At Fantasy Points this season, we’re going to be posting the Raw Film Notes from NFL Films legend Greg Cosell each and every week. These are quite literally Greg’s scribblings and observations he throws on his notepad as he watches all-22 tape.
As Greg is just one man, he can’t get to everything each week, but we’ll be bringing you everything he sees in raw — and unedited — form. This is something all-22 nerds will love, and certainly something fans who want to learn more about their teams should read.
COLTS OFFENSE VERSUS RAIDERS DEFENSE
Colts OL from left to right: Rookie Raimann LT, Nelson LG, Kelly OC, Fries RG, Smith RT
Raiders nickel had Ya-Sin at left corner and Averett at right corner with Jones the slot corner, Masterson and Brown were the nickel LB; Webb was the dime corner, Raiders played 5 snaps of dime
Raiders played both 4-2 nickel and 5-1 nickel, Brown the LB in the 5-1 nickel; Webb would play the high percentage of snaps at outside corner opposite Ya-Sin as the game progressed and Robertson became the slot corner in place of Jones
Raiders base front was 5-2 (at times reduced) with Masterson and Brown the stacked LB; Raiders played some snaps of big nickel with Teamer the third safety with Harmon and Moehrig
Raiders first 3rd down (3rd + 5) went dime with a loaded front and 2 man concept with safety Moehrig dropping down to bracket Pittman from #1 to the boundary in Colts 2x2 set, Averett matched up on Campbell in the slot to the field
Granson 32 yards on 2nd + 9 on second possession came out of 11 2x2, Inside zone run action with Granson sit route from the slot to the boundary with run-after-catch versus safety Harmon; Looked like RPO concept with Ryan eyes on LB Masterson who attacked the run action
Colts looked to get Campbell and Taylor involved in the screen game, Easy throws for Ryan getting the ball to playmakers in space
Colts featured RPO game with multiple quick game route concepts, Good tactic with Taylor at tailback and the defensive focus defending the run
Colts pass game foundation was quick timing and rhythm concepts working the short and short-to-intermediate areas, Ryan at this point is a limited passer and he cannot drive the ball or throw with needed velocity
Raiders high percentage man coverage on 3rd down out of both nickel and dime, They played both cover 1 and 2 man – Campbell 15 yards on 3rd + 11 on third possession came versus 2 man coverage, Campbell #2 to trips beat slot corner Jones on in-breaker
Raiders 3rd down profile versus Colts: Predominantly dime, loaded fronts and man coverage
Colts run game with Taylor was predominantly zone with inside zone the foundation, Colts OL did a good job versus multiple front looks the Raiders presented
There were times Raiders went 5-2 base versus 11 personnel and played 3 under-3 deep behind it: Pittman 18 yards on first 3rd quarter possession, Hi-low concept to the boundary
Colts predominantly 11 personnel versus Raiders: 73% of offensive snaps; They only had 9 snaps of 12 personnel but did not play 5 snaps of 6 OL
Taylor 66 yard TD on 2nd + 6 late in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 personnel versus Raiders 4-1 nickel, Inside zone with wind back element based on defensive front movement and gap fluidity
One thing that stood out with the Colts pass game was they worked the boundary with 2 man route concepts, Defined reads and throws for Ryan and the ball could come out of his hands with timing
Raiders predominantly went with 5 man DL fronts in the 2nd half and there were significant snaps of 5-2 versus Colts 11 personnel, 5-2 put a 0-technique on OC Kelly and that was a matchup that worked for the Raiders in the run game
Campbell 35 yard TD on 2nd + 9 with just over 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Raiders 4-1-6 dime, Coverage looked like man with slot corner Robertson playing soft versus Campbell in the slot to the field; Campbell in-breaker in front of Robertson and it was pitch-and-catch with run-after-catch
Structure of Colts pass game and a strong game by the OL resulted in only 1 sack of Ryan and he was not under duress much at all, Rookie LT Raimann had a strong game
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS COMMANDERS DEFENSE
Commanders continued to play significant snaps of big nickel with safeties Curl, Forrest and McCain; That has become their base defensive personnel
When Commanders went dime (predominantly on 3rd down but some other selected situations) Butler was the dime safety, Davis was the LB in dime
Commanders played some coverage snaps with no free safety, They played off coverage behind pressure and matched up to all 5 eligible receivers
Commanders did not match up St. Juste on Brown as they did to Jefferson when they played the Vikings
Smith 15 yards on 3rd + 5 in the 2nd quarter good read by Hurts versus disguised simulated edge pressure from both sides out of loaded front, Commanders rushed Davis and McCain and dropped out DT Payne and Allen in what became cover 2 behind 4 man pass rush; Hurts read it immediately and hit Smith in the underneath zone void
Forrest interception in the 2nd quarter came on a perfectly thrown ball by Hurts on post route by Brown, Hurts believed post safety Forrest would not be a factor on the throw based on depth and body positioning but Forrest did an excellent job turning and being in position to play the ball
Eagles offense could not get into any kind of rhythm in the 1st half, They had the ball for just over 6 minutes and were able to run only 19 plays (Commanders ran 51 plays in the 1st half)
Outstanding job by Fuller on 3rd + 3 on Eagles first 3rd quarter possession: Fuller off coverage drove on Brown slant route and made a play on the ball, Hurts lazy drop resulted in throw being a beat late
Eagles after Commanders went ahead 23-14 in the 3rd quarter tried to develop some stability and continuity in their offense by running the ball: 3 consecutive Sanders runs
