by Derrik Klassen It was not Patrick Mahomes who carried the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. A press-heavy Chiefs' defense posted a stunning performance by holding the Indianapolis Colts' offense to six points, with the Colts only finding the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Though Mahomes could have carried the team if need be, the defense enabled the offense to coast through the second half and toward a victory. In short, the Colts were not equipped to present a diverse threat to the Chiefs defense. From Week 12 and on, when Jack Doyle left the lineup for the second time, the Colts ran 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end) 81 percent of the time, third-highest behind Green Bay and Atlanta, according to Sharp Football. Aside from T.Y. Hilton, however, there was not enough wide receiver talent on the Colts roster to be an 11 personnel offense. In turn, the Chiefs' cornerbacks played press coverage for much of the game and bullied the Colts' poor receivers out of countless passing routes. Rookie head coach Frank Reich made precious few adjustments and stayed in 11 personnel 96 percent of the game, playing right into the hands of a mediocre Chiefs' defense. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady present a different set of problems, though. The Patriots are not an 11 personnel offense, and they will make it difficult for you to press their wide receivers, even if they only have one truly good one in Julian Edelman. Since Week 12, the Patriots have operated out of 11 personnel just 52 percent of the time. Only the San Francisco 49ers played out of 11 personnel less often over that span, clocking in at 37 percent. In that time, the Patriots sport the second-highest rate of 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end), again only outdone by the 49ers. The Patriots' use of running backs, particularly in the passing game, will be Kansas City's first hurdle. The Colts did not target a running back even once in 36 attempts during the divisional round against the Chiefs. By comparison, 19 of Brady's 44 attempts in the divisional round versus the Los Angeles Chargers went to running backs, and 17 of those attempts were completed. One of the only two incompletions to a running back was a blatant drop by James White on a screen. The two following plays from split-back 21 personnel feature the outermost running back heading to the boundary to zip up the field, while the opposite running back crosses the formation.

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The first example, which was New England's first play of the game, has Rex Burkhead (right) and James White (left) in the backfield. Burkhead books it up the sideline to clear out the area and White takes a deep path across the formation to catch a pass 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. With safety Derwin James (33) matching Burkhead and safety Adrian Phillips (31) backing up to the first-down marker, White is able to roam free. In the second example, the Patriots open with the same routes from the backs, but instead of getting the ball to White on a swing route, the offensive line leaks out for a screen. A dominant Patriots offensive line is able to move the Chargers' defensive front with ease and give White enough room to bob and weave for a 25-yard gain. Oddly enough, the Chargers favored safeties over linebackers to help deal with short, YAC-focused throws such as these, but New England's understanding of how to clear and generate space put those players in a bind. The Chiefs will not be able to press these running backs the way they did the Colts' receivers, and with a terribly unathletic linebacker corps trying to cover that space, things could get ugly on the perimeter for Kansas City. The Patriots can also dissuade press coverage by stacking wide receivers behind or close to each other, often closer to the formation than to the sideline. Edelman, in particular, can commonly be seen motioning out of the backfield, across the formation, or from outside the numbers into the slot in order to create a look like this.

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In this first-quarter play, Edelman starts in the backfield with Brady, while a running back is split far outside the numbers to the left of the formation. As Chargers defenders are scrambling to get into proper assignments versus New England's unorthodox pre-snap set up, Edelman is motioned out to the right behind Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski pushes up the field to cut off cornerback Desmond King's (20) angle on the out route that Edelman runs from the slot. Because Edelman started in the backfield and motioned to a slot position off the line of scrimmage, the Chargers never got a chance to get close to Edelman the way they wanted to, resulting in an easy completion.

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This time in the red zone, the Patriots motion Edelman from out wide to a stacked position with Phillip Dorsett. The Chargers could not have pressed both receivers from this position if they wanted to, especially with Brady snapping the ball before Edelman got set. As the smash concept unfolds, both Chargers defenders over the stack key on Edelman, who runs the quick out route. Dorsett is then left free to win over the top for the score. Belichick's calling card as a coach has always been deception. For the better part of two decades, Belichick has duped defenses into thinking one thing is coming, then beating them with another. It is a rudimentary idea on paper, but few coaches actually pull it off consistently well versus a wide range of opponents. Belichick is in a tier of his own in that regard. Some of what he cooked up against Los Angeles is just another reminder of that.

via Gfycat

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Edelman and Gronkowski are on the right side of the formation, with Dorsett and Chris Hogan (15, in the slot) to the left. Upon the snap, Edelman and Gronkowski shuffle forward as if they were blocking to help sell the play action. Edelman continues with the bluff until James (33) passes him off as a non-threat, and Edelman uses that lapse in judgement to dart into the flat and force the Chargers' deep-third defender to come down to tackle him. This play is not genius in itself, but what it allows for later, is.

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On New England's second go at this concept, Cordarrelle Patterson replaces Edelman on the right side and Gronkowski is motioned from left to right. To the left of the formation, Hogan is now on the outside and Edelman is slotted inside of him. The two Patriots to the right bluff run-blocking assignments just like the last time, again with the receiver shooting back outside to the flat. This time, however, Los Angeles' deep-third defender bites on the flat receiver and the entire second level of the defense gets sucked into the play-action fake. So many Chargers defenders being tied up near the line of scrimmage gives Edelman just enough time to beat them over the top and put the Patriots in the red zone again. For a Chiefs' defense that experienced a fluky shutout last weekend, facing a Patriots offense that is much better equipped to get around their style of play should be a concern. The makeup of the Colts offense in that game is nothing like what the Patriots will show in terms of personnel, diversity, and deception. They are a different beast. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton will not be able to just line defensive backs up in press coverage across the board again. The Patriots' offense will demand more, both heading into the game and with in-game adjustments over the course of the action. Mahomes and the offense may grant the defense a sizeable cushion, but as we have all seen before, no lead is safe from the Patriots offense, and no one defensive plan will keep them quiet.