The Chiefs’ 3 largest defensive questions for Saturday’s recreation towards the Texans

After sitting out the Wild Card spherical with the AFC’s No. 1 seed, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs open their playoff schedule this Saturday towards the Houston Texans on GEHA Area at Arrowhead Stadium.

Let’s contemplate three defensive questions on Kansas Metropolis’s Divisional spherical recreation.

1. Can the Chiefs take away Nico Collins on in-breaking routes?

Texans receiver Nico Collins has emerged as among the best within the NFL over the previous two seasons. Collins is among the greatest “X” receivers within the league, combining elite dimension and explosiveness to win on the skin on quite a lot of routes. He’s quick sufficient to burn previous exterior cornerbacks on publish routes and go routes however has sufficient agility to separate on slants, crossing and dig routes over the center of the sphere. He’s a winner on contested catches as properly.

With offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik (who comes from the Kyle Shanahan tree), they use Collins in an identical method that Shanahan used a Julio Jones and even Brandon Aiyuk. The “X” receiver in that offensive tree runs large dig routes over the center of the sphere to generate yards after catch and explosive throws off play-action.

Towards the Chargers, Collins had success on these routes. Here’s a chart of the routes on Collins’s eight targets on Sunday (through NextGen Stats):

The Chiefs must plan for Collins to get targets on this space of the sphere typically. The Chiefs play quite a lot of Cowl 4 on early downs, having 4 deep zone defenders distribute routes. Slowik will dial up ideas that attempt to vacate the near-side security to Collins’ aspect to allow them to throw these dig routes behind the vacated security.

The Chiefs’ cornerbacks must do their greatest to chase and contest the home windows, or the safeties may even look to bait Stroud by faking them leaving a zone after which diving beneath the Collins throwing window.

We would additionally see a considerable amount of 1-double protection on Collins, shifting a security to Collins’s inside to make sure they’ve leverage on him in and out. With their lack of different weapons as a consequence of harm, the Chiefs ought to be capable of maintain up on an island.

2. Can the Chiefs get their cross rush going early and sometimes?

In case you’ve watched the Texans this 12 months, you’ve most likely observed how porous their offensive line is. This goes throughout the board. Often, left deal with Laremy Tunsil has performed at an All-Professional stage, however he’s had a awful 12 months — to the purpose the place there are video games through which he’s an energetic unfavourable.

Left guard Tytus Howard is among the worst guards within the league. Middle Jarrett Patterson isn’t large and sometimes will get pushed again. Proper guard Shaq Mason has seemed slow-moving side-to-side in cross safety this 12 months, and now he’s injured. At proper deal with, rookie Blake Fisher bought inserted earlier than the tip of the common season, and he usually has tough moments.

On prime of this, the protections throughout the scheme haven’t been nearly as good. Stunts, blitzes and completely different pressures befuddle this offensive line. All 12 months, there have been free runners at CJ Stroud. They’ve by no means been in a position to clear up the leaks inside their protections, which is fodder for somebody like Steve Spagnuolo.

The Chiefs’ cross rush had moments the place it struggled, notably in the course of the season, nevertheless it ended the 12 months robust. Playoff soccer typically comes right down to getting a cross rush, and towards a porous offensive line, I might like to see the Chiefs defensive position as a unit get collective stress and shut the water off for Houston’s offense.

3. What’s going to the Chiefs do to restrict “Glance” routes in the course of the sphere?

The Shanahan system of offense that Houston runs incorporates loads of “Glance” routes. Look routes are a five-step slant route that sometimes comes off play motion or a run-pass choice. After promoting a run-fake through which a linebacker or second-level defender steps up, the quarterback places his foot within the floor and fires the look over the second-level of the protection. These routes are sometimes quick-hitting and designed to let vast receivers make one man miss and choose up big chunks within the passing recreation.

Houston and Stroud have made a residing off throwing these routes for 2 years, and the Chiefs should be ready for it. The linebackers must watch out to not overpursue their run match to maintain some depth throughout the protection, and the Chiefs safeties can be sensible to doubtlessly fireplace downhill the second they see a large receiver launch inside to contest the throwing window. We may additionally see the Chiefs rotate into shells that put defenders within the sizzling spots that these throws go to.

One profit the Chiefs have is that they don’t want their linebackers to be overaggressive within the run match to cease the run. Houston’s run recreation is nearly nonexistent, so linebackers can really feel higher about slowly flowing to the ball and tackling relatively than screaming downhill. I don’t belief Houston’s offensive line to maneuver Mike Pennel or Chris Jones, so the linebackers ought to maintain depth to make sure that Stroud can’t hit these throws off an RPO after which rally.