NFL game plans must be more tailored and detailed as we get closer to the Super Bowl. This is where coaches can make a name for themselves or get exposed.
Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury had an excellent plan against the Lions’ decimated defense and saved his best for fourth down.
The Philadelphia Eagles defense didn’t have its best game against the Los Angeles Rams but coordinator Vic Fangio saved his ace for when it mattered most. Here’s a closer look at the coaching calls that stood out in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Injuries weren’t the Lions’ only problem
Let’s preface this section by acknowledging that the Lions’ defense was decimated by injuries before the game and then lost starting corner Amik Robertson early in the contest. There is only so much a coach can do while cobbling together a professional defense. There weren’t many answers defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn had at his disposal. When they played zone, they got picked apart. When they stuck to their identity and played man and blitzed, they got picked apart. Nonetheless, Detroit’s defense didn’t take care of the issues that were under its control.
The Commanders have used no-huddle all season but right off the bat, the Lions were huddling and because of that, were lining up late. There was even a play when corner Terrion Arnold almost didn’t see a receiver lined up outside of him until the last second. That can’t happen. Glenn likely had some complicated blitz calls that he felt were better communicated in the huddle but the Lions didn’t have much of a shot when they struggled to line up in time. This was a problem before they were hit by injuries — before Week 15, they ranked 29th in success rate against no-huddle snaps.
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With the Lions down by two points in the third quarter, on fourth-and-2, Detroit was beaten on a similar boot play the Commanders called in the previous week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get a first down and bleed out the clock before kicking the game-winning field goal.
Arnold bit inside, giving the edge for quarterback Jayden Daniels to run for the first down. Later on the same drive, the Commanders went for another fourth-and-2. The Lions had 12 men on the field but the coaching staff had ample time to get a player off or call a timeout. They did neither and gave the Commanders a free first down. Such an avoidable mistake can’t be excused by injuries.
Additionally, the Lions were sending corner blitzes from so far out that Daniels could see them and hit bubble screens, including Terry McLaurin’s 58-yard touchdown.
TERRY TO THE HOUSE. 58 YARDS.
📺: #WASvsDET on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1oVkyJaqsv— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025
It was a clever adjustment from Kingsbury, moving the bunch close to the numbers and making it harder to bring perimeter blitzes. On the play, Daniels had the option to either hand the ball off or throw the bubble screen. Daniels saw the blitz coming from a mile away and made the right choice.
Kingsbury’s growth as a play caller
Kingsbury had an excellent game plan against the Lions. Washington gashed Detroit on the ground and he had excellent calls on money downs.
4:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, third-and-5
The Commanders got the ball back with about five minutes left after the Lions cut the lead to 14. They needed to get a first down to force the Lions to burn their timeouts. On third-and-5 with 4:08 remaining in the game, the Commanders had tight end John Bates, who caught eight passes all season, in the game. Daniels motioned him from the backfield to a fullback position. From there, Bates ran a sail route with McLaurin running a shallow underneath him.
The Lions appeared to be in zone coverage but multiple defenders bit hard on the run fake.
The underneath defenders covered on McLaurin, who caught a pass on a shallow route on fourth down earlier in the game, leaving Bates wide open for a 20-yard gain.
I had doubts about Kingsbury based on his offense as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. His offense was too basic, too horizontal, and the plays didn’t build on each other. He has adjusted with the Commanders. An example is receiver alignment. With the Cardinals, receivers hardly moved to different spots because it’s an old Air Raid offense principle to have receivers master running routes from one spot and it’s hard to move around too much when running no-huddle.
From Weeks 1-12, McLaurin only lined to the right of the formation on 14 percent of the plays. Against the Eagles, he had to deal with an unfavorable matchup against their best corner, Quinyon Mitchell, the entire game rather than move around to create favorable matchups. From Weeks 13 to the divisional round, McLaurin lined up to the right of the formation on 24 percent of his snaps. It’s a small adjustment but makes it more difficult for defenses to take McLaurin out of the game with double teams or matching him up with their best corner.
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Kingsbury has called a couple of great games. One was against the Buccaneers, who rank 23rd in defensive EPA per dropback, and the other against an injury-riddled Lions defense. This weekend, facing off in the conference championship against Fangio, one of the best game planners in the league, who has seen the Commanders’ offense twice already, will be a massive challenge for Kingsbury and company.
Fangio’s clutch counter
The Eagles’ defense wasn’t at its best against the Rams’ offense. It already was thin at cornerback before Mitchell was injured early in the first quarter. The Eagles were fortunate that the Rams fumbled the ball twice. L.A. had a chance to win the game at the end with a touchdown and drove the ball to the red zone. But Fangio saved a nifty pass rush scheme for when the Eagles needed it most.
1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, third-and-4
In Week 12, the Eagles sacked Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice on defensive tackle stunts in which defensive tackle Jalen Carter took two blockers with him, freeing up fellow DT Milton Williams for sacks. Earlier in the Rams’ final drive,
Before the snap, edge rusher Nolan Smith Jr. moved from a wide-9 alignment inside to get the attention of right guard Kevin Dotson.
After the snap, Carter faked like he would spike inside on a stunt. This caused center Beaux Limmer to look to the other side for a defensive tackle looping inside. Dotson looked for a slant by Smith into the B-gap because Carter vacated that gap.
This left one of the best defensive tackles in the league completely unblocked for a critical sack.
If Carter weren’t in Stafford’s face instantly, the QB might have found tight end Tyler Higbee breaking wide open in the middle of the field.
JALEN CARTER SACK!
📺: #LARvsPHI on NBC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/xbICRDUTHw— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025
The Rams failed to convert on the ensuing fourth-and-15 attempt and the Eagles won. The Philadelphia defense will have to be much better against a red-hot Commanders offense. Knowing the Commanders will go for it on fourth down, Fangio needs to have a bag of tricks up his sleeve.
Bills sell out to stop Henry
In Sean McDermott’s tenure as head coach, the Buffalo Bills built a defensive identity by playing zone coverage, 2-deep coverage and nickel defense. They’ve been stubborn with this approach and for the most part, they’ve been successful. Against the Ravens’ rushing attack, they had to adjust with Baltimore having rushed for 271 yards on the Bills in Week 4. The Bills played a little more base defense (four defensive backs) than they normally do but they didn’t have enough beef to contend with the Ravens.
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In the divisional round, Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich wisely sold out to stop running back Derrick Henry. The Bills were in base defense on 33 percent of plays, their highest rate since 2021. They blitzed on 26.3 percent of plays, their second-highest rate since 2022, and played 1-deep on 87.7 percent, also their second-highest rate since 2022.
The Bills held Henry in the first half to 21 yards on eight carries (2.4 yards per carry). Henry was more successful in the second half but the Bills forced the Ravens into a passing script in the fourth quarter and won the game.
(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
