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.
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS SAINTS DEFENSE
Lattimore did not match up to Diggs as a specific game plan, There were of course snaps in which he did but it was not a game planned matchup
Bills opened the game in 21 personnel with Allen under center and they ran a core route concept: Flat-curl seam seal – Diggs 14 yards on the curl
Second play Allen under center out of 12 personnel: C/T pull scheme – Breida 6 yards on the toss
Saints opened the game in nickel versus both 21 and 12 personnel, P. Williams was the SAM LB; Saints played 4-2-5 versus base personnel and 3-3-5 nickel with Elliss the third LB versus 11 personnel
Breida on first possession: C/T pull scheme with Allen under center, Inside zone out of shotgun, Power out of shotgun
Bills first possession featured balance with run and pass, Multiple concepts in the run game with Allen under center and in the shotgun out of both base personnel and 11 personnel
Allen run game still a meaningful part of Bills offense, 2 designed Allen runs on first possession
Knox 7 yard TD on 2nd and goal was designed for Knox: Shotgun outside zone run action to the boundary with Knox showing split flow zone blocking but releasing into the flat, Allen quick throw with slot receiver Davis the lead blocker
Bills first possession (Knox TD): 7 of the 10 plays were called runs including by Allen, They also featured base personnel
Breida was the #1 back to start the game versus Saints and the Bills run game concepts looked to get him outside: Pull schemes (C/T, pin-pull), outside zone, toss; Breida run game with Allen both under center and the shotgun
Saints first snap of 3-2-6 dime came on 3rd + 13 on Bills second possession, They rushed 4 and played cover 4 behind it; Granderson beat LT Dawkins for sack
Davis 26 yards on 3rd + 2 on third possession was a well-schemed out of 11 personnel versus Saints base 4-3 personnel: Allen conventional play action boot off power run action, Davis off tight motion as the boundary x sold back side run blocking before releasing on a condensed corner route – Pitch and catch on a play that tactically beat the defense
Allen missed wide open Davis for a TD on 3rd + 3 from the +13 yard line on third possession, It was tight bunch to the field with Davis #1 running the vertical route; Saints busted the coverage and Davis was not covered, Allen looked that way but came off it quick to the other side and got sacked by Elliss
Sanders 17 yards on 3rd + 3 late in 2nd quarter was a big-time back shoulder throw by Allen, Precise ball placement
Alexander red zone interception late in 2nd quarter was on Allen even though his arm was hit on the throw, Allen did not eliminate and isolate quick enough never getting to the shallow cross by Sanders to the read side; Allen should have thrown it in the flat to Singletary or come to Sanders, He had a throw within the timing of the route concept
Saints in the 1st half featured split safety coverage, It was predominantly zone but there were snaps in which it had some match elements
Bills started 3rd quarter with C/G pull scheme out of 12 personnel: Singletary -1 yard; Singletary 4 yards on second play, Inside zone out of 11 personnel
Singletary was the #1 back to start the 2nd half, He had 5 carries on the TD drive; He was featured in the zone run game both inside and outside zone, 2 of his runs came out of 12 personnel
Diggs 5 yard TD to end first possession of 3rd quarter a schemed concept to get Diggs one-on-one with the corner (it turned out to be Lattimore): Diggs plus split as the single receiver, Beasley return motion to a condensed formation opposite Diggs, Power run action with Allen under center to the trips side; Diggs great whip route showing patience and deception and explosive change of direction and short area burst
Knox 24 yard TD on 4th + 2 to end second possession of 3rd quarter similar play concept as Davis 26 yards in third possession of the game: 6 OL/2 TE personnel with Allen under center play action boot off hard outside zone run action to the field, Knox motion across the formation showing back side run blocking before releasing on short corner route, Allen pulled up and hit wide open Knox beating Lattimore who had his eyes in the backfield
Bills staple all season has been quick game throws outside the numbers off shotgun play action, It is predominantly hitches but you’ll see fades as well depending on the coverage
Final TD drive started with Diggs 28 yards on stutter-go versus Adebo, Saints late rotation from 2 shell to single high cover 3 which was the perfect coverage for the play call
A very efficient game for the Bills offense as they continue to work the run game as a more meaningful part of their offense, They still need to orchestrate more big plays to execute at a higher level but Allen was patient and efficient and he moved the chains on 3rd down: 6-7 for 91 yards and TD with 5 of 6 completions producing 1st downs
SAINTS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
Bills continued to play nickel on every defensive snap, No team in the NFL has played a higher percentage of nickel than the Bills
White continued to line up at boundary corner with Wallace the field corner, That has been the case most of the season
Bills played predominantly zone coverage versus the Saints, They played significantly less cover 1 than they had been playing this season; Split safety zone was the coverage foundation versus the Saints
Addison sack on 3rd + 2 to end Saints second possession he beat LT Armstead off the edge
Milano and Edmunds continue to be one of the best nickel LB duos in the NFL, Milano flashes on film every week with his multi-dimensional traits; I could make the argument that Milano and safeties Poyer and Hyde are the keys to the Bills defense, Slot corner Johnson also critical given that the Bills play nickel every snap
Jones -5 yards on 4th + 2 to end Saints third possession resulted from Milano shooting the A gap on the inside zone run, That forced LG Throckmorton to react to Milano allowing Oliver to get into the backfield and push Jones laterally to Addison – LT Armstead did not know the snap count
3rd + 1 on Saints fourth possession Milano made the tackle on Jones for no gain on power out of the straight I formation, Milano read it immediately and scraped into the POA hole so fast that Armstead had no chance to come off the double team down block and block him
White hurt in the middle of the 2nd quarter and did not return, Jackson came in and played boundary corner
Bills selectively blitzed with a good example being 3rd + 10 in the 2nd quarter: Loaded front with Edmunds and Milano on the ball opposite the load and Poyer walked up outside DE Hughes also opposite the load, Poyer and Milano part of the 5 man pressure with Hughes long stunt creating indecision for OC McCoy which allowed Oliver to work through the A gap and hit Siemian as he delivered
