How the colts beat the chiefs

[CR91]

It pains me to say it, but we used the patriot's scheme on how they use to beat peyton in the early years and here is a breakdown

 

Run The Ball

 

Running the ball against the chiefs was exactly what you wanted to do because it limited their possessions and reduced any chance if this game turning into a shootout which is exactly what they want because it plays right into their own game plan. The colts mentioned that this was the game plan back in the playoff game, but what I saw that they did differently was they were not predictable in their run formations. They actually used PA off the run formation a number of times to keep their defense off balance and that was the key for us to sustain drives by keeping the ball on the ground.

 

Controlled Time Of Possession

 

I honestly laughed every time they had the camera pointing out Mahomes on the bench because I couldn't help remembering that being peyton many times and unfortunately its really the only way to slow down a high powered offense. Limiting the number of times they get the ball is key because then you can limit the amount of damage they can do. As great as you are and Mahomes is great, there is nothing you can do if you're not on the field.

 

Defensive Scheme

 

I'm glad the colts did not just stay in their zone scheme because that was not gonna beat Mahomes. They got after him, pressured him, made him uncomfortable, and took him off his spot and we were able to do that because of how much man we were playing and how well we were able to generate pressure with just a 4 man rush. Now with Peyton, it was more about effecting timing with his receivers because sacking Peyton was not likely, but with Mahomes who is a lot more mobile, getting after him and chasing him down is actually what you need to do to him because he can hurt you rather thats inside or outside the pocket.

[Dark Superman]

• - Colts were able to run the ball.
• - Create turnovers.
• - Vinatieri was perfect on his FG attempts.

 

- Were able to keep Mahomes and co out of the end zone after giving up the first TD.

- Were able to stop the run.

- Won the turnover ratio

- Scored more points than the other guys.

[Luck 4 president]

Simply put, Andy Reid got out coached. Doesn’t happen often. This is now the blueprint of how to beat the chiefs, until they are able to figure out their run D.

[lollygagger8]

5 hours ago, Dark_Superman said:

•  

- Scored more points than the other guys.

 

[PeterBowman]

They did to the Chiefs what teams used to do to the Colts back in the day. Be physical, run the ball, and play keep away.

[teganslaw]

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

[coltsfeva]

6 hours ago, Dark_Superman said:

• - Colts were able to run the ball.
• - Create turnovers.
• - Vinatieri was perfect on his FG attempts.

 

- Were able to keep Mahomes and co out of the end zone after giving up the first TD.

- Were able to stop the run.

- Won the turnover ratio

- Scored more points than the other guys.

Glad you mentioned AV: if he got criticized for the first two weeks and became the sole reason for the week one loss, then it would follow he should get some credit for his points Sunday night. You could make the argument that the Colts would have lost, if not for him.

[Orioles22]

I think the Colts won because they slowed him down - literally - with the pounding he took. No way they just score 13 if he could have moved better. We could have won anyway if our offense is better, but only one TD won't be enough to beat KC 95 percent of the time.

[ColtsAC]

23 minutes ago, coltsfeva said:

Glad you mentioned AV: if he got criticized for the first two weeks and became the sole reason for the week one loss, then it would follow he should get some credit for his points Sunday night. You could make the argument that the Colts would have lost, if not for him.

Glad he was the Colts kicker and not the K from Tennessee. Didn't that guy miss 4 against Carolina? He doesn't have the Vinny resume to weather that storm. Vinny just looked solid all game.

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, PeterBowman said:

They did to the Chiefs what teams used to do to the Colts back in the day. Be physical, run the ball, and play keep away.

funny thing is, I said we needed a Dec 2006 Jags/Colts type game to win, and thats what we got.  That game, the Jags did to the Colts what we did to the Chiefs Sunday night, run at will, and whoop up on the QB.

9 minutes ago, ColtsAC said:

Glad he was the Colts kicker and not the K from Tennessee. Didn't that guy miss 4 against Carolina? He doesn't have the Vinny resume to weather that storm. Vinny just looked solid all game.

TN released him yesterday, sign Parkey last night

[CoachLite]

I think the Colts learned something about themselves. While they played very well, they can play so much better - especially the defense. When they master hybridizing man coverage out of a zone base (look), they'll keep even great offenses guessing. We have the skilled players, but not the experience, yet.

[Imgrandojji]

This team has been drawing inspiration from and comparisons to the New England Patriots all year.  Specifically the 2001 Pats when Brady was new and still making a lot of mistakes.