Watkins 16 yards on 3rd + 6 in the 3rd quarter well-designed route concept to the boundary that had answers versus both man and zone, Commanders went cover 1 behind 5 man pressure and Hurts hit Watkins on the crosser from the field to the boundary
Eagles TD drive that ended with Smith 11 yard TD on first play of the 4th quarter featured no huddle and the run game, That is how Eagles got their offense back on track – 7 runs with 6 by Sanders for 29 yards
Smith 11 yard TD on first play of 4th quarter came out of 11 empty versus Commanders man coverage behind 5 man pressure with LB Bostic the only free defender and he was aligned on the second level of the defense, Smith quick out route from the boundary slot beat St. Juste
Eagles showed QB counter in the 4th quarter: Hurts 10 yards behind pullers Dickerson and Mailata – Overall Eagles offense developed a rhythmic feel in the 2nd half when they went back to basics and focused on the run game
Watkins ran by St. Juste on deep post on 1st + 20 in the 4th quarter and Hurts read the quarters coverage and laid it out beautifully to Watkins who then fumbled when tackled by St. Juste
One thing you did not see from the Commanders which had a staple in recent games was the 5 man DL front with Ridgeway the 0-technique/nose shade
LT Mailata has been struggling the last couple of weeks in pass protection closing down the arc, He has been giving up the edge
3rd + 8 with 2:49 remaining in the 4th quarter big play in the game, Eagles had dagger concept called and Brown was open on the dig versus zone coverage late in the down; Hurts felt pressure from his back side with Mailata not securing the edge and he left the pocket running into sack by Sweat
Eagles only ran 47 offensive plays, They only had one 20+ yard play and that resulted in a fumble; It was a condensed offensive performance by the Eagles against a Commanders defense that did not pressure much and played more zone than man coverage
COMMANDERS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Scott was the Eagles slot corner with Maddox going on injured reserve before the game, Eagles played dime on 5 snaps (4 of those snaps were 3rd down) with Wallace the dime safety
Slay predominantly matched up on McLaurin when McLaurin lined up outside but there were not many man-to-man matchups
Tuipulotu was the 0-technique/nose shade in the Eagles staple 5 man fronts, Eagles chose not to elevate Wilson from the practice squad after he played well against the Texans last week (surprising)
Hargrave also snaps at 0-technique/nose shade in the 5 man fronts, That was predominantly the case in the 5-1 nickel fronts
First stat that jumped out was Commanders were 12-21 on 3rd down conversions (they missed their last 7); Heinicke on 3rd down: 7-10 for 106 yards with 5 of those completions resulting in 1st downs
Commanders had 9 3rd downs in which they had 2 yards or less to go, That is an unusually high number
McLaurin 26 yards on 3rd + 2 in the 1st quarter came out of 11 2x2 with reduced splits versus Eagles 4-2 nickel cover 4, Post-cross combination with McLaurin running the crosser; Bradberry did not recognize the route concept and ran with Dotson on the post route rather than passing Dotson on to safety Epps and playing McLaurin in his zone (reduced splits an alert), Commanders chipped both edge rushers to make sure Heinicke had time in the pocket on the longer developing concept
Eagles predominantly played man coverage on 3rd down but they got hurt when they went zone: McLaurin 26 yards on 3rd + 2 in the 1st quarter, McLaurin 14 yards on 3rd + 8 in the 2nd quarter, Samuel 23 yards on 3rd + 6 in the 2nd quarter (dagger/hi-low concept)
Hargrave continued to be a force as an inside pass rusher, He won a lot of matchups even though they did not result in sacks
McLaurin 18 yards on 3rd + 5 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 1x3 with McLaurin #3 to trips versus Eagles cover 1 robber out of dime with Gardner-Johnson matched on McLaurin, Smash concept to the field with McLaurin running the corner route and easily beating Gardner-Johnson
Eagles showed sub fronts with Sweat inside at DT and Williams outside at wide 9, Tuipulotu played in some sub fronts
McLaurin was a 3rd down killer against the Eagles: 5-71 with 4 of those receptions resulting in 1st downs; At times McLaurin lined up in the slot which put either Scott or Gardner-Johnson on him in man coverage
Commanders did an excellent job lining up McLaurin in multiple locations within the formation: 11 yards on 2nd + 12 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 empty versus Eagles 5-1 nickel front, McLaurin slot to twins ran quick slant versus Gardner-Johnson
McLaurin 41 yards on 1st + 10 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with McLaurin the boundary x versus Eagles 5-1 nickel cover 4 with Slay locked on McLaurin, McLaurin beat Slay off the LOS then stacked him and Heinicke dropped the ball in the bucket
Gardner-Johnson interception on 3rd + 3 in the 4th quarter came out of nickel split safety coverage, Heinicke poor decision and poor throw trying to hit McLaurin on the fade ball with Gardner-Johnson already aligned outside the numbers in excellent position to react to the ball and the receiver
Heinicke continues to show a tendency to be scattershot high on throws in the intermediate middle of the field, He missed McLaurin open on dig ball versus cover 3 (cross country dagger) early in the 2nd quarter
Eagles pass rush was not a factor versus Commanders OL that struggled in pass protection through much of the season
Commanders run game versus Eagles 5 man base front predominantly with Tuipulotu as the 0-technique/nose shade with some snaps with Hargrave: 33-108, 3.3 yards per rush; Run game versus 4 man DL front: 11-34, 3.1 yards per rush
Commanders were able to stay with the run game and generate just enough sustainability to stay ahead of the sticks and create manageable 3rd down situations that they were able to convert consistently
