KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Steve Spagnuolo rattled them off like items on a shopping list.
“Do you rush four and one of them’s a spy? Do you turn four loose?” Spagnuolo asked at Thursday’s press conference. “Do you coordinate the pass rush? Do you go five rushers, because there’s technically five gaps there, rush lanes?”.
Spagnuolo might as well call in a bomb squad while trying to defuse Josh Allen. And the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator has been victimized more than anyone else. According to Doug Clawson, the reigning MVP is the only quarterback ever to average better than 250 passing yards and 50 rushing yards against a single foe.
All guys
“It’s all guys,” Leo Chenal said in the Chiefs’ locker room Thursday, “whether it’s a four-man rush or more than that. It’s guys just staying in their lanes, not running past the quarterback, powering when we need to. And then it’s gonna be an ultimate plaster drill for the back-end guys and guys in coverage.
“Everybody’s got to be a cohesive unit. Because one guy steps around there, one guy comes off coverage for one second, you know he’s gonna make us pay for it.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets ready to throw a pass as Kansas City’s Chris Jones heads for him during first half action against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park, Nov.17, 2024. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
He made the Chiefs pay on a fourth-and-2 run in Buffalo last year, an instant-classic highlight Jim Nantz called “The Play of the Year.” Protecting a 23-21 lead, Allen dropped to pass, looked left, then saw George Karlaftis a step too deep on his rush off the right end. The quarterback immediately shot toward the hole. Karlaftis saw it and spun out of his block, too late to catch the 6-5, 237-pound Allen.
All told, Allen broke five tackles on the 26-yard touchdown. It was a significant boost in his MVP campaign.
“One guy can just be a little bit off,” Chenal said. “So just takes everybody.”
Nov 17, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) throws a pass as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) rushes in the first quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
And even when everybody is doing everything, Allen can still win. So, when the Chiefs (5-3) visit the Bills (5-2) on Sunday (3:25 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan), that’s the frustration they hope to avoid.
“There are snaps where you can be perfect,” Spagnuolo added Thursday, “and he still finds a way to get out. So, hopefully those, the number of those snaps are minimal, and we can find a way either to get him to rush his throw, or if he does decide to scramble, get enough guys around there that the gain he has is minimal.”