Oliver has consistently shown outstanding quickness off the ball this season, He is very hard to reach for OT in the run game when he is the 3-technique and the run is away
Oliver also flashed outstanding hand quickness as a pass rusher, 2nd + 10 sack in 2nd quarter a great example
Bills front four was the more dominant unit versus the Saints OL in the game, both in the run game and rushing the QB – Saints only 190 yards of total offense
Saints ran wham-trap in the high red zone late in the 3rd quarter (Colts featured it against the Bills last week), Oliver so quick off the ball he beat the trap and forced Jones to bounce outside
This was a game in which the Bills relied predominantly on their DL, They did not blitz much and they played high percentage zone coverage featuring both split safety and single high – Oliver and Milano flashed throughout the game
PATRIOTS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Titans nickel and dime: Jenkins left corner and Fulton right corner with Molden the slot corner, Skrine was the fourth corner in dime with Brown the LB
In the nickel front Autry stayed outside at DE, In the dime front Autry moved inside to DT with Roberson the predominant edge rusher opposite Landry
Titans matched up to Patriots 21 personnel with base 5-2 front, Autry continued to be an edge defender in that front
Patriots continued to show wham-trap as part of their run game, It’s a strong downhill run for both Harris and Stevenson
Bourne 4 yard TD on 3rd and goal in 1st quarter came out of 11 motion to empty with Bourne #3 to trips, Titans went zero behind 5 man DL front with DT Jones dropping out late; Patriots double smash concept with Bourne corner route on top of 2 pivot routes by Meyers and Agholor, Outstanding timing and ball placement throw by Jones beating unblocked edge rusher Landry and a great catch by Bourne versus excellent coverage by Byard
Meyers 22 yards to start third possession came out of 11 2x2 with Bourne jet motion from the boundary to the field, Titans stayed base and matched up with cover 4; Patriots flood concept off conventional play action with Meyers running the intermediate route and Jones throw settling him in the zone void – Another outstanding timing and ball placement throw by Jones
Meyers 20 yards on the next play after 22 yards came out of 11 empty versus Titans base cover 1, Meyers from slot to twins ran pivot route against safety Hooker easily beating him with room to run - Consecutive Meyers receptions the first versus cover 4 and the second versus cover 1
Patriots multiple with their formations and motions and backfield/run actions and route concepts to attack and break down the Titans coverage concepts and define throws for Jones
Meyers 38 yards on 1st + 20 on fourth possession came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field with Meyers slot to twins, Titans matched up with nickel cover 4 behind 4 man DL pass rush; Patriots full field route concept got Meyers matched on Byard on the deep over route
Rice hurt in the middle of the 2nd quarter and would not return, Cole replaced him in the nickel and the base defense
Bourne has become the movement receiver in the Patriots offense, He lines up in multiple locations and is deployed with different motion concepts
You almost never see Jones get stuck in the pocket with nowhere to go with the ball, He sees it and gets the ball out to the right receiver at the right time with the right kind of throw; Jones an innate feel for throwing with pace and touch
What stood out was the Titans DL pass rush could not generate any pressure on Jones, Throws were defined and Jones got the ball out
Skrine significant snaps as the Titans slot corner in nickel and in dime cover 1 he matched up man-to-man on the slot receiver with Molden matched on the back or the TE in 1 robber
Titans continued to feature 4 man zone exchange pressures, That has been their predominant pressure scheme other than 4 man DL pass rush
Byard sack on 3rd + 8 in the 3rd quarter came on a well-disguised triple A gap pressure out of dime: Titans initially showed cover 1 but it became a 5 man pressure with single high safety match zone behind it, Byard from outside the box in man coverage position was the third rusher into the A gap and there was no blocker for him
Bourne 41 yard TD on 3rd + 6 in 3rd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Titans dime cover 2 (it was the first snap of cover 2 the Titans played in the game), Jones took the 1st down throw on the shallow crosser and Bourne made it a long TD – Poor tackling by the Titans
Depending on the specific man coverage call Byard, Hooker and Molden all snaps in which they matched up man-to-man on the TE
Patriots continued to have success in the running game with the pin-pull concept: Stevenson 19 yards in 4th quarter, Harris 14 yard TD in 4th quarter
Jones outstanding on 1st down versus Titans: 13-16 for 203 yards; He was also excellent with 1st down play action: 8-9 for 140 yards - Patriots a little more aggressive pushing the ball down the field versus the Titans
This was not Jones best game, He didn’t throw the ball as well as we have seen him, He missed some opportunities that were there and there were some plays he didn’t see it as clearly post snap
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS RAIDERS DEFENSE
Facyson continued to be the Raiders boundary corner with Hayward the field corner, Hobbes continued to be the slot corner in nickel and dime with Leavitt the dime safety
Wright was the third LB with Perryman and Littleton in the Raiders base defense, He at times lined up on the ball as the SAM
Gallup, Wilson and Brown were the Cowboys 3 WR in 11 personnel; Lamb (concussion) and Cooper (COVID) inactive
Raiders continued to be a high percentage cover 3 defense, No team in the NFL has played a higher percentage of cover 3 than the Raiders; On 3rd down the Raiders are high percentage single high featuring cover 3 and cover 1
When the Raiders went 1 robber out of dime on 3rd down versus Cowboys 11 personnel safety Abram was the TE matchup
Raiders also rely almost exclusively on their 4 man DL for pass rush pressure, They have the lowest 5 man rush percentage of any team in the NFL
Brown 15 yards on slant-flat concept to the boundary with Elliott off jet motion running the flat route, Slant-flat a core concept against cover 3 especially versus off and/or bailed corners
McKeon 10 yard TD on 2nd + 5 came out of 12 personnel on well-designed play action boot concept off outside zone: McKeon attached to the closed boundary, Prescott play action boot left with McKeon selling run blocking versus DE Ferrell then releasing into the flat, Boundary corner Facyson eyes in the backfield late to react to McKeon