Robinson ran hard inside throughout the game, He got hard earned yards consistently even though he rarely was able to break from the second level of the Eagles defense
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS CHARGERS DEFENSE
49ers with Juszczyk back returned to their high percentage 21 personnel: 23 snaps of 21 personnel which was 33% of their snaps; They also had 18 snaps out of 12 personnel
First 3 plays 49ers were in 12 personnel and the Chargers matched up with big nickel, Woods was the third safety with James and Adderley
When the 49ers went 21 personnel on the fourth play the Chargers matched up with 4-3 personnel, Van Noy was the third LB with Murray and Tranquill; From that personnel Chargers aligned in a 6-1 front
Van Noy predominantly aligned on the ball in the 4-3 personnel package versus 49ers 21 personnel, It was a 5-2 front
Davis continued to be the boundary corner with Samuel the field corner, Chargers do not match up their corners; Callahan was the slot corner
Chargers HC Staley started the game on 49ers first possession with different personnel packages and multiple front and coverage looks including disguise and late rotation
Chargers on 3rd down showed 3-2-6 dime package with Murray and Tranquill the LB, Gilman was the dime safety
Chargers played snaps of big nickel versus 21 personnel, Both Gilman and Woods the third safety with James and Adderley in that package
Staley showed the 49ers a lot of different personnel packages and front and coverage looks throughout the game, There were times versus 3x1 sets Davis played zero man on the boundary x WR
Kittle 21 yards on 3rd + 12 in the middle of the 2nd quarter came out of 11 1x3 with Kittle reduced split at boundary x, Chargers out of dime played 2 man but kept Davis matched on Kittle; Kittle used his strength to create separation from Davis on his in-breaker, Garoppolo looked to trips side as his initial read before coming back to Kittle
McCaffrey 21 yard reception to start 3rd quarter came out of 11 personnel with Samuel orbit motion from the field to the boundary and McCaffrey swing route to the field, Chargers went cover 3 out of nickel but Callahan the flat defender to the field after bumping inside to the boundary got stuck with his eyes in the backfield and was outflanked by McCaffrey
Samuel 15 yards on second play of 3rd quarter featured McCaffrey orbit motion from the field to the boundary, Samuel offset in the backfield to the boundary ran counter to the field behind puling LG Banks and LT Williams
Chargers featured 6 man fronts out of big nickel (2 A gap DL) with James on the ball on the edge, Objective was to cancel gaps and minimize 49ers zone running game – McCaffrey 12 yards, Mitchell 10 yards on consecutive plays on first 3rd quarter position came versus 6 man big nickel front
Chargers normal down and distance personnel and scheme was structured to defend the 49ers zone run game: 5-2 base front (Van Noy on the ball), 6-1 big nickel front (James on the ball); There were some 6 man fronts out of 5-2 base with James on the ball
Chargers pass game approach was coverage based with a good mix of single high safety and split safety, They only rushed 5 on 4 of Garoppolo 30 drop backs (one snap of zero)
Two things stood out in the 4th quarter: Jennings was a factor in the short-to-intermediate pass game, and Mitchell was predominantly the feature back
Aiyuk 24 yards on 3rd + 10 on 4th quarter TD drive came out of 11 2x2 versus Chargers dime zero pressure (only zero blitz of the game and it came in a critical situation), Chargers played soft man coverage and Aiyuik from the slot ran an in-breaker versus Callahan; RG Brunskill outstanding job blocking Murray then coming off to pick up Adderley inside of Murray
49ers started to mix in gap scheme run concepts as the game progressed, Mitchell 12 yards to start second 4th quarter possession came on same side counter with Mitchell offset
Garoppolo 2 big 3rd down conversions in the 4th quarter: Aiyuk 24 yards on 3rd + 10 versus zero pressure, Aiyuk 11 yards on 3rd + 9 on next possession with Garoppolo working through progression
49ers 9-17 on 3rd down conversions and they held the ball for 37 minutes, Garoppolo on 3rd down: 8-10 for 108 yards with 6 of those completions resulting in 1st downs
CHARGERS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
C. Ward left corner and Lenoir right corner were the outside corners for the 49ers with J. Ward the slot corner – 49ers did not play any snaps of dime
Sarell made his first NFL start at RT for the Chargers, He is a former undrafted free agent out of Stanford who was a big-time 5-star recruit coming out of high school in Washington
Second 3rd down on first possession Chargers out of 11 empty chipped both Omenihu and Bosa to help rookie LT Salyer and RT Sarell
DT Ridgeway flashed early in the run game showing both quickness off the ball, and control and displace leverage and strength
Carter 32 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end first possession came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field versus 49ers base cover 4, Carter from the slot to twins angled his vertical stem inside and field safety Hufanga passed him on to boundary safety Gipson; Carter then ran the deep sail and was on top of Hufanga, Great ball by Herbert
Palmer 25 yards on 3rd + 4 on second possession came out of 11 1x3 set versus 49ers nickel cover 1 behind 5 man pressure with Warner the fifth rusher, Palmer #3 to trips with C. Ward in press man coverage; Man beater concept with Palmer wheel route off double rub by Carter and Bandy, Defined read and throw allowed Herbert to deliver with timing and negate the pressure
49ers continued to show loaded fronts out of nickel on 3rd down, Warner at times the fifth rusher; 49ers feature multiple stunt concepts out of loaded fronts with Warner part of pressure
49ers broke tendency on 3rd + 7 on first play of 2nd quarter with safety Gipson coming off the edge out of loaded front and Warner the matchup on the TE, Herbert with Gipson unaccounted for off the edge had to hurry his throw on the resulting incompletion
