How Travis Kelce and the Chiefs beat the Chargers at their own game

The Chiefs and their offense feel inevitable at this point.

You might be able to hold them down for a drive, or maybe a quarter if you’re lucky. However, they still have Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and you don’t.

For the most part on Sunday night, the Chargers defense played fairly well. Los Angeles is built to play a lot of man coverage against the Chiefs, with star DB Derwin James taking Travis Kelce. However, the Chiefs always adjust and beat your best coverage when it counts.

The Chargers played Cover One on 16 of Mahomes’ 34 dropbacks, and the Chiefs QB went 8-16 on those dropbacks. Normally that’s an absolute win, right? However, the Chargers lost playing that Coverage, because the Chiefs were prepared for it and had the perfect playcall.

The Chiefs were at Los Angeles’ 17 yard line, and Kansas City comes out in 11 personnel (one TE and one RB). The Chargers matched this with their dime package, with six DBs on the field. Because this is near the end of the game sequence, the Chargers went to their dime package, but the Chiefs have seen this Cover One before. On Kansas City’s first trip to the red zone, the Chargers were in Cover One with James guarding Kelce. Kansas City tries to run the follow route that’s gotten them a lot of success in the red zone this season, but Kelce slips due to the pressure from James and they have to kick.

When James was guarding Travis Kelce, he was very physical with him at the line of scrimmage, pressing when he had the chance.

On the Chiefs final TD, they knew this, and they had an answer for everything the Chargers would try to do in their Cover One defense.

Kelce is on the line of scrimmage, and James is in press technique, but at the snap, the Chiefs run Mesh with Kelce and TE Noah Gray. This is the first read. The two TEs cross their paths, and try to give Kelce a little bit of daylight to break away from James. Because the Chargers are in man coverage with a safety dropping down as a robber, someone is bound to get open off the crosser. Kelce was open and he walked into the endzone.

However, watching the play again, the Chiefs had an answer for if the robber triggered hard on the mesh route. WR Skyy Moore ran a dig behind the robber, and if the robber runs down on the mesh, Moore is open.

Andy Reid is arguably the best playcaller in the game, and when he’s given weapons like Mahomes and Kelce, it makes playing any coverage against them dangerous.