This was another game in which the Cowboys OL was not strong with run blocking, Their run game has not been a factor over the last 5 games averaging only 83 yards per game in that stretch
Raiders first 5 man pressure came on 3rd + 7 in 2nd quarter, It came out of 3-2-6 dime versus Cowboys 11 4x1 empty with Perryman the fifth rusher; Well-designed pressure with Perryman from second level crossing the formation and looping behind DE Crosby slanting inside, Perryman got in clean through the B gap and forced Prescott to hurry his throw
Raiders at times in their cover 3 concept out of dime will man match the boundary x receiver on the back side of trips and the offset back to the boundary; They will also feature a 2 man concept in which they bracket/double the boundary x and the slot to the field
When the Cowboys went empty out of 4x1 set the Raiders man matched the boundary x and played zone to the 4 receiver side
Prescott was outstanding in the 4th quarter: 16-21 for 209 yards and TD; Prescott 22 drop backs in the 4th quarter, Raiders rushed 5 only once
Prescott made some big-time throws including Gallup 41 yards on go route versus Hayward on first 4th quarter possession, Raiders cover 1 out of nickel; Gallup 32 yards on fade versus Hayward, Raiders 1 robber
In the 4th quarter the Raiders played predominantly cover 3 at times with boundary lock and cover 1 but there were some split safety coverages mixed in; Schultz 32 yard TD at the 3:00 mark came versus Raiders cover 2 with Perryman running the seam as the middle hole defender
Cowboys need to get their run game fixed, You cannot ask Prescott and the OL to drop back 45+ times on a weekly basis
RAIDERS OFFENSE VERSUS COWBOYS DEFENSE
Jackson 56 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end first possession came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field with Jackson the slot receiver, Cowboys out of 3 corner nickel matched up in man coverage with slot corner Lewis on Jackson; Route concept was mirrored crossers with a deep post and a shallow, Carr outstanding ball placement on crosser giving Jackson run after catch for the TD
Cowboys continued to be a sub defense playing big nickel, conventional nickel and dime; They played no snaps of base defense
Cowboys played more snaps of dime versus Raiders than they had in any previous game this season: 28 dime snaps which was 36% of defensive snaps
Hooker continued to play in the big nickel with Kearse and Kazee; Snaps of 5 man fronts out of big nickel with Vander Esch on the ball on the edge, Reduced fronts
Cowboys also 5 man fronts out of conventional nickel, with Vander again on the ball and Neal the stacked LB
Hooker also played in the dime, He predominantly played on the back end or as a hole/robber defender in both zone and man coverage
Cowboys continued to be multiple with personnel alignments in their dime fronts, Parsons at times lined up inside both at 3-technique and 1-technique
Raiders RT Parker could not handle Parsons in one-on-one pass protection, That was evident from the first possession
Cowboys still a cover 1 based defense but they played some more cover 3 versus the Raiders, There were also combination coverages in which they matched up on the outside with zone inside
Raiders ran All Go H Seam on second possession of 3rd quarter from 4 to the field formation off Jones motion across the formation, Cowboys matched up with cover 1 out of conventional nickel; Jacobs dropped the H seam throw on what would have been a big play
Cowboys showed a 5 man DL front out of dime on 3rd + 11 on Raiders third possession of 3rd quarter, They rushed 5 and played single high safety zone behind it with Lewis locking the slot man-to-man; Car 22 yard scramble
Cowboys a second snap of 5-6 on Raiders third possession of 3rd quarter, Parsons aligned at 0-technique; This time they played cover 1 behind it
As the game progressed Raiders chipped Parsons especially when he was aligned on the left side of the defense matched against RT Parker
Renfrow 54 yards on 1st + 10 in 4th quarter looked like it came versus cover 2 with Lewis the half field defender to the field and Kazee dropping down as the middle hole defender, Kazee had his eyes on Edwards running the in-breaker and did not see Renfrow running the seam from the other side of the formation; Kearse the boundary half field safety showed no awareness at all – This was bad defense by the Cowboys, Renfrow was not part of Carr’s progression
Raiders started final 4th quarter FG drive with shot play out of 12 personnel: Jackson 30 yards; Deep sail-cross combination off conventional play action with 7 man protection versus Cowboys cover 1, Jackson ran away from Diggs on the crosser
Kearse had been the predominant TE matchup for the Cowboys much of the season, In the 4th quarter and OT Neal matched up on the TE; When the Cowboys went 1 robber out of conventional nickel Kearse was the robber
Carr had good success versus Cowboys cover 1: 12-19 for 212 yards and TD; Cowboys play as much cover 1 as any team in the NFL
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
Holmes continued to be the slot corner in the Giants nickel, Crowder and Ragland were the nickel LB with McKinney also getting snaps with Crowder
Bradberry was the boundary corner with Jackson the field corner, Giants defensive game plan did not have Bradberry specifically match up to Smith
Giants dime continued to have Robinson the slot corner and Reed the third safety, They featured 3-2-6 dime with Crowder and Ragland; They also played 4-1-6 dime with Crowder the LB
First 3rd and long (3rd + 11) Hurts broke down in the pocket with no pressure laving a designed throw on the field: Dig ball to Reagor versus cover 4, Giants rushed 3 and went 4 under-4 deep; Hurts ran for 1 yard
Eagles wham-trap out of 11 personnel to start second possession: Sanders 7 yards; Arcega-Whiteside in the game as a blocker; They came back to wham-trap later in the possession: Sanders 5 yards
Ojulari, Carter and Roche all used as edge pass rushers in Giants sub fronts; Ojulari the best pass rusher of the trio
It was evident this would be a high percentage 11 personnel game for the Eagles – Overall 77% of offensive snaps came out of 11 personnel
Giants played predominant single high safety coverage out of their nickel and dime packages, Cover 3 was most played but cover 1 was also featured
Holmes interception in the high red zone to end Eagles second possession was not on Hurts, Watkins on the dig stopped his route coming out of his break
Arcega-Whiteside 13 yards on 3rd + 1 on fourth possession a well-designed concept that worked off both split flow inside zone run action and zone read action with the unblocked play side DE, Arcega-Whiteside flat route off split flow action
