[suzzer99]

This article is so good. I highly recommend an subscription to The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/532126/2018/...dailyemail#_=_

On this play, the Chiefs appear to be executing some sort of read-pass option rather poorly, and it results in a free defender coming at Mahomes far more quickly than I’m comfortable with. The result should have favored the Steelers, but instead Mahomes, made one of his more remarkable throws of the day, a rocket to Hill in stride that almost passes right through Watt on its way to its target.

On the surface, the defense did some things right on this play. They were able to dial up a blitz that ended in a defender unblocked around the right side of the line. However, the ball is out far too quickly for it to matter. In the meantime, Hill gets a great release off the line of scrimmage — the idea that pressing Hill is an effective way to defend him is silly given his quickness — and would actually be open for a deep throw if that were the play call.

Of course, because Hill has beaten his man over the top, the cornerback is left in a similar position to the defender on Watkins’ catch: sprinting with everything he’s got to try and catch up, without the chance to look for the ball. There’s absolutely nothing he can do when the ball arrives on Hill’s back shoulder, and the poor soul is left so twisted around and out of position that Hill is able to gain some yards after the catch.

The Steelers tried everything Sunday. They used a variety of blitzes. They tried rushing three and dropping eight into coverage. They used both man and zone coverages. They used movement prior to the snap to disguise what they were doing in the secondary. Nothing worked for them with any consistency, as Mahomes stood in the pocket, read the field and fired darts.

This was especially true when the Chiefs employed empty sets, which is something I’ve been looking forward to seeing. The Chiefs have running backs (Damien Williams, in particular) who are capable of lining up wide, as well as Kelce, who is essentially a giant receiver all over the field. Because of this, the Chiefs were able to force the Steelers into disadvantages from a personnel standpoint on certain downs, starting off in a more traditional alignment with a tight end on the line and a running back in the backfield, then motioning into an empty set of chaos.

The Steelers had multiple linebackers and safeties on the field here rather than corners, which means they had players trying to defend an empty set who just aren’t suited to do so. The amount of space that’s available here is legitimately terrifying, and Mahomes had several options he could have tried out given the confusion prior to the snap.

Look at how wide open Watkins(?) is in the right flat.