Omenihu and Jackson both continued to line up outside and inside in the nickel fronts, Omenihu has been a good player this season
Carter 33 yards on 2nd + 10 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus 49ers nickel cover 1 with Hufanga matched on TE McKitty, Carter over route ran away from J. Ward and Herbert off outstanding pocket movement to his left made a great throw across his body to his right
3rd + 8 first possession of 3rd quarter 49ers loaded front out of nickel with Warner walked up as a 2-technique, 49ers ran 2 games with Warner the looper behind Givens the penetrator in one of the stunts; Warner got in clean forcing Herbert to move into an incompletion
49ers defense allowed only one 1st down in the 2nd half, Chargers only 52 total yards of offense in the 2nd half
Omenihu pass rush caused the Hufanga interception that sealed the win for the 49ers, Omenihu drove back RG Johnson into the pocket and hit Herbert’s arm on the release
49ers have not been a high percentage blitz defense this season and that mostly continued versus the Chargers, Their tendency is to blitz selectively with their frequency increasing meaningfully on 3rd down
49ers played higher percentage of zone coverage versus Chargers than they normally do, 49ers are not a high percentage man coverage defense although like most teams they increase their man coverage frequency on 3rd down
This was a dominant performance at all 3 levels by the 49ers defense, Their 4 man DL pass rush consistently generated pressure on Herbert and they played their zone coverage concepts on the back end with outstanding awareness and discipline
CHIEFS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars base front continued to be 5-2 (at times reduced) with Oluokun and Lloyd the stacked LB, Campbell and Herndon were the outside corners with Williams the nickel slot corner
Jaguars showed loaded fronts on 3rd down out of nickel, Key and Smoot continued to line up inside in the 3rd down nickel fronts; Jaguars best nickel pass rush front has Walker and Allen outside, and Key and Smoot inside
RPO concepts a significant part of Chiefs offense, They keep building on the route concepts to give defenses different looks
TE Gray has become a bigger part of the Chiefs offense as the season has progressed, As a result Chiefs playing more snaps of 12 personnel with their percentage of more than 25% among the highest in the NFL
Jaguars changed their coverage profile against the Chiefs, Their predominant coverage through their first 8 games was cover 1 with single high safety their coverage structure; Against the Chiefs they played a much higher percentage of split safety including significant snaps of cover 2 – They were playing with a backup corner Herndon (and rookie Brown) on the outside
Jaguars snaps with disguise and late rotation to get to different zone coverage concepts especially cover 2, Make Mahomes work mentally after the snap
Smith-Schuster 25 yards on 3rd + 8 on first possession came out of 11 1x3 versus Jaguars loaded front with 5 man pressure and 3 under-3 deep behind it, Chiefs 2-through-zone with Smith-Shuster running the wheel underneath Valdes-Scantling post route; Mahomes moved to his right and Smith-Shuster in the outside void
Pacheco is a downhill velocity runner with natural power and strong finishing traits, He runs angry and gets hard earned yards; Pacheco is a little stiff in his core and hips but he is physical and competitive
Kelce 46 yards on 1st + 10 on second possession came out of 13 3x1 with tight bunch to the boundary versus Jaguars base cover 4, Mahomes boot action to the boundary off outside zone run action to the field; Kelce the point man in the bunch ran the crosser as part of post-cross combination away from Mahomes boot action, Great design to attack and break down the rules of the underneath defenders with Valdes-Scantling clearing out the deep coverage
Toney factor in the Chiefs offense: Jet sweep 32 yards to start fourth possession; He will be a movement/location/motion player: 23 yards working across the formation into the flat getting the ball on the move in space with outstanding run-after-catch
Valdes-Scantling 18 yard TD on 2nd + 1 came out of 11 2x2 versus Jaguars nickel cover 3 with slot corner Williams carrying Watson on his over route from the field, Chiefs ran mirrored over routes with Valdes-Scantling coming from the boundary and no one matched him
Mahomes has always been comfortable moving and there will always be plays in which he moves out of the pocket when there is no pressure but that is a part of his game that will not likely change and you do not want to coach his instincts and feel for the game out of him
Gray 13 yard TD late in the 1st half came out of 12 2x2 with Gray inside of Kelce in reduced splits to the boundary with McKinnon also offset to the boundary, 3 man route combination with Kelce releasing vertically and Gray running the wheel and McKinnon on the swing, Corner Campbell squeezed Kelce with flat defender Allen expanding with McKinnon while allowing Gray to get over the top of him – Pitch and catch
McKinnon 19 yards on 3rd + 2 on first 3rd quarter possession came on a beautifully designed screen concept versus man coverage: 12 1x3 set with McKinnon offset to the boundary, McKinnon crossed the formation in the backfield with all 3 receivers to the field stemming inside to create picks and traffic
Chiefs featured Pacheco in both the zone and gap scheme run games, You want to get him downhill with burst and velocity; At this point there is not much pace and tempo to his running, He is a see it and go runner
Mahomes has been outstanding versus 5 man (or more) pressures this season: 53-85, 6.6 yards per attempt, 11 TD, 0 interceptions with only 3 sacks
PACKERS OFFENSE VERSUS COWBOYS DEFENSE
Packers increased percentage of 12 personnel versus Cowboys, They had been in 12 personnel less than 30% of offensive snaps through 9 games but against Dallas more than 37% of their offensive snaps came out of 12