Giants did not play many snaps of base defense but when they did it was a 5-2 front, Crowder and McKinney the stacked LB
Eagles success on last possession of 1st half with Hurts counter run game, They pulled LG Dickerson and LT Mailata and showed sweep run action opposite: 14 yards and 18 yards
Ward dropped at TD late in the 2nd quarter on a good ball by Hurts: 1st and goal from the 2 yard line, Ward speed out from the slot and Hurts put it on his hands
Crowder tight red zone interception on 3rd goal late in 2nd quarter was a bad play by Hurts, No defined throw off pressured movement and the result was points taken off the board
Eagles started 3rd quarter with outside zone to the field out of 12 personnel with Hurts under center: Sanders 27 yards; Second play was the same concept: Scott 3 yards
Once Jackson left the game later in the 2nd quarter Giants then lined up Bradberry over Smith
Details of the QB position: Reagor won on quick slant versus Robinson on 4th + 2 on first possession of 3rd quarter, Hurts was a beat late and too far outside with the throw; Hurts no sense of quicker tempo on drop and throw
Giants nickel with Jackson out of the game had Robinson outside with Love moving to slot corner and Reed taking Love’s spot at safety
McKinney interception to end Eagles second possession of the 3rd quarter came out of cover 3, Reagor ran by Robinson on go route but Hurts took post safety McKinney to the ball; Hurts throw lost energy on the back end which has been common with his deep balls
Hurts counter run was most successful designed QB run versus Giants, Eagles came back to it on third possession of 3rd quarter: 12 yards
Eagles starting to add layers to designed QB run game with more formations, more backfield actions and more blocking schemes: Hurts 13 yards on 3rd + 1 on third possession of 3rd quarter good example with Arcega-Whiteside offset in the backfield and Watkins orbit motion
Eagles shot play on first possession of 4th quarter from -48 yard line: Post-cross combination with Hurts under center but Williams beat Kelce right off the snap and forced Hurts out of the pocket into a throwaway
Hurts sack on 3rd + 4 early in 4th quarter resulted from Love blitz off the edge, Scott crossed the formation but he was driven into the pocket by Love
Giants did not play dime in the 2nd half until the Eagles final possession, Safety Parker was the dime
Giants played significant snaps of man coverage on the Eagles final possession, both cover 1 and 2 man; Giants played 2 man on the final 2 Eagles plays with Ragland the spy on Hurts
Reagor 2 bad drops on the final possession that would have likely won the game for the Eagles, the first on a go route versus Robinson with Hurts making a great throw and the second on 4th down where the ball went right through his hands
Smith was Hurts first read on the final play but the mesh/rub element with Watkins did not happen the way it was supposed to and Hurts did not feel he had a clean throw to Smith
Eagles not efficient at all throwing on 1st down: Hurts 4-11 for 21 yards with an interception
GIANTS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
First 3rd down (3rd + 5) Eagles went cover 1 out of nickel with Edwards matched on Barkley and Singleton the underneath lurk/spy defender; Cox lined up at wide 9 DE and beat RT Solder off the edge, Cox edge rush along with T/T stunt by Barnett the penetrator and Hargrave the looper forced Jones into a hurried incompletion
Rookie DT Williams continued to be impressive: Consecutive plays on second possession in which he showed power and leverage as a run defender, and quickness off the ball as a pass rusher
Eagles again went cover 1 out of nickel on second 3rd down (3rd + 8), This time Edwards matched up on TE Engram who made the 7 yard reception on quick out from #3 to trips
Eagles continued to feature 5-2 as a base front with Avery the SAM LB aligned on the ball, It has been a staple all season; Eagles also played 5-2 fronts out of nickel with a safety in the box
3rd + 8 in the high red zone Eagles went cover 8 playing cover 2 to the field and cover 4 to the boundary with Slay matched man-to-man on boundary x Golladay, Slay tight coverage resulted in incompletion – Slay playing at a high level right now
3rd + 7 on Giants third possession Eagles went zero out of nickel, They tried to disguise it as long as they could but safety McLeod stayed in the deep middle a little too long and was not in position to play top down on Ross crosser for 19 yards; Eagles played releases versus Giants bunch
Eagles did not match Slay on Gollady, Slay continued to play left corner with Nelson at right corner; Both Edwards and Singleton matched up on Barkley when the Eagles went cover 1
Eagles against the Giants featured a good mix of single high safety coverage with cover 1 being predominant, and split safety coverage featuring cover 2, cover 4, cover 6 and cover 8
Eagles continued to play significant snaps of nickel versus base personnel, That has been a trend over the last couple of games
Eagles first snap of dime came on Giants 3rd + 24 in the middle of the 2nd quarter, Second snap of dime came on 3rd + 7 on Giants first possession of 3rd quarter: 5 man pressure out of initial double mug look with Singleton into A gap and Maddox off the edge part of the pressure, Giants beat the pressure with screen to Booker 17 yards
Eagles in 3rd quarter showed 5 man front out of nickel with Singleton on the ball on the edge and Edwards the stacked LB, Singleton fifth rusher at times – It’s a front that almost always dictates one-on-one protection
Eagles defensive front did a strong job versus the Giants run game especially out of 5-2 front, Williams consistently flashed
Eagles showed double mug looks out of dime with Singleton and Harris in the A gaps, Multiple pressures and coverages came out of that front
3rd + 7 just outside the red zone with 3 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter Eagles played nickel and went cover 1, Excellent play by Maddox on Cooper
Giants had a 12 play 7½ minute FG drive in the 4th quarter, They only had 2 3rd downs with Gollady 18 yards converting the first and an incompletion leading to the FG
TEXANS OFFENSE VERSUS JETS DEFENSE
Jets nickel: Hall left corner and Guidry right corner with Carter the slot corner, Davis and Riley/Pinnock were the safeties, Mosley and Williams the nickel LB – Jets a high percentage sub nickel defense, They do not play much dime other than some 3rd downs
Jets showed loaded fronts on 3rd down out of dime, Mosley was the dime LB - In dime they played Hall and Dunn at corner with Guidry moving inside with Carter, Pinnock was at safety with Davis
Jets played much less cover 1 versus Taylor and the Texans than their season percentage, They did play significant snaps of cover 1 on 3rd down – A function of Taylor ability to run out of the pocket?