[pacolts56]

3 minutes ago, CoachLite said:

I think the Colts learned something about themselves. While they played very well, they can play so much better - especially the defense. When they master hybridizing man coverage out of a zone base (look), they'll keep even great offenses guessing. We have the skilled players, but not the experience, yet.

I agree with your assessment....this was a good growth step for a young defense, and some of the best situational coaching under a string of injuries that I can remember as a Colts fan.

 

Something to remember as the team develops....and pretty exciting since this "turnaround moment" didn't happen last season until we were 1-5. And that was WITH Andrew.

 

Hopefully the bye week will allow them to study up Houston and be ready to give Watson the same problems we were able to inflict on Mahomes. 

[krunk]

1 hour ago, teganslaw said:

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

Thats no easy task with Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins healthy.

[runthepost]

1 hour ago, teganslaw said:

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

Because it won’t work when they get Hill and Sammy. We played them at the right time lol

[Creekside]

9 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

 

Controlled Time Of Possession

 

Limiting the number of times they get the ball is key because then you can limit the amount of damage they can do.

 

A tale of two games.           Time of possession.

 

Play-off game :             Colts: 20 min.    Chiefs: 40 min.       

 

Sunday night  :             Colts: 37 min.    Chiefs: 23 min.

 

I was disappointed when Reich abandoned the run game early on in the play-off game.

 

It is as if Reich decided to live or die with Luck's arm, trying to win a shoot-out. Not a terrible strategy because Luck was certainly capable of putting up a lot of points with his arm.

 

Reich knows that Brisset is no Andrew Luck....not going to beat Mahomes in a shoot out. The only way the Colts are going to win is pound the ball and move the chains and keep Mahomes off the field.

 

In an odd way, Brissett has become an asset forcing Reich to rely heavily on the ground game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[teganslaw]

I am so happy about the win that I forgot Hill wasn't playing and Watkins left the game. That changes things. I'm hoping that both players are back when the Chiefs play Houston. Mahomes needs to have a good game this coming week. 

[NorthernBlue]

2 hours ago, teganslaw said:

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

Cause it’s not that easy to pull off. The colts pressured with just their front 4. You need a stacked Dline to do that. You need sound tackling. You need creative coverages. 

[NorthernBlue]

9 minutes ago, teganslaw said:

I am so happy about the win that I forgot Hill wasn't playing and Watkins left the game. That changes things. I'm hoping that both players are back when the Chiefs play Houston. Mahomes needs to have a good game this coming week. 

Chiefs will crush Houston. I’m confident now in saying that the pats and colts are really the only teams that can beat the chiefs in arrowhead. Houston can match their fire power, but I feel like they need to be at home to beat kc.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Eventhough they didn't have Hill, keep in mind we didn't have Leonard or Hooker either. Nor did we have Funchess who many think is a #2 WR. It is really tough for me to complain about anything from this game. Maybe we should've scored a little more because 19 points isn't much. We probably could've had 7 points instead of 3 on the drive where we tried to get cute and did that pitch play. Other than that I loved Reich's game plan and play calling. TOP is always an important stat when playing against an explosive offense/QB like KC has. Reich knew the best way to beat them was run the ball and play keep away from Mahomes. It worked.

[coltsfeva]

1 hour ago, csmopar said:

funny thing is, I said we needed a Dec 2006 Jags/Colts type game to win, and thats what we got.  That game, the Jags did to the Colts what we did to the Chiefs Sunday night, run at will, and whoop up on the QB.

TN released him yesterday, sign Parkey last night

  If it was up to some fans, we could have had Parkey. Glad Reich stuck with AV.

[CR91]

2 hours ago, teganslaw said:

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

 

Because playing man is also very dangerous because a lot of times CBs get called for interference or they fall down on the route and its an easy td. Also your line needs to win up front and fast or else the CBs will get beat.

[CaptainColt12]

9 hours ago, Dark_Superman said:

• - Colts were able to run the ball.
• - Create turnovers.
• - Vinatieri was perfect on his FG attempts.

 

- Were able to keep Mahomes and co out of the end zone after giving up the first TD.

- Were able to stop the run.

- Won the turnover ratio

- Scored more points than the other guys.

Turnovers? we only had one, and they also had one

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

9 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

Simply put, Andy Reid got out coached. Doesn’t happen often. This is now the blueprint of how to beat the chiefs, until they are able to figure out their run D.

