Big Plays by the Chiefs Offense, Poor Decisions by the Chargers D give K.C. Control of the AFC West
L.A. didn't account for Mahomes' playing style
Thursday Night’s game was a microcosm of the 2021 season for both the Chiefs offense and Chargers defense. K.C.’s offense was frenetic and wild but found a way to win. L.A.’s defense was hit or miss and ultimately disappointing.
A Tale of Two Mahomes
The Chiefs offense started out great, driving the length of the field on their first possession to put 7 on the board. After that, the same problems that have plagued Patrick Mahomes all season kept popping up.
Mahomes turned the ball over on a sack-fumble in the second quarter after attempting a throw with Joey Bosa in hot pursuit. It didn’t have to be that way. Mahomes never even set his feet at the top of his drop on this snap, and as soon as he felt pressure from his right side, he bailed from the pocket:
That wasn’t exactly a collapsing pocket. That was one guy coming fast off the edge. Mahomes had the opportunity to step up underneath the rush, as we’ve seen him do many times before, and take his shallow crosser or Kelce in the middle of the field:
This was an avoidable mistake.
Later in the game, Mahomes left this completion on the field. Focus on Travis Kelce (highlighted):
Mahomes looked his way initially after turning around off of play-action. That was the area of the field the run fake was meant to influence. For some reason, he didn’t take it:
This was just one of several plays he left on the field.
Mahomes also missed other opportunities due to poor throws, like on this 4th and goal that should have been a touchdown:
And then you had the disastrous 4th quarter interception near his own goal line.
Defensive end Uchenna Nwosu was sitting right there in front of Mahomes. Even if he wasn’t, I’m not so sure that the cornerback at the top of the screen (Michael Davis) wouldn’t have been there to clean up. He bit slightly on his receiver inside but didn’t quite go with him. Needless to say, this was a risky throw.
Things were really not going well for Mahomes to this point, and the Chiefs trailed 21-13.
Good Mahomes Arrives
Mahomes would go on to complete 10 of 16 passes for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns after that interception. However, it wasn’t quite because he turned into a more polished pocket passer and started working through his progressions better.
On the play that kick-started Kansas City’s end-of-game onslaught, Mahomes again didn’t set his feet at the top of his drop. He was looking to get out of the pocket as soon as he could to try and make something happen, which he did:
The Chargers played right into his hands by utilizing man coverage that created advantageous 1-on-1’s for the Chiefs. The pass rush also did itself no favors down the stretch as Chargers D-linemen made absolutely no effort to keep Mahomes in the pocket with the path of their pass rushes:
This play on Kansas City’s next drive again came vs. man coverage. Mahomes was able to avoid the rush and again find escape lanes. He then located Tyreek Hill, whose defender couldn't stay with him on the scramble:
Mahomes’ 32-yard run two plays later came against zone coverage after Chargers defenders vacated their zones to hunt up the nearest possible receiving threats. Focus on the two highlighted players at the top of the screen:
I like the approach if Tom Brady is at quarterback. With Mahomes, it’s a different story. Backs turned in coverage translate to big gains off of scrambles.
The pass rush again didn’t help things either. The Chargers were running a T-E stunt with Joey Bosa bringing his pass rush inside:
However, right guard Trey Smith (#65) recognized the stunt and was waiting for him, so Bosa appeared to try and alter his path back to the outside:
That created the huge lane for Mahomes to run through:
Between the pass rush once again providing escape lanes and the coverage hunting up receivers, Mahomes had a ton of room to run.
The game-tying TD provided more of the same. Mahomes had an open receiver to his left (where he was looking initially) if he gave the play a chance to develop. He was never really in position to make a throw from the pocket, though. He again seemed to be looking for the first opportunity to scramble. He did, and of course he found a way to get the ball to Kelce for a more difficult touchdown:
The Chiefs would go on to easily march down the field in overtime and escape L.A. with the win.
Questioning L.A.'s Approach on Defense
On both his good plays and his bad ones, Mahomes had time and space in the pocket to stick with the design of the play and find some open receivers. He didn't though. He wasn't seeing the field from the pocket and instead was clearly looking for opportunities to run. This was especially the case in the 4th quarter, and it wasn’t exactly something unique to this particular game. We've been seeing this from Mahomes all season, which is one of the main reasons why the offense has been so inconsistent.
I’m not sure why none of this seemed to factor into Brandon Staley’s decision making and coverage choices.
When a quarterback isn’t comfortable playing from the pocket and seeing the field, man coverage can let him off the hook. It allows the quarterback to choose the best match-up or route and make a throw to beat 1-on-1 coverage. Whereas in zone, the quarterback has to keep his eye on multiple defenders, work them high-low or inside-out, and deliver the ball with timing and rhythm into tighter windows.
Man coverage can often eliminate some of the more difficult decision-making aspects of playing the position. That’s the part that Mahomes has been inconsistent with this season.
It also creates more big-play opportunities. There’s a risk of defenders getting beat badly and having no help, or losing their receiver on scrambles, or even falling down (as Kelce's man did on his 69-yard reception). And of course, it creates opportunities for the quarterback to run.
Yet the Chargers continued to play man on Thursday. They played way more snaps of man than they normally do, in fact. They actually did the same thing in Week 3 against the Chiefs with some success. Unfortunately for them, it played right into the Chiefs’ hands on Thursday night.
Between their coverage choices and a pass rush that didn’t seem to factor in Mahomes’ scrambling ability (as well as some bad tackling down the stretch), the Chargers missed an opportunity. Staley’s 4th-down approach on the other side of the ball was the main topic for discussion after the game. But the defense’s neglect of Mahomes’ strengths and weaknesses is just as responsible (if not more) for L.A.’s defeat.
As for the Chiefs, Mahomes’ play-making ability in the 4th quarter and overtime showed why he’s been the best quarterback in the NFL over the last 4 years. The Chiefs can live with some of his imprecision at times because he is so special late in the play.
But Mahomes still needs to clean up his game and take advantage of opportunities when the design of the play works. In the playoffs, the better defenses in the league won’t allow him to do what he did against the Chargers.