Texans ran wham-trap on their second possession, RG McCray was the trap blocker and TE Brown was the wham blocker; 3-technique DT Rankins physically drove back Brown into the backfield
Quin. Williams sack on 3rd + 6 in 1st quarter came out of nickel cover 1 behind 5 man pressure out of loaded front, Mosley was the fifth rusher opposite the load and Williams added in as the green dogger when back Burkhead picked up Mosley; There was no one to account for Williams
Jets showed boundary corner blitz with Hall in the high red zone, Hall blitz resulted in Franklin-Myers sack
Pinnock was the TE matchup in dime cover 1 with Davis the post safety, There were snaps in which Pinnock matched up to the #3 WR in trips when the Jets went cover 1
Jets only played 1 snap of base defense versus the Texans and the Texans played 21 snaps of 12 (20 snaps) and 21 (1 snap) personnel, Nickel was their game planned approach, Davis was the third LB in base
Jets showed zero on 3rd down out of nickel in the high red zone, They played off coverage match not press man – Jordan 13 yard TD on 3rd and goal came versus that defense
Taylor overthrew open Collins on 1st + 10 shot play from the +39 yard line, Collins open on deep sail route versus Jets nickel cover 3
Jets featured disguise and late movement on 3rd down, They showed double mug looks and late safety rotation; Cooks 40 yard TD on 3rd + 11 in 2nd quarter beat late safety rotation out of dime with Pinnock rotating from split safety to post safety and getting beat over the top by Cooks post
Jets defense looked active and fast versus the Texans, They made plays sideline-to-sideline; LB Mosley and Williams consistently flashed
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
This was a base defense game for the Vikings, They played 76% of their defensive snaps out of base; Kendricks, Barr and Vigil were the LB
23 of Mitchell 27 carries came out of 21, 12 and 22 personnel for 118 yards; 49ers are a high percentage base personnel run offense – For the season Mitchell is 119-568, 4.8 yards per rush out of those 3 personnel groups, That is 83% of his carries
Mitchell 15 yards on 2nd + 4 in the 1st quarter came out of 12 personnel with both TE attached to the field, Outside zone toss to the field: Patience, vision, lateral quickness, short area burst
One trait that consistently stands out with Mitchell is he has a desirable combination of patience and decisiveness, He never looks hurried but when he sees it he goes with explosive burst
Mitchell is a competitive physical downhill runner for his size, He consistently gets hard yards
49ers run game with Mitchell attacked the edges – That’s the 49ers mantra: Attack the edge until the defense takes it away
Mitchell 4 yards in 2nd quarter was split flow mid-zone out of the shotgun with Mitchell and Samuel flanking Garoppolo in the backfield
Vikings featured 5 man fronts out of base with Barr and Vigil each at times on the ball on the edge to defend the 49ers base personnel run game
Mitchell 12 yards in 3rd quarter good example of motion changing second level run support: Misdirection element by both the OL and Mitchell plus the down block by Aiyuk on the plays side stacked LB cleared the edge for a good gain
Barr hurt in the 3rd quarter, He was replaced by Lynch in the Vikings base defense
Samuel 20 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 1st quarter came out of 21 personnel versus Vikings base defense: Samuel and Juszczyk offset in the backfield with Wilson from wing alignment motion across the formation to play side, Outside zone to the field
Samuel 49 yards on 2nd + 5 in 3rd quarter came out of 21 personnel versus Vikings base defense: 1x3 nub set with tight bunch to the field, Pin-pull concept with Wilson #3 in the bunch and RT Compton pulling and point man Aiyuk and #1 in bunch Juszczyk the pin blocks
Jennings 21 yards on 3rd + 6 on first possession came out of 11 empty with bunch to the field, 3 man route concept versus Vikings nickel cover 3 was to create a passing window for Garoppolo to hit Jennings on the in-breaker versus Breeland; Garoppolo held post safety Woods as long as he could then stuck the ball right on Jennings hands
Aiyuk 37 yards on 3rd + 13 in the 1st quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Vikings nickel cover 4 behind 5 man pressure with Barr rushing from the A gap from double mug front and Smith off the field edge; Post-cross combination with Samuel running the post and Aiyuk the crosser
Garoppolo made some big-time throws on 3rd down between the numbers, Tight window throws versus zone coverage
Aiyuk has been a big factor in the 49ers passing game the last month with 25 targets, He works the middle of the field effectively with 17 of those 25 targets coming on in-breaking routes, On those 17 in-breaking targets he is 15-258 with 2 TD
VIKINGS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers base defense had Ebukam and Bosa at DE with Armstead and Jones inside, Warner was the MIKE with Greenlaw the SAM and Al-Shaair the WILL
Givens played snaps inside at DT and Omenihu snaps outside in both the base defense and sub fronts; Key snaps at DE in the base front and at DT in sub fronts
Moseley was the left corner with Norman the right corner, They played sides and did not match up
49ers continued to play snaps of dime on 3rd down, Safety Hufanga was the dime with Warner the only LB; Hufanga also snaps in the base and nickel in rotation with Tartt
Thielen 20 yard TD on 2nd + 3 in 2nd quarter came on a Vikings staple: Play action boot left off outside zone opposite with Thielen running the back side crosser, Cousins threw the ball to settle Thielen in the void inside of safety Hufanga
Bosa sack on 1st + 10 in 2nd quarter came out of base versus Vikings 21 straight I formation, Bosa beat rookie LT Darrisaw with hand usage and strength
Greenlaw hurt on the Bosa sack, He did not return; Harris played SAM LB in the base defense
49ers continued to show loaded fronts on 3rd down out of dime, Multiple stunt concepts came from that front
Al-Shaair interception on Vikings first play of 3rd quarter came out of base cover 3 with Al-Shaair the hook-to-curl defender to the field, Vikings ran basic flat-curl concept and Al-Shaair read Cousins getting underneath the curl to Thielen
49ers coverage foundation versus Vikings was cover 3, They played high percentage zone coverage only playing cover 1 in specific situations; 49ers also featured high percentage 4 man DL pressures, They did not rush 5 on many snaps
Flannigan-Fowles replaced injured Warner at MIKE late in the 3rd quarter, He played in the base and the nickel with Al-Shaair taking Warner’s role in dime – Al-Shaair and Harris played in the nickel down the stretch in critical situations
