Film room: How the Chiefs beat the Ravens’ man coverage in MNF win
It was billed as a matchup for the ages: two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks going head-to-head on Monday Night Football.
What it turned out to be was a statement win by the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Baltimore Ravens 34-20 on Monday to improve to 3-0 on the young NFL season.
Led by Mahomes and star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs were able to dismantle the Ravens’ man coverage throughout the evening, whether by play design or through sheer talent. Here’s a breakdown of how Kansas City did it:
Hill beats off-coverage
Early in Monday’s game, Hill made a big play against Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters, who was playing off-coverage, which means he aligns around 5-10 yards away from the receiver at the snap.
One thing that intrigued me from last night’s #MondayNightFootball game was how well the @Chiefs performed against @Ravens man coverage.
Here is a perfect example. Tyreek Hill is way too talented to consistently cover well one-on-one, especially in off coverage. pic.twitter.com/cGVxoW2gHl
— Tyler Wombles (@TylerWombles) September 30, 2020
Hill is simply too quick and shifty to beat in off-coverage. The space given allows him to make any move he wants, and his cuts are too quick for most defenders to catch up with him from that distance.
He makes Peters pay on this play, putting the Chiefs in good scoring position near the goal line.
No eyes on the fullback
A signature play for Kansas City on Monday was a short scoring pass from Mahomes to fullback Anthony Sherman. It was largely made possible by Baltimore’s adherence to man coverage.
On this play (a great design by Andy Reid/Eric Bieniemy), defenders” eyes are solely on Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson and Travis Kelce bc of man coverage, so it’s that much easier for the FB to score. pic.twitter.com/XVF9qhNj6z
— Tyler Wombles (@TylerWombles) September 30, 2020
At the goal line, Baltimore’s defenders are so focused on wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson and tight end Travis Kelce because of man coverage that they are taken away from the play’s true recipient: Sherman.
The unlikely receiver takes the quick pass from Mahomes into the end zone, a beautiful play design aided by the Ravens’ choice to go man coverage.
Mahomes out-throws tight coverage
Sometimes the coverage is good, but the offensive execution is just better.
Mahomes made a beautiful play on one of his multiple touchdown passes, connecting with Hill on a scoring pass into the corner of the end zone.
The reason this play works isn’t because of design or better coaching. It’s just because Mahomes is insanely good. He threads the needle against really strong man coverage as just about only he can. pic.twitter.com/5hjeVznGfn
— Tyler Wombles (@TylerWombles) September 30, 2020
Peters plays great man coverage, hanging with Hill the entire way. But Mahomes’s throw was just too accurate, and Hill’s talent just too plentiful, for it to matter.
Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale clearly wanted to test Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s unit through man coverage calls, forcing the Chiefs to out-play defenders one-on-one.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, Kansas City’s players did just that.