Under Pressure: Spagnuolo Presents Daunting Test For Wilson

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This upcoming Sunday night will feature a matchup that was originally extremely exciting on paper. The Kansas City Chiefs were already coming in as defending Super Bowl champions. But with the addition of Aaron Rodgers, the hype and potential surrounding this matchup was palpable. Rodgers will unfortunately miss the contest, due to his torn Achilles. This leads to Zach Wilson being the man that the Chiefs defense will see, led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

For a unit that has generally started slow before hitting their stride later in the season, Kansas City’s defense has begun the year hot. In three games, the Chiefs defense has only allowed 33 points to opposing offenses. A couple of those offenses are viewed as dynamic units, to boot. Additionally, Kansas City has been stellar on third or fourth down, as well as in the red zone.

With Steve Spagnuolo being known for his pressure packages, how does that play into the matchup against Zach Wilson, in particular? What tendencies has the Jets passer shown that could play into Kansas City’s favor? Let’s kick it off.

Disguised Looks Lead To Confusion

Kansas City has begun the year by winning a good amount of reps by getting home out of their base defense. When rushing four, the Chiefs may not necessarily boast as much speed as other top pass rushes around the league. But at the same time, this is a well-rounded Kansas City defensive line that is able to rely on power, relentlessness and collapsing with sharp angles. The combo of Chris Jones and George Karlaftis are each able to give a boost of momentum to the Chiefs defense at any given moment. Meanwhile, names like Mike Danna and rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah have started off the season on the right foot. Danna displayed tremendous reactionary quickness and spatial awareness within the first few games. Finally, Anudike-Uzomah has done well to provide late pressure, even if it comes on second efforts, so to speak.

Where Steve Spagnuolo could really test Zach Wilson and the Jets offense, is with simulated pressures. Spagnuolo has been able to get players off of the second or third levels into situations where they become free runners at the quarterback. But, this is generally done with disguised looks, more often than not. Kansas City may show that they are going to be coming through two gaps on one side of the formation that are right next to each other. Occasionally, that simulated look of overload pressure may be utilized to get one blitzer a free shot when coming from the backside of that overload look.

Spagnuolo is gifted with one of the fastest all-around defenses that the Chiefs have had in recent memory. With names like L’Jarius Sneed, Willie Gay and Justin Reid being able to get home immediately, Kansas City has a chance to pick their poison often and toy with opposing offenses. While this certainly leads to confusion for the offenses, disguised looks by Spagnuolo’s group can also create more opportunistic chances for a Chiefs defense that has made more plays on the football.

Looking Lost

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When it comes to Wilson, there may be no quarterback that looks more lost and less confident than him. He is someone that generally is late in every facet. This includes decision making, releasing the football at the top of his drop and when to maneuver within the pocket. Certainly, that is music to the ears of Kansas City’s pass rush, as a result. Wilson can still do damage when throwing on the run. The same can also be said when he takes off and runs. Yet, the Chiefs defense and Steve Spagnuolo present a daunting challenge for Zach Wilson.

For starters, the pass rush forces you to make hurried choices. When looking back at last week’s game, Wilson had an average time to throw of 3.19 seconds. There were a couple of impressive throws late in that game. Though, Wilson and the Jets offense were largely stagnant. New York was not able to stay ahead of the chains, on schedule or in rhythm.

In this week’s matchup against Spagnuolo and the Chiefs, Wilson must speed up his internal clock. Because not only is Kansas City faster than they have been defensively, but this group also makes smart decisions. The Jets have to be aware of Jones or other defenders choosing to alter their alignments. The Chiefs may also look to get more speed on the field with their dime package. But even still, Wilson will have to be ready for any and all defensive looks and adjustments out of that dime package.

Shuffling Creates Further Headache

The Jets had a major question mark at offensive line entering the season. Throw in the change at quarterback due to injury, and the uneasy feeling grows further. New York had to place veteran left tackle Duane Brown on injured reserve last week. Due to that, the Jets will miss him for a minimum of four games, including this week against the Chiefs defense.

In just one week, New York made three alterations to their starting offensive line without Brown. Rookie Joe Tippmann moved from center to guard. Alijah Vera-Tucker moved from guard to right tackle. And lastly, Mekhi Becton flipped over from right tackle to left tackle. To say that Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense are licking their chops is an understatement.

Can Zach Wilson make more urgent reads against Spagnuolo’s unit? If not, the pressure that could be created may be too immense for this shuffled offensive line. The Jets could also look to lean on the running game more. Nevertheless, the game script could dictate an unfortunate fate for a struggling New York team and offense going up against the red-hot Chiefs defense led by Steve Spagnuolo.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis 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.