On 3rd + 7 early in the 4th quarter 49ers went with dollar personnel versus Vikings 01 personnel, Corner Johnson was the seventh defensive back; 49ers went 1 robber with Hufanga the robber, Ward was the TE matchup – Bosa and Key the edge rushers with Armstead and Ebukam inside
49ers showed some multiple front alignments out of dime with Armstead, Key and Ebukam
DT Jones flashed in the run game both with strength and quickness, He has excellent foot quickness for his stout body type and he made plays off movement working down the LOS
Vikings 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line in the 4th quarter: 49ers split field zone coverage with 4 over 3 to trips and 3 over 2 to twins, Hufanga excellent job reading the route distribution out of trips bunch and he matched Conklin on the back line in-breaker making a play on the throw
49ers went 2 man out of dollar on 4th + 8 with :50 remaining in the game, Cousins incompletion to Jefferson on dig route versus Norman
This was a strong defensive performance by the 49ers especially in the run game, Cook had a 30 yard run but other than that they shut down the Vikings running game
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS WASHINGTON DEFENSE
Washington continued to play big nickel as their base defense, both 4-2-5 and 5-1-5; They continued to play 5 man fronts with Davis on the ball and 5 man fronts with 5 DL personnel
Big nickel was also Washington personnel versus snaps of 11 personnel in normal down and distance situations
First 3rd and long (3rd + 9) Washington went dime playing 3 under-3 deep behind 4 man rush with Holcomb the spy on Wilson, Curl in underneath coverage played more of a robber position
Corner Johnson was the dime for Washington, He lined up over the slot; Johnson was also the nickel when Washington went conventional nickel with 3 corners, Collins did not play in that sub package
Smith-Williams and Toohill continued to be the predominant edge rushers for Washington, Wise and Toney also got snaps
Everett 6 yard TD on 3rd + 5 to end second possession came out of 11 3x1 with Everett #3 to trips, Washington out of dime doubled Metcalf at boundary x and matched safety Curl on Collins and LB Holcomb on Everett; Everett shallow crosser and Wilson made an outstanding ball placement throw with almost no room
Jackson played left corner and Fuller right corner, They played sides and did not matchup to Metcalf or Lockett
Lockett 39 yards to start fourth possession came on shot play versus Washington big nickel cover 3, 2 man route combination with Metcalf running the curl route from the boundary and Lockett the deep over from a reduced split to the field; Conventional play action with deep drop and Wilson laid it out to Lockett who beat post safety McCain
Seahawks could not generate any meaningful run game versus Washington’s defensive front, Collins and Dallas a combined 10 carries for 18 yards
What was interesting and surprising was Metcalf was not part of the Seahawks offense/passing game, He was not targeted until the 3rd quarter and on his first target he was not the primary receiver
Curl sack on 3rd + 8 late in 3rd quarter came out of dime, Washington showed a loaded 6 man front with Holcomb and Collins on the ball inside of Toney opposite the load; 5 man pressure with Holcomb rushing through the A gap and Curl who lined up over Everett rushing off the edge, Dallas picked up Collins which meant there was no one to account for Curl – Well-designed pressure concept that started with front alignment
Wilson right now is not seeing things clearly and/or fast enough, Result is throws that are there are left on the field
On the Seahawks final TD drive Washington featured almost all zone coverage, They showed some pressures and some stunt concepts
Washington continued to play high percentage zone coverage concepts, This has been a trend starting with the Bucs game 3 weeks ago; They had been playing a good percentage of cover 1 but that has significantly changed
Against the Seahawks Washington played more split safety zone coverage than single high safety zone coverage
WASHINGTON OFFENSE VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Reed right corner and Jones left corner were the Seahawks outside corners, Amadi continued to be the slot corner; Wagner and Brooks were the nickel LB
Seahawks continued to feature 5-2 as a base front, often reduced with a 0-technique and 2 3-techniques; They have done that all season
Adams strong play as a cover 4 safety on Washington first 3rd down (3rd + 4) of the game: Heinicke came back to McLaurin on the back side dig and Adams excellent job reading Heinicke and staying in position to drive on the route
Washington continued to show Pony package with Gibson and McKissic on the field together, McKissic often used as a movement player in that package
With return of Samuel Washington now has 2 players in Samuel and McKissic who can line up in multiple locations in the formation, in addition to being deployed as motion players; It gives Washington more formation versatility
Washington among the NFL leaders in use of motion in the run game, Only the 49ers have used motion more in the running game
Washington run game with Gibson worked both inside and outside, Gibson a straight-line power/speed runner with competitiveness and strong finishing traits; Sustaining traits as a foundation runner
Adams used as a blitzer at times on 3rd down out of dime, Scheme him as a blitzer to get him matched on running backs
Seahawks dime continued to have Neal as the dime – Seahawks played 7 snaps of dime versus Washington with 5 coming on 3rd down
Gibson 17 yards in 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Seahawks 5-1 nickel front with Brooks the SAM LB on the ball, Washington ran outside zone to the nickel Amadi who McLaurin ran off with his vertical release; Outstanding block by LG Flowers on stacked LB Wagner
Carter 15 yards on 4th + 4 late in 4th quarter a good example of Heinicke’s ability to process within the structure and timing of the route concept: Washington read mesh anticipating man coverage but Seahawks went cover 3 boundary lock, Heinicke read it and hit Carter on the sit route zone beater behind the mesh
Heinicke has been efficient in Washington’s 3 game winning streak, He is quick to see it and get the ball out taking what’s there and keeping the offense on schedule; He has also shown a second reaction dimension to his game and despite his size a physical competitive element
