The Chiefs showed why they’re going to be tough to beat

Well, here we are, the No. 1 versus the No. 2 in the AFC and No. 1 versus No. 2 in the NFC. After a Wild Card Weekend of upsets, the Divisional Round went exactly as predicted in Vegas. Four wins by the four teams that had byes last week. Only one of the games was remotely close, so let’s begin with that game in New Orleans.

I thought the Saints would score at will against a banged up Eagles secondary. They did earlier in the season. In the seven games Drew Brees has started in the dome this season they’ve averaged 37 points a game. Not this time. The Saints won 20-14 in a game that was close from start to finish.

The start of the game was shocking. On the first play of the game, Drew Brees underthrew an open Ted Ginn Jr. If that had been an on-target throw, the Saints would have been up 7-0. Instead, it was picked off, and the Eagles marched down the field for a touchdown on the resulting drive. At that point, everything was rolling right for Nick Foles, including his soft touch on the long touchdown pass.

The Saints’ second drive of the game was a three-and-out for no yards. The Eagles drove down the field again for a touchdown to go up 14-0. But those were the last points the Eagles would score. The Saints scored their first touchdown near the end of the first half, then added another 13 points in the second half to win 20-14.

My takeaways are simple. The Saints were sloppy. Unlike the first three teams off a bye, the Saints looked rusty. They were undisciplined with false starts and holding penalties. The Saints offensive line, which I love, was bullied by the Eagles for the better part of the first half. When they improved, the Saints offense improved.

New Orleans has to run the football. As great as Michael Thomas is out wide, they don’t have much else for weapons. Running the football opens up the play action pass. Running the ball allows the screen game to work. Lastly, what’s happened to Brees arm? He missed two touchdown passes with underthrown balls.

The Saints defense looked shaky early, but they calmed down as the game went on. Their excellent rushing defense was up to the task. Then, the secondary got things together and didn’t allow the Eagles to push the ball downfield after the first quarter. They MUST continue play this well next weekend against the Rams.

The Eagles are a fantastic story. They believe in each other. They play so well as a team. None of that should be forgotten because of this loss. Nick Foles, while playing poorly for large stretches of this game, still had the team driving down for a go-ahead score until the Alshon Jeffery drop that lead to the game-ending interception. The Eagles will be back next season, with Carson Wentz under center. I hope Wentz has watched Foles run the offense as designed and tries to play more like that.

Oh guess what? The Patriots won another home playoff game, their 10th in a row. The Patriots came out and hammered this hybrid quarters defense (seven defensive backs) the Chargers used against the Ravens. Not sure why the Chargers expected this defense to work again.

The Patriots are the best at adapting their offense (or defense) to match what’s needed for a game. This weekend, it was running the football against the Chargers’ light box. And run the football they did. The Pats ran for 155 yards, including 129 from Sony Michel. They don’t often get credit for being a multi run scheme team, but they can be. They also use a fullback often. It all showed Sunday against the Chargers as they kept hammering away.

When the Patriots weren’t pounding the Chargers in the run game, they attacked those hybrid linebackers with their running backs out of the backfield. James White had 15 receptions on 17 targets. The Chargers defense was out-schemed.

The Patriots defense, while not having the most exceptional pass rush, pressured Rivers for the entire game. They made him uncomfortable by bringing extra defenders and attacking the right side of the Chargers offensive line, a weak spot. They attacked that side of the line with twists and stunts, often using a defender starting off the ball. The Chargers had no answer for the pass rush because the Patriots secondary, the best part of their defense, had the Chargers talented receiving core on lockdown. Outside of a single blown coverage on the touchdown, Keenan Allen had one reception against Gilmore. They must bring the same effort this weekend against Kansas City if they’re going to beat the Chiefs.

I was hoping Philip Rivers could win this game because I enjoy watching him play. He’s a supreme competitor and his pocket presence is outstanding. I’d have loved to play for him. He makes life easy for the offensive line by standing tall and delivering the ball on time and on target.

But instead of playing well, Rivers didn’t. Beyond the lack of passing success outside of the blown coverage touchdown, Rivers had issues getting the snap before the play clock ran out. He was caught trying to make protection changes inside of five seconds on the clock, then looking upset at the center for not snapping the ball. That’s on you, bro. Can’t change the protection that late on the road.

Looking at the Saturday games it was clear the home team off a bye used their time wisely. The Chiefs and Rams both came out firing. Let’s start with the game in Kansas City.

I was wrong about the Colts. I thought the classic dome team playing outside in cold weather would be different because the Colts have an outstanding offensive line and had been playing great defense. None of that mattered on Saturday.

A key to beating the Chiefs, or keeping the game close, is not getting away from your game plan when things go awry, like being down early. Running the ball against the Chiefs is the key to victory. The Chiefs defense, which has its weaknesses, can still rush the passer extremely well. When you’re not running the football well, it leads to longer third downs, which tends to favor an excellent pass rush. The Chiefs defense took advantage of that. The Colts offense, which led the NFL in first down conversions, didn’t have one until a two minute drill to end the first half. Remarkable.

As much as this game was a failure for the Colts offense, the Chiefs defense deserves credit here. For whatever reason, they are fabulous at home. Even though they have played poor offenses, they have kept those offenses under their usual production. Their secondary plays better than they should and the pass rush comes alive. It bodes well for them on Sunday against New England.

Patrick Mahomes entered this weekend ripping apart zone defenses and continued to do so on Saturday. The Chiefs designed, as usual, an amazing first fifteen plays. The Colts defense looked slow all night and slow to react to all the varieties of the Chiefs offense.

Mahomes continues to use his mobility to make plays down the field. He isn’t a “running” quarterback. He’s not fast, per se, but he is mobile. And when he breaks the pocket he almost never looks to run. However, defenses often react as though he’s going to run the football. When they overcommit, he finds a receiver sitting in a zone wide open. It’s surgical. I love it.

Let’s end with my favorite performance of the weekend. That was the Rams’ big uglies.

The Rams offensive line, which was somehow was getting slandered on social media before this game, took control of things. They manhandled an outstanding Cowboys front seven to the tune of 273 yards on 48 carries. It was an ass whooping. Plain and simple. Jared Goff was able to thrive off the play action, and when he does that, he’s at his best.

The Rams defense was active and attacking. They’ve been much improved since Aqib Talib came back to shadow the best receiver of the opposing team. I’m looking forward to the game this weekend in the dome.