Bland was the Cowboys slot corner in their sub defenses – Cowboys 56 snaps of nickel and 5 snaps of dime with no snaps of base defense
Cowboys continued to play significant snaps of big nickel with safeties Kearse, Wilson and Hooker
Packers first 7 plays were runs, the first 3 by Jones and the final 4 by Dillon; They accounted for 33 yards
Parsons was almost exclusively a stacked LB versus Packers, There were 5-1 fronts in which he aligned on the ball on the edge and some conventional nickel fronts in which he was an edge pass rusher
Packers heavy emphasis on the run game in both base and 11 personnel reduced Parsons primarily to a stacked LB run defender, There were not enough Rodgers passes in the 1st half for Parsons to be factor as a pass rusher
Watson will struggle to catch the ball when he needs to use his hands, Right now he does not know how to place his hands to comfortably make those kinds of catches
Jones 17 yards on 2nd + 2 on second possession came out of 11 personnel versus Cowboys 5-1 front out of conventional nickel with Parsons on the ball, Toss to the field off Lazard motion across the formation to play side; Jones clean to the perimeter outside of Parsons
Packers continued to feature Jones to the perimeter in the run game, That has been a staple much of the season; Against the Cowboys they used different motion concepts with WR and TE as lead blockers
Packers featured snaps of Pony with Jones and Dillon on the field, Jones is as versatile as any back in the NFL
Watson 58 yard TD on 3rd + 1 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Rodgers under center and tight bunch to the field with Watson the boundary x, Cowboys cover 1 out of conventional nickel with Brown matched on Watson; Watson go route got on top of Brown and Rodgers off play action placed it perfectly so Watson could cradle it to his body – Packers 6 man protection with TE Lewis the sixth protector
Jones 12 yard TD late in the 2nd quarter featured an excellent one-on-one block by OC Myers on Parsons which allowed Jones to get to the outside
In the 1st half the Packers ran 25 offensive plays, 18 of the 25 were runs by Jones and Dillon; There were only 7 called passes
Joseph played the 2nd half at outside corner opposite Diggs with Brown out with a concussion
Cowboys started the 3rd quarter in 5-1 front versus Packers 12 personnel, Vander Esch was the on the ball with Parsons stacked
Watson was the Packers most targeted receiver versus Cowboys with 8 targets, Rodgers clearly wants to get him involved in the passing game
Cowboys continued to play high percentage man coverage with cover 1 the foundation, That has been their MO for the last 2 seasons under DC Quinn
Parsons first pass rush as an edge rusher in the 4 man DL came on 3rd + 7 early in the 4th quarter, It was a game that did not present many opportunities given the way in which the Packers played
Watson 39 yard TD on 4th + 6 early in the 4th quarter came out of 11 1x3 bunch to the field versus Cowboys dime cover 1 behind 4 man DL pass rush with Parsons again an edge rusher, Watson from #1 in the bunch ran a great route straightening his stem to get on top of slot corner Bland and move post safety Hooker before crossing the field; Great pocket movement by Rodgers and a precise ball placement throw – Big-time play by both Watson and Rodgers
Watson 7 yard TD late in the 4th quarter another man beater concept with the Packers knowing they would get cover 1, Watson from twins side of the formation ran away from corner Joseph and safety Hooker on the crosser and there was no help from the closed boundary side of the formation
Lazard 36 yards on 3rd + 1 in OT came out of 11 1x3 nub with Lazard #2 to trips versus Cowboys press man out of conventional nickel, Play action with slant-flat combination with Watson #3 to trips running the flat route and Lazard the slant after showing run blocking to beat the press coverage
Jones and Dillon combined for 37-203 with Jones 24-138 and Dillon 13-65, What was interesting is that neither had much success running on 1st down: Jones 11-30, Dillon 6-20
Packers play breakdown versus Cowboys: 37 called runs (not including Rodgers kneel down) and 23 called passes – You rarely see that in an NFL game
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS PACKERS DEFENSE
Packers showed 5-1 nickel with Walker the stacked LB, Savage moved to slot corner with Ford the nickel safety; 5-1 front at times reduced with 0-technique and two 3-techniques
Packers also showed 4-2 nickel with Walker and McDuffie the LB; Smith, Enagbare and Garvin all significant snaps as edge rushers
Savage was the slot corner in all sub defenses, That was the change the Packers made with Stokes out for the season; Douglas was the slot corner but he now played outside opposite Alexander
Packers base front was 5-2 (at times reduced) with Walker and McDuffie the stacked LB, Alexander and Douglas were the outside corners with Savage and Amos the safeties
Packers also snaps of 6-1 front with Walker the stacked LB versus Cowboys 12 personnel – Walker is going to be a good player with his desirable combination of length and athleticism
Packers have a strong base front especially inside when it comes to personnel (Clark/Reed/Lowry) but that has not translated into production, They have defended the fifth most runs of any defense in the NFL and they have 141 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry
Rookie Enagbare played 62 snaps versus Cowboys, He was the replacement for Gary who is out for the season with torn ACL
Nickel safety Ford flashed in the run game, He saw things fast and reacted with excellent burst and play speed
Packers at times on 3rd down out of 4-2 nickel showed double mug looks with LB Walker and McDuffie in the A gaps
When the Packers went cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel Ford was the predominant TE matchup
