Chiefs' New Addition to Run Game Could be Key Down the Stretch

Kansas City's increased Zone Insert usage could lead to even more explosive offensive play over the next few weeks

The Kansas City Chiefs’ and Buffalo Bills’ 2021 AFC Divisional Round playoff game will be remembered for a long, long time. It’s a game that the more times you watch it, the more impressive it becomes. It featured two offensive juggernauts going toe to toe for 60-plus minutes — but doing it in entirely different ways.

When a game like that happens it becomes impossible to cover from all angles. There is the good, the bad, the under-appreciated, the key moments, and so on. The quarterbacks have gotten the majority of the early publicity from the game — and rightfully so — so I wanted to shift some of the focus to the Chiefs’ somewhat new wrinkle: the Zone Insert play.

The Chiefs had utilized Zone Insert throughout the year, but always as a one-off run. It was a complement to their traditional Inside and Split Zone packages for most of the year.

Against the Bills, Kansas City began utilizing one of its principle runs, and it could be a key to unlocking the final step of the Chiefs offense moving forward.