Seahawks not a high percentage blitz defense and they don’t increase their blitz percentage significantly on 3rd down out of dime
Seahawks continued to be a high percentage zone coverage defense featuring split safety as the predominant coverage foundation but also significant snaps of cover 3, Cover 2 a staple coverage; Seahawks have played a low percentage of cover 1 relative to other NFL teams although they will play it on 3rd down
AARON RODGERS VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
Nijman was the Packers LT with Jenkins out for the season, He had made 3 starts at LT earlier in the season
Deayon was the Rams third corner with Ramsey and Williams, He played both outside and the slot based on the specific defense; Ramsey played both outside and the slot as he always does
Rams continued to play both 4-2-5 and 5-1-5 sub nickel, Reeder was the LB in the 5-1-5 package
Scott continued to be the Rams dime safety, Rookie Jones was predominantly the dime LB
It was evident from the star that the Packers game plan featured shifts and motions with Adams, along with multiple locations within the formation
Rams continued to feature loaded fronts on 3rd down out of dime; They have Donald, Miller and Floyd all of whom can line up in any position in a loaded front
There were snaps in which Ramsey matched up to Adams press man-to-man on the outside, There were snaps in which Ramsey played off coverage man – But it was not a game planned every snap matchup
Gaines sack on 3rd + 7 early in 2nd quarter from +26 yard line prevented a TD, Rodgers climbed the pocket and Daguara was wide open on the crosser versus Rams dime cover 4 but Gaines off T/E stunt with Miller re-directed and made the sack
Cobb 54 yards on 3rd + 3 in 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Cobb the slot to the field versus Rams nickel cover 3, Big-time seam throw by Rodgers getting it over hook-to-curl defender Jones right into the void inside of flat defender Deayon and in front of post safety Rapp – That’s a throw not many QB would have attempted
Adams 43 yards on 3rd + 2 in 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Dagaura motioning across the formation to #1 to trips outside of Adams who was now #2 to trips, Rams out of dime were in 1 robber with Ramsey initially matched on Adams but the Rams bumped with Ramsey matching Daguara and Deayon now matched on Adams, Packers did not know the Rams would play it that way but they got the matchup of Adams versus Deayon on the slot fade
Cobb 7 yard TD on 2nd + 6 in 2nd quarter came with Cobb offset in the backfield to the boundary, Cobb ran the angle route and beat Rapp; Rams 4-2-5 nickel with Jones aligned as the standup 0-technique in 5 man front
Rams were able to generate good pressure on Rodgers in the 1st half, he made a lot of throws out of collapsing pockets; Rams featured loaded fronts and multiple stunt concepts to attack and break down the Packers OL
LB Jones in both nickel and dime was at times aligned as a standup on the ball defender in 5 man front looks, He aligned both at 0-technique and 3-technique in loaded fronts
Valdes-Scantling 28 yards on 2nd + 14 on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Rams late rotation to cover 1 out of dime, Valdes-Scantling and Lazard switch release and Valdes-Scantling beat Williams on corner route
Rams more aggressive with man coverage in the 4th quarter down by more than one score, That’s where we saw more of the Ramsey-Adams matchup
Rams consistently got pressure on Rodgers throughout the game, Rodgers made some excellent throws but he was not comfortable in the pocket much of the game
Rams played a higher percentage of man coverage versus the Packers but they still showed that they are foundationally a zone coverage defense, Ramsey-Adams matchup was not a defining feature of the game
BENGALS OFFENSE VERSUS STEELERS DEFENSE
Mixon 25 yards on second play of the game was outside zone to the boundary out of 12 personnel – Mixon has been one of the best I backs in the NFL this season, Almost 80% of his carries have come as an I back: 163-756, 4.6
Maulet continued to be the Steelers nickel slot corner with Sutton at right corner and Pierre at left corner
6 OL personnel part of Bengals offense, They are among the league leaders in snaps with 6 OL personnel
Bengals run game is predominantly zone, Mixon more of a methodical downhill zone runner than an explosive short area burst zone runner; What Mixon does have is excellent vision to read gap fluidity and defensive flow
Bengals will mix in some gap scheme and some perimeter runs like pin-pull, Also saw delay draw; Mixon can be effective with multiple run game concepts
One thing we have seen all season is Burrow throw to the one-on-ones on the outside, Higgins 32 yard TD on 1st + 10 early in 2nd quarter a good example: 11 3x1 set with Higgins #1 to trips versus off coverage corner Pierre, Steelers rushed 5 and played cover 1 behind it; Burrow threw to the matchup and Higgins high-pointed the ball
Empty sets continued to be a significant part of Bengals passing game – Burrow second most empty set drop backs in the NFL behind Stafford: Burrow 62-88 for 605 yards with 5 TD and 4 interceptions out of empty
Steelers only 5 snaps of dime versus Bengals, They still played Witherspoon at right corner opposite Pierre with Sutton and Norwood inside, Spillane continued to be the dime LB
Steelers a good mix of single high safety coverage with cover 1 and cover 3, and split safety coverage; They were not overly aggressive with blitz
RG Adeniji in his third consecutive start has been effective as a run blocker in the zone run game, Light active feet and good balance on the move
Left side of Bengals OL with LG Spain and LT Williams did an excellent job in the zone run game, OC Hopkins also some outstanding reach blocks; Majority of Mixon outside zone runs versus Steelers went to the left side of the offense
What really stood out was the play of the Bengals OL in the run game, They consistently controlled the POA versus the Steelers defensive front; Bengals did not need Burrow and the passing game to be a big factor
COLTS OFFENSE VERSUS BUCS DEFENSE
Murphy-Bunting and Dean were the Bucs outside corners until Dean got hurt early in the game, Desir replaced him; Safety Edwards was the fifth defensive back in the sub nickel and there were snaps he was the slot corner
Bucs base front is 5-2 at times reduced in a Bear alignment, Vea almost the 0-technique in that front and he is a tough assignment for OC
First 3rd down (3rd + 6) Bucs went 2 man out of nickel behind loaded front versus Colts 11 empty with LB White matched on Hines in the twins slot and safety Winfield matched on Hilton #2 to trips
