Adrian Fedkiw
At 1-5, Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs had nothing to lose. Why not hand the reins over to your up-and-coming offensive coordinator for a half?
Turned out it was just the beginning.
Prior to his introductory press conference in January there were reports saying that Reid allowed Doug Pederson to call plays, but nobody knew how often. During the presser Pederson explained how much latitude he was granted.
His answer may have raised a few eyebrows.
“I was able to call plays since the Pittsburgh game on,” he said. “Coach Reid and I had a great understanding and great feel for the game. He allowed me to call the second half of every football game from that game on.”
That Steelers game was the start of Kansas City’s stunning turnaround in 2015. The Chiefs were in the midst of a five-game losing streak and 1-5 heading into that Week 7 contest, but their 23-13 win was the beginning of their 10-game winning streak to close the regular season. Kansas City then shut out Houston 30-0 to kick off the NFL postseason before bowing out to New England 27-20 in the divisional round a week later.
While some may wonder why Reid would call the first half and not the second, it’s not surprising at all. He’s known as being one of the best at scripting a game’s first 15 plays. Kansas City scored 169 points in the opening 30 minutes and 162 in the final 30 over its last 12 games — including the postseason. So that’s 14.1 points per half for Reid and 13.5 for Pederson, not that much of a difference.
Kansas City held a lead at the break in nine of those contests and six were by 10-or-more points. Pederson was able to preserve the lead in each. He also helped the Chiefs come from behind on two occasions. It still might not be a large sample size, but it’s encouraging.
Just how encouraging was it? Over the next couple of months, I will be going game by game and grading each that Pederson called plays for.
The Pittsburgh encounter was one of the nine in which the Chiefs led heading into the locker room. Steelers quarterback Landry Jones made his first career start after injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick thrust him into the spotlight. The Chiefs were without star running back Jamaal Charles for a second straight game due to an ACL tear.
With a stellar defense going against a quarterback making his first career start the Chiefs’ offensive game plan was conservative as you’d expect. Kansas City forced three turnovers and didn’t give the ball away once. The highlight for Pederson came after Martavis Bryant hauled in a 19-yard touchdown and Chris Boswell kicked a 36-yard field goal to trim a once 13-point Kansas City margin to 16-13 early in the fourth quarter.
He helped execute the four-minute offense to perfection.
Kansas City regained possession with 10:17 left and kept the ball for 5:05 before Chris Conley put the Chiefs back up by double digits with a six-yard TD reception to make it 23-13. Following a Pittsburgh turnover, the hosts ran the remaining 2:05 off the clock to snap the five-game losing streak.
Let’s go possession by possession. Reid helped the Chiefs jump out to a 9-3 halftime advantage.
How the Grading Works:
To put it simply a (+) is a win for the offense, a (-) is a win for the defense and a (/) is a tie. For example, if a team has a 1st and 10 and the offense picks up five-or-more yards it’s a win for them. It’s a victory for the defense if they hold the offense to three yards or fewer. A four-yard gain is a tie.
An offensive touchdown results into (+++), but a turnover forced by the defense gets (- – -). A field goal is (++) and a safety (- -).
(++)- Offense gains 15-29 yards past the original line of scrimmage. If the offense commits a holding penalty and they pick up 15 yards on a 1st and 20, the offense gets just one (+) instead of two.
(+++)- 30-49 yards
(++++)- 50-74 yards
(+++++)- 75-or-more yards
Other notes: A 75-yard TD gets (++++++++) and any pick-six/fumble recovery for a score results into (- – – – – – – -). Another example, if the defense forces a turnover and returns it for 50 yards, they will receive (- – – – – – -). If the defense forces a three-and-out they get a bonus of (- -).
KC 1st drive of second half: 15:00 left in the third quarter, ball at own 22 leading 9-3
1+10 (22) 11 personnel– Charcandrick West right guard three yards (-)
2+7 (25) 10 personnel– De’Anthony Thomas dropped a crossing route (-)
3+7 (25) 10 personnel– Smith stepped up in the pocket and overthrew Travis Kelce on a post corner route (-)
Three and out (- -)
5-0 Pit on drive
The Steelers pressured Smith and collapsed the pocket on both of Kansas City’s pass attempts. The heat forced Smith to step up and overthrow his man on third down. Pittsburgh defensive end Cam Heyward made mincemeat of left tackle Eric Fisher and West did a poor job of picking up the blitzing safety Mike Mitchell. The five along the offensive line and West were no match on third down, but Pederson helped offset the Pittsburgh pressure as the game went along.
KC 2nd drive of the second half: 11:32 left in the third quarter, ball at own three leading 9-3
1+10 (3) 11 personnel– Jason Avant quick out for five yards (+)
2+5 (8) 11 personnel- Antwon Blake step for step with Chris Conley along the left sideline on a go route (-)
3+5 (8)- 11 personnel- Smith is flushed to his right and throws the ball away (-)
Three and out (- -)
4-1 Pit on drive, 9-1 Pit in 2nd half
Pederson called for a pair of three-step drops to counter the Pittsburgh pressure and had Kelce stay in and block on second down when Kansas City took its deep shot to Conley. The Steelers did a great job of taking Kelce out of the play on third down by pressing him at the line of scrimmage. He appeared to be Smith’s primary option, but he had to throw the ball away.
