Top Ten Chiefs Defensive Plays of the Year: #4 & #3

Continuing to count down some of the best defensive plays of the Chiefs' 2020 season.

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Over the past several weeks, I’ve been counting down my favorite Kansas City Chiefs defensive plays of the 2020 season. The expected characters have been included: Tyrann Mathieu, Chris Jones, and Frank Clark — as well as some others like Bashaud Breeland, L’Jarius Sneed, and Anthony Hitchens.

As we get closer to the final reveal of my top defensive play of the 2020 season, some familiar faces will re-enter the list and hold a top spot. Today’s offerings include a defensive score in an important late-season game and a massive sack from early in the AFC Championship game.

Without further ado, let’s keep the countdown rolling!

#4 - Jones does the Safety Dance

When Steve Spagnuolo and Brendan Daly arrived in 2019, there were many successful stunts and exchanges expected in the game plan for the Chiefs defensive line. That’s held true over the past two years — and it held true on this play against the Miami Dolphins late in the 2020 regular season.

The Dolphins lined up in a 3x1 formation and ran two go routes on the outside. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa executes a play-action with the running back leaking to the flat and the slot receiver running a dig route. These two receivers are the main targets for the quarterback, both on longer developing routes. This plays into the Chiefs games up front on defense.

Nose tackle Derrick Nnadi operates as the spike, attacking the strong side A gap. Chris Jones loops around the backside of Nnadi to the strongside B gap, while Alex Okafor loops over both players to the weakside B gap. All these moving pieces confuse the Dolphins offensive line, and Chris Jones is able to slip through the line to meet the quarterback — on a longer drop due to the play call — in the endzone for a safety.

The Chiefs defense had their worst success rate of 2020 when the offense was backed up inside their own 20-yard line — even worse than their 32nd ranked red-zone defense. That success rate fell almost 6% from 2019’s number, and offenses were rarely threatened deep in their own territory in 2020. Ideally, 2021 sees more of an impact — like this play — and allows the defense to pin the opposition deep in their own territory.

#3 - Sneed’s 15-yard Sack

L’Jarius Sneed was an absolute revelation for the Chiefs defense in the 2021 season, and while the focus this offseason has been on his terrific coverage ability, his surprising blitzing ability made a massive impact late in the year for Spagnuolo. Sneed closed out the year with sacks in 4 straight weeks, none more impressive than this one against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.

Early in the game, the Bills were facing a second and long situation while up three points. Spagnuolo dialed up a zone blitz, dropping Nnadi as a hook defender, taking away the hot route in the middle of the field. Jones and Okafor slanted across the face of defenders, hoping to free up Sneed and Sorensen off the edges on their blitzes.

Buffalo does a good job in protection, rotating the running back to Sorensen, passing off the defensive linemen, and matching up Sneed with their right tackle. However, Sneed’s speed off the edge — and a surprisingly strong swipe — frees him up to bend and meet the quarterback in the backfield. Quarterback Josh Allen tries to get free from Sneed’s grasp, but he’s unable to break through, and he loses 15 yards on the play.

The Chiefs would fumble the punt and allowed a touchdown a mere two plays later, but this sack exemplified what Spagnuolo was able to execute at the end of the year with his blitz packages. The Chiefs four-man rush wasn’t quite as effective as it was in 2019, so Spagnuolo’s shift to a slot/safety blitz-heavy attack was a terrific adjustment at the end of the year — and one that paid dividends on the way to the Super Bowl.