What The Raiders Taught The Browns About The Chiefs

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https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/Article/Cleveland-Browns-What-The-Raiders-Taught-The-Browns-About-The-Chiefs-159312768/

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Imagine telling your past self after the 2017 season that in three years the Browns would be facing the defending Super Champions in the postseason. That's where we're at with the Chiefs, who cruised to a 14-2 2020 on track to having home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

 

These two teams previously faced off in 2018, but the Browns could not be more different. As such, Patrick Mahomes already had a playbook of notes complete following Cleveland's win over the Steelers, a wise strategy on his part! For the Browns, figuring out a superhuman quarterback on a superhuman offense will be much more challenging.

But there's already been numerous pieces of that I'm sure. We're here to focus on how the Browns offense can keep up with the Chiefs, and perhaps an old friend can help us out. The Raiders were the only team to beat the Chiefs at full strength this season (KC rested against the Chargers in Week 17), splitting the series but putting Andy Reid's back against the wall in both matchups.

40-32 Raiders, 35-31 Chiefs respectfully. While Vegas doesn't have the name power the Chiefs offense does, Derek Carr was a very capable deep passer in 2020, finding success with guys such as Nelson Agholor and especially Darren Waller.

So, what can the Raiders teach us about the Chiefs? Are they more prone to an upset than we think? Let's take a look for ourselves.

According to ESPN, the Chiefs have the seventh-worst run stop win rate amongst all defenses, a scenario their fans will agree with. In fact, they've been involved in a surprise amount of one-score victories (their last seven victories have been such) because of the reduced quality of the defense. Chris Jones is still a terrific pass rusher, but his rush attack has not been up to par.

It seems the Raiders recognize this, as they doubled team Jones on this play for Devontae Booker. We all know what we're thinking: Kick the Chiefs in the throat with a dose of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They haven't been able to stop the run much all season, so it's one area to exploit.

This is the one thing that threatens to undermine the Chiefs chances of defending their title, whether against the Browns or beyond. The lack of push from the run defense has been an anchor to the team, though not enough of one where they regressed in the win-loss record (the opposite, actually). Frank Clark has not had a good year despite what his Pro Bowl appearance may tell you, though he's also clicked in postseasons past. Getting Jack Conklin back would be gigantic for helping contain him off the edge.

(Keep an eye on Derrick Nnadi, however. The nose tackle is second in ESPN's defensive tackle run stop win rate.)

Now let's get into the passing side of things. The Chiefs have been more successful stopping the pass, though they're also 15th in win rate according to ESPN. Considering the Browns just came off a sensational performance against the Steelers where they allowed zero sacks or quarterback hits, that's music to the ears of the city of Cleveland.

Here, the Raiders use the good ole' Trips Formation. This, when used creatively enough, is ridiculously effective, and it should go without saying why it's being presented here.

The top two receivers in the Trips are used to create lanes for Darren Waller, whether by cutting inside on a shallow crosser or using a slight block to trick that side of the defense. The simple go route from Waller is thus effective, and Derrick Carr floats it to him in between two defenders down the sideline. Though Kansas City has been 10th in points allowed, that doesn't mean they've been all that tight in shutting down the opposite side (lack of conditioning during a pandemic has done that to numerous teams).

Great use of spacing will also kill the Chiefs' back defense. A two-receiver set on both sides of the ball adds to three route clearings. The one on the bottom crosses up, the top on the left crosses straight forward, and the one below him crosses left then forward. The remaining receiver (Hunter Renfrow) is of course the one being targeted, as he runs a nice sharp crosser route that gets him easy separation.

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No one will mistake the Browns as having the same high level receiving excellence the Chiefs have, but they also have a damn good group that with quality use of route combos can leave Kansas City's defense in the dust. The Raiders kept pushing the ball down the field against their AFC West rival, a different strategy than many will expect from the Browns (Re: pound the rock). So I suggest mixing up the two while capitalizing on the run in key areas such as the red zone.