KC 3rd drive of second half: 9:45 left in third quarter, ball at own 47 leading 9-3
1+10 (47) 21 personnel– Cam Thomas stuffs West for no gain (-)
2+9 (47) false start: 2+14 (42) 11 personnel– West inside handoff for five yards (-)
3+10 (47) 10 personnel– Albert Wilson 17-yard deep out from Smith (++)
1+10 (36) 10 personnel– Wilson 14-yard quick slant from Smith (+)
1+10 (22) 11 personnel- West right guard nine yards (+)
2+1 (13) 11 personnel– Conley 9-yard wide receiver screen (+)
1+GL (4) 11 personnel- West right guard two yards (/)
2+GL (2) 23 personnel– West right guard one yard (/)
3+GL (1) 23 personnel– West right guard one-yard touchdown (+++)
8-2 KC on drive, 11-9 Pit in 2nd half
How many times did we see Reid and Chip Kelly get too cute around the goal line over the years. Pederson called three consecutive runs from inside the five and I LOVED it. No play-action boot legs. No shovel passes. No fades into the corner. Just straight power football and Kansas City scored a touchdown.
Prior to the trio of running plays, the Chiefs faced a 3rd-and-10 on the third play of the trek. Kansas City was in shotgun with a pair of double stacks tight to the formation. Avant and Kelce, who lined up deep in the stacks, stayed in to block and Wilson received a free release from Blake and broke open for a 17-yard completion. Avant picked up Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison beautifully. It was another great call from Pederson to counteract the Steelers’ pass rush.
KC 4th drive of second half: 1:40 left in the third quarter, ball at own 16 leading 16-10
1+10 (16) 11 personnel- West 11 yards up the middle, Eric Fisher taunting penalty (/)
1+12 (14) 12 personnel- Ware right tackle three yards (-)
2+9 (17) 11 personnel- Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons sack Smith for a loss of seven (-)
3+16 (10) 10 personnel- West screen seven yards (-)
Three and out (- -)
5-0 Pit on drive, 16-9 Pit in second half
That’s a trio of three-and-outs out of four second-half possessions for the Chiefs. The Steelers sent Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons through the A-gap on a linebacker blitz on second down and were unabated en route to Smith for an easy sack. Outside linebacker Jarvis Jones also took Kelce out of the play by pressing and banging him at the line of scrimmage.
KC 5th drive of the second half: 10:17 left in the fourth quarter, ball at own 16 leading 16-13
1+10 (16) 12 personnel- West off right tackle one yard (-)
2+9 (17) 11 personnel– Thomas motions left and gains five yards (+)
3+4 (22) 11 personnel– Kelce down the right seam for 26 yards (++)
1+10 (48) 21 personnel- West right tackle 36 yards (+++)
1+10 (16) 11 personnel- West left tackle four yards (/)
2+6 (12) 10 personnel- Ware left guard five yards (+)
3+1 (7) 11 personnel- Option pitch, Smith to West for a yard (+)
1+GL (6) 10 personnel- Conley six-yard touchdown in the left flat (+++)
11-1 KC on drive, 20-17 KC in second half
The 26-yard gain by Kelce on 3rd-and-4 was one of the few times he was given a free release. Matched up against Timmons one-on-one, it wasn’t much of a contest. Mitchell originally showed a Cover 3 look, but backpedalled into Cover 2, which left the middle of the field vacant for Kelce.
I commended Pederson earlier for running the ball three consecutive times from inside the five, but his call on 3rd-and-1 from the seven was very Reid-esque. West had just powered for four yards and Ware five on consecutive totes off the left side. Why not do it again?
Instead, Pederson called an option with Smith rolling right and pitching the ball late to West, who barely gained the necessary yardage to move the chains. By the way, look at the great block by Avant on the play.
Conley caught a pass in the left flat on the ensuing snap and sprinted into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown to finish off the impressive drive. It was perfect execution of the four-minute drill, not only scoring but churning 5:05 off the clock. The Steelers had just scored 10 straight points and Kansas City’s eight-play trek essentially sealed the outcome.
KC 6th drive of the second half: 2:05 left in the fourth quarter leading 23-13
1+10 (47)- 11 personnel- West left guard four yards (/)
2+6 (49)- 11 personnel- West up the middle for five yards (+)
3+1 (44)- 11 personnel- West right guard two yards (+)
1+10 (42)- Kneel (/)
2+11 (43)- Kneel (/)
2-0 KC on drive, 22-17 KC in second half
Pittsburgh had a timeout and the two-minute warning to stop the clock, but the Chiefs were able to pick up a first down to ice it rather easily. On the 3rd-and-1, Conley motioned to the right from the slot and faked the jet sweep, but it was West who got the carry and picked up two.
Overall Thoughts:
The Chiefs had a trio of three-and-outs out of their six possessions, which isn’t great, but they also had a pair of outstanding touchdowns drives and were able to run out the clock at the end.
Pederson was able to neutralize the Pittsburgh blitz as the half went on by keeping more players in to block. Kansas City got away with this due to a lackluster Steelers secondary, which finished the 2015 season 30th in passing yards allowed per game (272). I also liked the way that Pederson tinkered with a couple formations to help his receivers get some free releases because the Steelers were jamming them at the line of scrimmage.
Overall, it was a solid debut. Reid helped the Chiefs jump out to the lead and Pederson was able to maintain it over the final 30 minutes.