KANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2014 Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal is confident that his team\u2019s defense is different from a month ago.<\/p>\n
And notably \u2014 given this week\u2019s matchup against the Detroit Lions \u2014 he believes the Chiefs\u2019 defense is better equipped to handle a play-action-heavy team than it was in the opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n
That Week 1 game, when Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in his team\u2019s 27-21 victory? It was rough for the Chiefs\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n
Notably, Herbert finished 9 of 11 for 169 yards on play-action, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and also was 11 of 13 for 187 yards with two touchdowns when targeting in-breaking routes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first game \u2026 obviously, we want to be perfect. But I think our eyes have gotten better,\u201d Chenal said Friday after practice. \u201cBecause all that is (play-action) is about eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with some numbers. If the 2-3 Chiefs hope to reroute the trajectory of their season with a win on \u201cSunday Night Football,\u201d they\u2019ll need to be most concerned with the Lions\u2019 offensive deception.<\/p>\n
The reason? This is about as big a \u201cstrength-versus-weakness\u201d matchup as you\u2019ll find in an NFL game this season.<\/p>\n
According to SumerSports, the Lions run the 11th-highest percentage of play-action, and they\u2019re deadly when they do. They average 0.64 expected points added per play-action pass attempt, the top mark in the NFL.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs\u2019 defense, to counter, has allowed 0.80 EPA per play-action pass \u2014 last in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re really good at play-action,\u201d Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said of the Lions. \u201cIn other words, they sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of that is by formation. The Lions don\u2019t just preach the importance of running the football; they often follow through by putting themselves in a ground-game-friendly setup.<\/p>\n
Detroit has gone under center for 55 percent of its offensive plays this season, per SumerSports, the highest mark in the NFL. That structure can provide greater directional freedom, with each snap able to easily open up runs to either side.<\/p>\n
And it brings up another problem area for the Chiefs. The Lions are sixth in EPA per play when under center, while the Chiefs are last in the NFL when defending under-center plays.<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t have taken the Lions much time \u2014 or film \u2014 to see a potential vulnerability to attack against the Chiefs.<\/p>\n
But going back to play-action \u2026 why are the Lions so good at it? And what can the Chiefs do to limit big plays there?<\/p>\n
Spagnuolo said it goes back to the Lions\u2019 offensive system. He complimented the team\u2019s coaches for doing an excellent job of \u201cmarrying\u201d their runs and passes.<\/p>\n
Think of it like this: The Lions will have a run play with a specific formation and motion. Then, later on, they will have that same formation and motion \u2026 only this time, a pass will come from that same setup.<\/p>\n
All that makes it difficult for the Chiefs to key in on \u201ctells\u201d that might give away a run or pass before it happens.<\/p>\n
It even extends to this: Spagnuolo said his defensive assistant coaches will keep track of the Lions\u2019 run plays on the sideline during the game. Then, during breaks, they\u2019ll warn Chiefs defenders to be ready for a pass that could come later, believing it\u2019s only a matter of time until the Lions follow their first rush with a counterpunch from their offensive play sheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we can be ahead of the game on those,\u201d Spagnuolo said.<\/p>\n
Chenal said one of the biggest factors would be a two-word key that Spagnuolo preaches often: \u201ceye discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the Lions\u2019 offensive linemen do an excellent job of selling run on play-action passes, there\u2019s still a subtle difference to note early between run blocking and pass blocking. Specifically, it goes back to looking for an old football term: \u201chigh hat,\u201d which is code for seeing the offensive linemen\u2019s helmets bob upward after the snap of the ball.<\/p>\n
That motion, even if abbreviated, is an indicator that an O-lineman is getting his body ready to absorb the blow of a pass rusher on a potential throw.<\/p>\n
Other attributes make the Lions\u2019 offense difficult to stop, too. Chenal noted that the Lions have playmakers across the field, including speedy receivers on the outside and running backs who must be respected in the ground game.<\/p>\n
It will be a lot for the Chiefs to handle. The Lions are No. 1 in the NFL in EPA per dropback this season, and they\u2019ve also feasted on teams that commit too many resources toward stopping their rushing attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time a team can be on schedule from an offensive standpoint and be a threat to us, run or pass,\u201d Spagnuolo said, \u201cit\u2019s going to be a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2014 Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal is confident that his team\u2019s defense is different…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,1727,514,82],"class_list":["post-204911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}