Bucs played meaningful snaps of base defense versus Colts 11 personnel, Likely a function of injuries and lack of depth at the corner position
Bucs went cover 3 out of disguise and late movement on 3rd + 8 on Colts third possession, They showed double mug look but dropped out at the snap into cover 3 behind 4 man DL pass rush
Tryon snaps inside in the Bucs pass rush nickel front, He also was used as a looper in stunt concepts out of loaded fronts
Dulin 62 yard TD on 1st + 10 on fourth possession was set up well by the personnel sequencing in the previous 2 plays, 2 plays prior to the TD featured 6 OL personnel, Dulin TD featured 13 personnel with Dulin the boundary x and all 3 TE in tight bunch to the field; Post-cross off conventional play action with 7 man protection, Post safety Winfield stayed low with eyes on the crosser by Granson, Dulin post versus outside leverage corner Murphy-Bunting – Great throw by Wentz 60 yards in the air
Colts had some success running with Taylor on fifth possession out of 11 personnel versus Bucs nickel, Overall Colts did not feature Taylor as a foundational part of game plan versus Bucs defense that nobody runs against
Doyle 15 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 2nd quarter came out of 12 2x2 balanced with reduced splits by both WR versus Bucs 5-2 cover 3, Colts attacked the boundary third with 2 through a zone concept: Pittman vertically attacked corner Murphy-Bunting and Doyle ran the wheel behind Pittman, OLB Nelson was responsible for matching the wheel route but that matchup favored the Colts – Great design to attack 5-2 cover 3
Bucs played some snaps of 2 man coverage which allowed them to match both Winfield and Edwards at times on WR, Edwards a snap in 2 man in 3rd quarter in which he matched up on the boundary x Hilton
2 man was the Bucs foundational man coverage concept versus the Colts and Winfield matched up on a WR in that coverage, often Hilton
Bucs started to increase blitz frequency in the 2nd half; In the 1st half they showed a triple A gap 5 man pressure with 3 under-3 deep behind it, Triple A gap has been a Bowles special for years
Doyle 22 yards late in 2nd quarter another cover 3 beater: Flood concept to the boundary with Doyle running the intermediate corner route
Hilton 4 yard TD on 4th + 1 at the end of the 1st half came on sprint right option with Hilton from the slot to trips running the quick out cut versus Desir in man coverage and Wentz putting the ball right on his hands
Pittman 23 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter came on scissors concept which is a Frank Reich staple, Pittman broke inside on what was essentially a skinny post just underneath Alie-Cox on the corner route versus Bucs cover 2
Barrett sack-forced fumble-recovery came out of base 5-2 front with all 5 DL rushing dictating Barrett-LT Fisher matchup, It was one of the few snaps of cover 1 the Bucs played; Barrett beat Fisher off the edge
Winfield interception in the 3rd quarter came on Colts shot play out of 12 personnel, Colts got what they wanted with Pittman deep over route versus post safety Winfield; Wentz left the ball too far inside and that allowed Winfield to measure the throw with Pittman off balance to react to the ball
Colts OL at times throughout the game struggled with stunts, T/E stunt versus the right side of the OL was an issue a couple of times
Colts 4th quarter TD drive featured Taylor run game as the driving force: 11 personnel versus Bucs nickel to start the possession but also snaps of 12 versus Bucs 5-2 base – Taylor 8-58 including 4 yard TD
Bucs coverage approach was more zone based than had been the case throughout the season, They played more split safety with cover 2 a strong foundation
TUA TAGOVAILOA VERSUS PANTHERS DEFENSE
Dolphins continued to be a predominant 12 personnel offense, In Tagovailoa last 2 starts the Dolphins have been in 12 personnel on almost 75% of their offensive snaps
Panthers continued to be a big nickel defense as their base, They played a 4-2-5 defense with Thompson and Carter the LB
Panthers played snaps of dime on 3rd down, It was 3 corner-3 safety dime; Bouye was predominantly the slot corner
Second 3rd down (3rd + 5) Panthers went nickel with 4 corners versus Dolphins 11 personnel, They played cover 1 behind a 5 man pressure and matched Jackson on Waddle and Gilmore on Gesicki; Burns beat RT Davis off the edge resulting in sack-forced fumble on Tagovailoa
Gilmore was the matchup on Gesicki and Jackson on Waddle when the Panthers went cover 1 out of nickel on 3rd down, Panthers featured 5 man pressures when they played cover 1
Waddle 9 yard TD on 3rd and goal was a big-time throw by Tagovailoa: 11 2x2 with Gaskins offset to the boundary, 3 man route concept to the boundary with Gaskins flat route and Gesicki inside vertical release opening the window to Waddle on the sit route, Outstanding timing and anticipation by Tagovailoa
Waddle 57 yards on 2nd + 8 in 2nd quarter came out of 12 closed to the field stack to the boundary with Waddle of the ball behind Williams, Outside zone run action to the field with Waddle tempoing his stem before breaking underneath Williams vertical route, Hi-low element with Long running the shallow crosser from the other to hold the underneath coverage – Excellent design to present the read and the throw for Tagovailoa to hit Waddle on the move
In the 3rd quarter Panthers showed conventional nickel with 3 corners versus Dolphins 12 personnel, When they went cover 1 Gilmore was the matchup on Gesicki and Jackson on Waddle
Tagovailoa quick feet on his drop and set, Sees it fast and gets it out quick on defined clean throws; He has a very rhythmic feel to his game
Tagovailoa has had 52 shotgun drop backs in his last 2 games, He is 42-49 for 369 yards with 3 TD and 1 interception; 52 of his 68 drop backs in last 2 games have come out of the shotgun
Dolphins pass game is highly schemed and built on shotgun/pistol play action that includes RPO concepts and quick game timing and rhythm throws, Play action boot also featured; That is Tagovailoa’s game and they are playing to his strengths
Tagovailoa play action last 2 games: 27-32 for 303 yards with TD; Shotgun play action: 16-18 for 187 yards and TD; Tagovailoa only 6 conventional play action drop backs last 2 games
Tagovailoa has been outstanding on 3rd down the last 2 games: 13-16 for 114 yards with 2 TD and 1 interception; 10 of those completions resulted in 1st downs
The question with Tagovailoa is can he become more than a schemed timing and rhythm dart thrower at the short and short-to-intermediate levels of the defense
