Anatomy of a play: Spags slams the door on the Bengals
Looking at the 3rd and 6 play call that gave the Chiefs a chance to come back in Week 2.
I often say that football is a beautiful sport, and I believe it.
The intricacies involved in every snap, along with the way those snaps are related to one another, is mesmerizing. Yes, there are incredible feats of athleticism and strength (with a nice helping of controlled violence), but it’s the process, the different levers pulling and affecting one another, that leaves me fascinated each and every week. The way each player affects the whole on any given snap, and the way one play sets up another, leaves a world of endless possibilities.
Very few humans on earth are better at exploiting those possibilities than Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. There’s a reason why he’s a favorite of NFL film junkies, with “Spags gonna Spags” becoming a common refrain every time he cooks up some weird coverage rotation or unique zone blitz. His ability to individually gameplan for opponents as well as willingness to take risks (like blitzing a slot CB on the most important down of the Super Bowl) makes him one of the best DC’s in the game, and one of the most successful ones to ever live.
Today, I thought it might be fun to dust off our “anatomy of a play” series to celebrate Spags yet again dialing up a terrific play call to give the Chiefs a chance at a comeback win. You remember the scenario… 4th quarter, Chiefs trailing by two. The Bengals are facing 3rd and 6 on their own 42-yard-line. With a 1st down they can force the Chiefs to burn all their timeouts and get themselves to midfield. While it wouldn’t end the game, it would substantially alter Kansas City’s chances of a comeback.
And then Spags went full Spags.
Let’s talk about this incredibly gutsy call, how Spags was able to generate fast pressure on a quarterback who almost always sees it coming, and how every aspect of the presnap disguise was designed to get Chamarri Conner free.