The Chiefs are the Browns' most brutal test yet, but there is an exhaust port in that Death Star. Much like Vegas' win over Cleveland in the season, they must control the clock to keep Mahomes off the field as long as possible. It's unfortunate because more of a strategy is needed in order to neutralize the best football player on the planet, but it can be done. Win the turnover battle, control the clock, and prepare for the shootout of a lifetime.

[tiamat63]

Derrick Nnadi and a little elbow grease saved the Chiefs season for the Superbowl run.  Handle Nnadi in the run game and any of our interior can be singled up on Jones.  He's just a big guy that wants no part of contact and the running game.

[Tour2ma]

20 minutes ago, tiamat63 said:

Handle Nnadi in the run game and any of our interior can be singled up on Jones.  He's just a big guy that wants no part of contact and the running game.

Better double Jones on pass plays tho...

Guy is a disruptor in the middle and with his length he doesn't have to get close to Baker to be so.

Or so I thought... looks like he only batted/tipped 4 balls in all of 2020 which is typical for a season for him. Peak was 7 in 2017.

Sacks and TFLs?

• 2016 - 2.0 / 5
• 2017 - 6.5 / 5
• 2018 - 15.5 / 17
• 2019 - 9.0 / 8
• 2020 - 7.5 / 3

Signed his contract extension ($85mm) in July, 2020.

[calfoxwc]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/divisional-round-defensive-preview-how-the-chiefs-stuff-the-browns-e2-80-99-rushing-attack/ar-BB1cOiSA?ocid=uxbndlbing

" If the Browns running backs are the key to this offense, the offensive line is the engine. "

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     Somebody stole my analogy, dammit. LOL

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With that said, this Chiefs defense prides itself on staying gap-sound and “building a wall” up front against the run. Spagnuolo and run-game coordinator Brendan Daly prioritize filling the gap first, then trying to make a play — the “do your job plus” mentality discussed during last year’s Super Bowl run. It is paramount that the defensive line and linebackers work in harmony to set the edge, squeeze cutback lanes and play with proper leverage in the gap to avoid some of the explosive runs the Browns had in the Wild cCrd round.

The return of Anthony Hitchens will surely help with the run fits and making sure everybody is on the same page. The Chiefs defense saw a bit of a resurgence in its base and nickel run defense to close out the year — despite playing some terrific rushing teams down the stretch — and a fair bit of credit goes to Hitchens for that turnaround. The Browns will likely force the Chiefs into heavier personnel early in the game with their tight end usage, and that could play into a surging strength for the Chiefs defense this week.

Spagnuolo referenced “eye-discipline” for the Chiefs linebackers and safeties this week when discussing the Browns’ play-action passing game. When teams have sold out to stop the run with safeties in the box and run blitzes, Kevin Stefanski and the Browns offense have racked up yards and points through the air through play action. Mayfield, in particular, likes to target the middle of the field off of play-action to take advantage of the linebacker’s over-committal to the run game. If Hitchens, Damien Wilson and Ben Niemann — all high IQ football players — can diagnose some of the misdirection and fakes early, the Browns’ bread-and-butter in the passing game may fall apart.

This game is similar to the New Orleans Saints matchup earlier in the season. A terrific offensive line, an elite running back and a passing game that relies on play-action to get its offensive weapons in space. The Chiefs defense needed to stop the run in that affair to stay ahead of the Saints and force Drew Brees to throw. The Chiefs defense proceeded to do that for most of the first half and didn’t allow a first down until the second quarter.

If the Chiefs defense can start similarly to that Saints matchup — building the wall and staying ahead of the sticks — the Browns could find themselves behind early in this game. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense have a terrific matchup on that side of the ball that should put up points if they are executing. If the Browns can’t hang with the Chiefs early scoring, their two best offensive attributes — the run game and play-action passing — become significantly lessened in their effectiveness. Stefanski might try to throw the ball to get into a shootout, and that’s where the Chiefs' strengths will shine.

It’s about a fast start on both sides of the ball this week, but the defensive side could help this game snowball quickly in the Chiefs' favor.