All 4 of Pollard’s 10+ yard runs came on delay draw concepts on 2nd and long versus Packers 4-2 fronts - 13 yard TD came on 2nd + 10 in the 3rd quarter versus Packers 4-2 nickel
Cowboys feature Pollard as an inside runner, He worked consistently between the tackles and he gained some hard earned yards
Packers have been a predominant single high safety coverage defense all season and that did not change versus the Cowboys
Lamb 11-150 versus Packers, He was targeted 15 times with 7 of those targets and 5 of those receptions for 87 yards coming out of the slot
Lamb often deployed as the movement-motion receiver in the Cowboys offense, He is the multiple location receiver – 3 yard TD on 2nd and goal in the 2nd quarter came with Lamb offset in the backfield to the field running the flat route, Packers blitzed Savage off the field edge and the flat was voided for the easy TD
Ford interception late in the 2nd quarter came out of nickel with Ford the middle hole defender in cover 2, Well-disguised by the Packers with late rotation at the snap; Lamb had to cut in front of Ford not run behind him, That interception was not on Prescott
Lamb 30 yards on 2nd + 8 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Lamb in the slot to the field versus Packers nickel cover 1 with Savage matched on Lamb, Lamb over route running away from Savage with a precise ball placement throw by Prescott
Lamb 35 yard TD on 1st + 10 late in the 3rd quarter came out of 12 3x1 with Lamb the z receiver to the field, Packers went nickel and played cover 4 with Alexander in off coverage versus Lamb; Lamb outstanding shake 7 route to create separation from Alexander at the top of his stem with another precise ball placement throw by Prescott
Savage was featured as a blitzer off the slot in the Packers nickel, Packers aggressive with 5 man pressures versus Cowboys; Prescott was efficient completing passes versus pressure but those completions did not produce 1st downs
Packers played 54 snaps of nickel and 6 snaps of dime versus the Cowboys, They played 19 snaps of base defense; Packers have been a high percentage nickel sub defense this season, Only 4% of their defensive snaps have come out of dime
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS BRONCOS DEFENSE
Broncos started the game in a 5-3 personnel front versus Titans 12 personnel (they went 5-3 front versus 13 personnel), They played cover 3 behind that front with corners Surtain and Mathis and post safety Jackson
Second play Broncos went nickel versus Titans 12 personnel, They aligned in a 5-1 front with Jewell the only LB
Williams continued to be the Broncos slot corner, Bassey was the dime corner with Jewell the LB
Rookie Bonitto lined up both inside and outside in the Broncos sub fronts and showed the natural quickness he consistently flashed at Oklahoma
Broncos game plan featured 5 man fronts, They did that out of base and nickel; They challenged the Titans OL
Broncos multiple on defense with their personnel groupings and their alignments and their pressure schemes and their coverages, A lot of different front alignments
Westbrook-Ikhine 25 yards to start third possession came out of 11 3x1 versus Broncos nickel cover 3 behind 5 man DL front, Post-cross combination off hard split flow zone run action to the field; Flat defender to the crosser side was on the ball edge player Cooper and there was no chance he could underneath the throw to Westbrook-Ikhine
Interior of the Titans OL struggled to generate movement in the run game, Broncos 5 man front alignments caused problems for the Titans
Tannehill late to Woods on 3rd + 2 to end third possession, Woods open on quick slant from the field slot but Tannehill late throw allowed Williams to make a play
Broncos a good mix of coverage on 3rd down out of dime featuring cover 1 and multiple zone concepts, Broncos played 9 snaps of nickel and 5 snaps of dime on 3rd down
Broncos aggressive with 5 man DL pressure, They rushed 5 (plus 1 snap of zero) on 17 of Tannehill’s 38 drop backs; Tannehill erratic versus 5 man DL pass rush: 5-16 for 93 yards but 2 TD
Tannehill poor ball placement throw to open Hooper on seam route in the 2 minute at the end of the 1st half, Tannehill left it behind Hooper allowing safety Locke to make a play on the ball
Tannehill came back and led a well-executed 2 minute drive that ended with 9 yard TD to Westbrook-Ikhine with less than :20 remaining: Smash concept to the boundary with Westbrook-Ikhine running the corner route, Safety Jackson a beat late reacting with his eyes grabbed by Burks on the in-breaker; Excellent ball placement throw by Tannehill
Broncos continued to play 5-3 fronts versus Titans multiple TE personnel, They started the 3rd quarter in that front versus 13 personnel: Henry 7 yards
Westbrook-Ikhine 63 yard TD came on 1st down after the Titans had gotten a 1st down on the previous play, It was a flea-flicker off a handoff to Henry – Titans need to orchestrate big plays any way they can
Tannehill big-time throw to Woods on 3rd + 7 on last play of the 3rd quarter, Tight window throw with outstanding anticipation due to having to deliver a beat early because of inside pressure in his face – Maybe Tannehill’s best throw of the game
Hooper 17 yards on 3rd + 11 in the 4th quarter another tight window throw by Tannehill (did he see the trap corner?), Excellent effort by Hooper after the catch
Titans continued to be a zone-based run game with Henry, I don’t think they ran a gap scheme concept until less than 6 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter
Okwonkwo 41 yards on 3rd + 4 with about 4 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter came out of 12 empty versus Broncos nickel with zone to the trips side and man to the twins side, Okwonkwo was #3 to trips and he ran the over route from the zone side to the man side behind underneath LB Singleton and in front of deep safety Jackson; Excellent throw by Tannehill and run-after-catch by Okwonkwo
This was not a good enough performance by the Titans OL in the run game – Will more defenses play 5 man fronts?
