Were the Chiefs' CB's really the problem vs Tampa?
Were the Chiefs' CB's really the problem vs Tampa?
Examining every pass completion to explore a narrative that has been making its way around Chiefs social media.
One of my favorite parts of this job (and there are a lot of things to love about it) is looking at commonly-held narratives and seeing if they match up with reality.
It’s easy to get lost in the emotion of watching a game live and allowing a single big play or two to dominate how we perceived what happened in said game. Further, given how fast everything is going in real time, the fact that we’re often watching the ball during live viewing, and the limited view we have in broadcast, it’s not always simple to be able to the decipher the “how” of a play rather than just the “what.” Finally, unless we’re writing stuff down as the game occurs, it’s tough to remember exactly how often a given event occurs.
Because of those issues, I’ve often found that the opinion I’ve had during and immediately following a game is not an accurate one, and upon rewatch (and actually quantifying things) I’m forced to change my mind.
Anyways, let’s talk about the Chiefs’ cornerbacks not named Trent McDuffie.
Following Kansas City’s vomit-inducing thrilling victory over the Bucs on Monday Night Football, a very common theme I found with Chiefs fans on social media was panic about the cornerback position. Everyone knows Trent McDuffie is a superstar, but the depth at the position (following Jaylen Watson’s likely season-ending injury AND Nazeeh Johnson going down, which followed L’Jarius Sneed being traded this offseason) has become a bit of a concern.
The murmurs became much louder after the Bucs managed to move the ball better than most teams have against the Chiefs this year, including successfully scoring a TD in a two-minute drill to tie up the game (all for naught because Mahomes, but still). The common theme that I saw among fans on social media and some that I spoke with was that the non-McDuffie CB’s were hurting the defense and that it was a major issue against the Bucs. The Chiefs’ interest in Marshon Lattimore (before being outbid by the Commanders) only furthered that narrative.
But is it true? I wasn’t sure. And so to the film I went, reviewing all 23 of the Bucs’ completed passes on Monday night (a lower number than you may have expected). For each snap, I charted when it occurred, the down and distance, and what the result was of the play with a brief summary.
The short story? Well first of all, the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator did a TERRIFIC job utilizing motions and shifts to get advantageous matchups both in terms of personnel as well as leverage, as well as helping dial up plays that found holes in zones.
That might feel like it is beside the point, but it’s actually closely related to how one should view Monday’s performance. Let’s talk about what occurred on those 23 completed passes and what they tell us about the Chiefs’ cornerbacks not named Trent McDuffie.