Chiefs made this offensive shift in NFL playoffs. Here’s why it’s worked so well
Without Blake Bell, Isiah Pacheco runs for two yards. Maybe.
This was the first play of the Chiefs’ second drive in their 27-24 playoff win against the Buffalo Bills, and the first time that Kansas City had decided to test its three-tight-end look that Sunday.
It went well.
After Pacheco broke a tackle, he still had open space on the perimeter. That’s because Bell kept working on his block, using his 252-pound frame to control Bills cornerback Dane Jackson — listed at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds.
Pacheco’s nine-yard run was a sign of things to come — and also part of an offensive shift that has served the Chiefs well the last two weeks.
KC defeated Buffalo partly because it heavily to a three-tight-end look. The team’s 13 personnel group — one running back and three tight ends — was in for 23.4% of the snaps against Buffalo, the second-highest rate for a Chiefs game since 2016, according to Zebra Technologies.
The highest mark during that time? That was the week before, when the Chiefs had three tight ends in for 24% of their snaps against the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round.
“We’ve just got great guys in the room that love ball,” Chiefs tight end Noah Gray said Wednesday. “ ... We just have fun whenever coaches dial us up.”
Make no mistake: This has been a drastic — and intentional — shift.
During 18 regular-season games, KC had three tight ends on the field for 80 snaps ... total. That averages out to roughly four plays per game.
In two postseason contests, however, that number has jumped to 29 snaps. The most significant benefit against Buffalo was in the run game, as the Chiefs had eight carries for 80 yards with that grouping on the field.
It was one of KC’s best offerings against Buffalo’s defense. Data from NFLverse.com and Joseph Hefner showed the Chiefs averaged 0.38 expected points per play with the setup, which was second-best among their personnel options.
So why would the Chiefs make this drastic of a change during their biggest games of the season?
The most straightforward answer is this: Reid and offensive coaches were playing the matchups.
Miami and Buffalo both faced KC while dealing with many injuries defensively. The Bills, in particular, were thin at linebacker, without many rotation players they trusted.
Which created a dilemma: If the Chiefs put tight ends on the field, would it be better to match that with smaller secondary guys you trust? Or bigger-bodied linebackers with much less experience?
Buffalo chose the former, playing all 46 defense snaps with either five or six secondary players.
And this is how Bell — and also teammates Gray and Travis Kelce — often got matched up in the run game with guys 40 or 50 pounds lighter than them.
KC’s 10-yards-per-run average with three tight ends did have a scramble involved; Patrick Mahomes faked a pass to Bell in the third quarter, then took off down the sideline for a 24-yard gain.
Still, at game point, Reid relied on his three big guys to finish things off.
The Chiefs’ final two plays — Pacheco running for eight yards and then three to pick up the game-clinching first down — had three tight ends out there.
Bell delivered at a critical time. While playing 32% of the offense snaps vs. Buffalo — his highest rate with the starters since Week 1 when Kelce was hurt — Bell posted an 82.5 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus. That was his best mark since Week 17 of the 2021 season.
“He’s the man. He killed it,” Gray said of Bell. “He’s blocking well, running great routes. I’ve learned a lot from Blake over the past three years that I’ve been here. He’s been the vet in the room, and I’m just grateful to have him as a teammate.”
Bell’s usage was part of a more significant run-game shift against the Bills. KC often used a “pin-and-pull” setup, which took advantage of the Bills’ alignment while allowing offensive linemen like Creed Humphrey and Donovan Smith to make blocks in space.
Add those wrinkles to the list of reasons the Chiefs have been successful through two games of this year’s playoffs.
They’ve been willing to adapt — and also play bully-ball when needed.
