throws open that included large surface areas for which Steelers pass catchers could run for ample yards after the catch.
A few performances stood out in particular. Charvarius Ward had the kind of performance he needed. Following an extremely challenging day in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago, the Middle Tennessee State product showed more patience and awareness in man coverage. Not panicking in space allowed for him to make plays on the football. Over time, Ward has improved at finding the ball and timing up his pass breakups if the receiver gets a hand on it.
Finally, L’Jarius Sneed was back to making plays all over the field. His speed is of course a game changer for this Kansas City secondary. Nevertheless, Sneed showed off an even better instinctual presence when facing off against the Steelers. Juan Thornhill was another defensive back who made his presence felt in multiple areas. He has shown more confidence when having to stay over the top. Additionally, the tackling form and attempts are much improved from the safety.
Defense Executed Spagnuolo’s Way
As simple as it may sound, the Chiefs defense executed to the style that Spagnuolo wanted. Other than the aforementioned play of the secondary, the rest of the defenders provided fundamental execution, tremendous apprehension for any of Pittsburgh’s tricks and disguised tendencies that left them free to dive deeper into Spagnuolo’s bag of unique play calling. Kansas City did well to keep plays in front of them. Many short pass attempts from Pittsburgh were bottled up rather quickly. On the flip side, deeper passing attempts were often not even available. The Chiefs communicated well when needing to switch off their man, or when double coverage was necessary.
Most importantly, the defense played clean. Their press coverage did not result in any penalties. Kansas City defenders did not become overzealous when their own offense started slow out of the gate. Consequently, the Chiefs defense imposed a physical brand of football that the Steelers are not always accustomed to facing.
Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs playoff articles throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.