Titans could not generate any sustaining consistency with Henry and the run game and the passing game overall is still not good enough to create and maintain any kind of rhythm
BRONCOS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Titans nickel had McCreary left corner and Mitchell right corner with Molden the slot corner, Fulton was inactive; Long and Rice were the nickel LB with Cole also snaps in the nickel with Long
First play of the game Wilson made the wrong read: Dagger concept and Sutton was wide open on the dig but Wilson threw to Jeudy on the deep sail which was undefined when he released the ball; Jeudy hurt on the play
Johnson started the game as the dime safety but he got hurt in the 2nd quarter and did not return, Kalu became the dime safety; McCreary stayed outside in the sub dime
Hinton 35 yards on 3rd + 10 on first possession came out of 11 1x3 set with bunch to the field versus Titans cover 4 out of dime, Hi-low concept to the field with Hinton running the corner route outside of safety Johnson; Good ball by Wilson
Simmons inactive so Titans dime pass rush front had Edwards and Weaver outside with Autry inside, Walker significant snaps inside in the dime front
Titans went zero pressure out of dime on 3rd + 10 on Broncos first possession, Loaded front with Long and safety Adams walked up opposite the load; Adams not picked up clean to Wilson forcing a hurried incompletion – Titans have played zero selectively this season
3rd + 3 on Broncos second possession Titans showed the same 6 man loaded pressure front they showed on 3rd + 10 on first possession when they went zero, This time they backed out rushing 4 DL and played cover 1 behind it; Wilson threw the back shoulder fade to Sutton versus Mitchell and it was incomplete
Cole was the third LB in the Titans base defense, Broncos first snap of 12 personnel did not come until third possession
Okuayinonu played significant snaps in both the base defense and the sub nickel, He predominantly lined up at DE
Wilson just overthrew Dulcich on post route on 2nd + 9 on third possession, Titans were in cover 4 out of nickel and Dulcich got on top of safety Adams – TD opportunity missed
6 man pressure front from loaded alignment was part of Titans 3rd down game plan out of dime, They showed that on 3 of first 4 Broncos 3rd down plays featuring different pass rush concepts and coverage schemes – Adams and Long were the walked up defenders
Third time Broncos lined up in 6 man loaded pressure front (3rd + 9) they rushed 5 with Molden the fifth rusher off the slot and played a 4 across quarters look behind it, Wilson had no throw within structure and left the pocket with Edwards chasing him down for the sack
Titans only played 5 snaps of base defense versus Broncos, They almost always went nickel versus 12 personnel – Broncos 27 snaps out of base personnel
Titans continued to feature 4 man zone exchange pressure concepts, That has been a staple for the last couple of years; Long and Molden predominantly used as the fourth rusher
Wilson still too many snaps in which he is not seeing things clearly, Disguise and late movement causing some problems for him – 3rd + 9 incompletion early in the 2nd quarter a good example
Virgil 66 yard TD on 3rd + 6 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 1x3 nub with bunch to the field, Titans 6 man loaded pressure front out of dime with movement to inverted cover 2 behind 4 man DL pressure; Wilson behind excellent protection hit Virgil in the outside void in cover 2 to the inverted side
Two Titans defenders who flashed throughout the game were LB Rice (first extended action of the season) and DE Edwards (he has been a factor since the Titans signed him), Edwards showed up in the run game as well as a pass rusher
Titans continued to show 6 man loaded pressure front out of dime on 3rd down in the 3rd quarter (clearly part of 3rd down game plan), First Broncos 3rd down (3rd + 5) they rushed 4 and played cover 1 behind it; Weaver edge pressure forced Wilson to move and he threw a deep incompletion
Titans played some snaps of big nickel in the 4th quarter with Kalu the third safety with Byard and Adams (that was result of Molden again hurt), Big nickel has been a significant part of Titans defense over the last month
Titans very few 5 man pressures versus Broncos, They featured far more 4 man zone exchange pressures
Cole sack on 3rd + 10 in the 4th quarter came out of dime with another loaded front, Avery was at outside corner with McCreary in the slot; Titans played cover 1 robber with Adams matched on TE Dulcich in Broncos 11 1x3 set, Cole secondary sack
Weaver late 4th quarter sack came out of dime 4 man DL pass rush with cover 1 behind it, Weaver beat LT Anderson off the edge
Mitchell interception on 4th down to end the game was the result of 4 man DL pressure that came from loaded front, Autry beat LG Risner to the outside and Wilson was forced to climb the pocket and make a throw with Edwards hanging on him
Wilson was never comfortable in this game, Titans were able to generate consistent pressure with 4 man pressures and Wilson has always had a tendency to be over-reactive to opposing jersey color
What is interesting about the Titans run defense is they have faced an average of only about 22 rushes per game which is a very low total, They allow less than 4 yards per rush which is third best in the NFL
Titans continued to be a high percentage zone coverage defense, Their cover 1 percentage increased significantly on 3rd down but overall they are more zone-based than man-based
Broncos 4-17 on 3rd down conversions, Titans best 3rd down defense in the NFL allowing only 28% conversion rate
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Bills high percentage 11 personnel versus Vikings, 85% of their offensive snaps; Vikings played nickel on 95% of their defensive snaps
Evans started at outside corner opposite Peterson with Dantzler inactive, Sullivan continued to be the Vikings slot corner – Vikings did not play any snaps of dime
Vikings continued to be multiple with their 3rd down front alignments: Z. Smith, Wonnum and Hunter all are used as moveable Jokers; Hicks also again lined up at times on the edge in nickel fronts
Bills run a lot of individual isolation routes especially on the outside counting on their receivers to win one-on-one and Allen to consistently make good throws versus man coverage – Davis 19 yards on out cut on second possession a good example
Vikings continued to play 5-2 as their base front with Kendricks and Hicks as the stacked LB
Vikings predominantly played zone coverage concepts versus Bills, Zone coverage is their foundation with split safety featured including a good percentage of cover 2 – DC Donatell comes from the Vic Fangio school of defense
Davis 11 yard TD late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Davis #1 to the field, Vikings out of nickel went cover 1 lurk with right corner Evans in press man on Davis; Allen back shoulder throw to Davis – Bills went 71 yards in 5 plays at the end of the 1st half, Allen 25 yard scramble started it then he went 4-4 for 46 yards and the TD
Booth replaced Evans at right corner in the 2nd half for the Viking; Vikings played more snaps of cover 1 in the 2nd half, They needed to challenge the Bills passing game
Vikings also a little more aggressive with pressure in the 2nd half, They are normally not a high percentage blitz defense but they needed to try to force the issue given the score of the game
Allen was high-level efficient through 3 plus quarters versus Vikings, Bills passing game was sustaining more than explosive; Allen did not take any vertical shots through 3 quarters
Davis 22 yards on 3rd + 16 early in the 4th quarter was Allen at his best: 11 empty versus Vikings nickel cover 2, Allen looked to trips side as his primary read and my sense was he was ready to drive the ball to Diggs on the dig but he felt front side pressure from Z. Smith and moved out of the pocket to his right (opposite trips); Allen off movement then threw a strike to Davis coming back to the ball, Great play
Allen missed a TD on 3rd + 2 in the red zone on the play before the Peterson interception: Well-designed route concept in which Allen had both Davis and McKenzie open and he did not turn it loose until it was too late for a completion – Allen’s first missed opportunity in the game up to that point
Bills OC Dorsey anticipated the Vikings would be in man coverage on 4th + 2 in the low red zone and he called mesh, Vikings went zone and the mirrored shallow crossers got muddied as did Knox on the sit route behind the mesh (the zone answer); Allen tried to make outside of structure and that resulted in the Peterson interception, It was a great play by Peterson with Knox open crossing the field
Peterson interception to end the game was an outstanding play by the veteran corner: Vikings were in cover 4 and the Bills attacked it with “dino” (double post), Morris inside post was muddied by underneath defender Kendricks so Allen then looked to the outside post with Davis but Peterson read the concept and undercut the route
Allen had a strong overall game, He was efficient on 3rd down: 5-9 for 77 yards with all 5 completions resulting in 1st downs and a scramble that also led to a 1st down
DOLPHINS OFFENSE VERSUS BROWNS DEFENSE
Dolphins continued to be a high percentage 21 personnel offense, Against the Browns more than 46% of their offensive snaps came out of 21; Fullback Ingold played 42 snaps
Against the Browns Dolphins played 6 snaps of 20 personnel including Ingold 13 yard TD reception to end first possession
Browns played snaps of big nickel versus Dolphins 21 personnel with safeties Johnson, Delpit and Harrison; Ward and Newsome were the outside corners
Browns played 49 snaps of nickel (which included big nickel) and only 6 snaps of dime, Green was the fourth corner in dime; Browns snaps of 3-2-6 dime with LB Jones and Takitaki, DL had Garrett and Clowney as edge rushers with both rookies Wright an Thomas inside
Tagovailoa continues to see things clearly, He consistently is delivering within the timing and structure of the pass game design with precise ball placement
Wilson 18 yards on 1st + 10 on first possession was power out of 20 personnel with Wilson the I back, Ingold off motion the kick out blocker with RG Hunt the wrapper; Well-blocked giving Wilson a clean first level read
Dolphins run game featured gap scheme, Ingold used as the kick out blocker often off motion across the formation; Ingold also used at times as the wrapper in gap scheme runs
Browns continued to line up rookie Wright at both DE and DT in their multiple front alignment, Rookie Thomas now also part of the DL rotation
When the Browns went conventional nickel Newsome moved inside as the slot corner with Ward and Emerson the outside corners
Waddle 29 yards on 3rd + 4 on second possession came out of 11 2x2 off Hill motion across the formation versus Browns 3-2-6 dime 2 man coverage, Newsome tailgated Waddle knowing he had help over the top but Waddle speed beat the undercut; Tagovailoa great timing and ball placement on seam throw
Overall Browns played a significantly lower percentage of cover 1 versus Dolphins than what their season average had been prior to the game
Browns played high percentage zone coverage versus Dolphins with a good mix of single high cover 3 and split safety with its multiple variations including cover 2
Sherfield 14 yard TD late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 empty with Sherfield #1 to twins versus off coverage corner Emerson, Sherfield fade route with an outstanding ball placement throw by Tagovailoa; Emerson in cover 3 was reading back inside to Hill and was a step late reacting to Sherfield going vertical
Dolphins continued to feature motion as a foundation of their offense, One motion that stands out every week is Hill across the formation outside of either Waddle of Sherfield screaming off the LOS with free access; That’s a tough assignment for the coverage
Mostert 24 yard TD to end first 3rd quarter possession came out of 21 personnel with Mostert the I back versus Browns big nickel, Mid-zone weak to the boundary cleanly blocked at the first and second levels of the defense
Dolphins pass game with its foundational emphasis on timing and rhythm and 3 step and 5 step drop timing throws including RPO concepts minimizes pass rush, In addition Dolphins have one of the best pass protecting LT in the NFL in Armstead
Tagovailoa has been outstanding on 1st down this season: 71-90, 79%, 9.9 yards per attempt, 4 TD, 0 interceptions