It’s the blue print but not every team has a oline like ours or a RB like Mack. It’s easier said then done. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

49 minutes ago, NorthernBlue said:

Chiefs will crush Houston. I’m confident now in saying that the pats and colts are really the only teams that can beat the chiefs in arrowhead. Houston can match their fire power, but I feel like they need to be at home to beat kc.

We better hope Mahomes plays. They might have hill back also. It will be fun to watch that game not worrying about a colts game Sunday.

[krunk]

KC will have a tough time dealing with Watson running and the Houston ground game. Billy O likes to run the ball and he will stay with it if you let him. They are going to look to play keep away as well. I think they will put up more than 19 points. Im hoping KC comes out on top. Not sure how bad Mahomes ankle is and how that will effect his play come Sunday.

[krunk]

1 hour ago, NorthernBlue said:

Chiefs will crush Houston. I’m confident now in saying that the pats and colts are really the only teams that can beat the chiefs in arrowhead. Houston can match their fire power, but I feel like they need to be at home to beat kc.

We thought New Orleans with a healthy Brees would crush Houston also. It didnt happen and New Orleans is a better D than KC. Houston put up points on NO and should honestly have won. I dont see the KC D consistently stopping the Houston O. It should wind up being a back and forth affair. Obviously im hoping Houston loses in the end but im not expecting a blow out. Crennel is a seasoned DC.

[compuls1v3]

4 hours ago, teganslaw said:

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

Easier said then done.  Our defense showed up the other night and played legit.  And our run game was stellar and passing was sufficient.  We got off the field on defense on 3 and outs and forced 4 punts and got a couple of turnovers.

[King Colt]

The time of possession issue is obvious. Now I wonder if the Texans will copy that plan or allow Watson to throw the long ball to score early & often.

[Myles]

I'm not meaning to take anything away from the Colts here.

 

The Colts strategy was like others have tried.   Ball control.   Keep with it until you fall behind by a couple scores.   Usually KC will be able to score and their opponent will have to veer from their plan a bit.   They didn't Sunday night, so the Colts were able to keep with their plan the whole game.   

[Coltscrazy]

6 hours ago, teganslaw said:

The strategy is so simple: play man to man, pressure Mahomes and keep him on the bench. Why don't more teams figure that out? 

It is easy to say just run the ball on somebody, but few teams have the personnel to pull it off.  Most lines are designed pass first now.  The Colts pulled it off because of Smith and Nelson.  Castonzo is also a strong run blocker, and Kelly is smart and athletic, and Glowinsi is far from a liability.  Can't run without the horses.

[DougDew]

I don't know for myself, just repeating what Collinsworth said, but the Chiefs have struggled against the run so far this season. 

 

It made it easier for us to execute the plan all game long, and it might be easier for Houston to play keep away if they have a decent running game.

 

Another reminder of the Manning Colts years' where our defense was built to stop an offense trying to keep up with our high scoring offense.  Teams used to be able to run the ball on the Colts then also.

[jskinnz]

4 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

Because playing man is also very dangerous because a lot of times CBs get called for interference or they fall down on the route and its an easy td. Also your line needs to win up front and fast or else the CBs will get beat.

 

Wait, what?

 

An issue with man to man is db’s fall down? 

[CR91]

1 hour ago, jskinnz said:

 

Wait, what?

 

An issue with man to man is db’s fall down? 

 

What do you think happens if they fall down? Only one left to stop the WR is the safety

[Jackie Daytona]

16 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

Simply put, Andy Reid got out coached. Doesn’t happen often. This is now the blueprint of how to beat the chiefs, until they are able to figure out their run D.

BUT happens very routinely in primetime and playoffs ....

[Rackeen305]

18 hours ago, CR91 said:

It pains me to say it, but we used the patriot's scheme on how they use to beat peyton in the early years and here is a breakdown

I thought the same thing. reminded me when Dolphins played the Colts in Miami. The Phins controlled the time of possession 2/3 of the game. However, Colts had Peyton and Co who managed to win.

 

Its a daunting way to play the game because if the opponent has an Ace up their sleeves, The tables could be turned with the fuse still burning in your hand. 

[John Hammonds]

"Great moments...are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them...and we shut them down because we can!" -- Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks in Miracle

 

What worked for us Sunday night will not always work.  Not 100% of the time, anyway.  But it worked for us.  Just one time.

 

We were given some gifts:  Tyreek Hill wasn't going to play.  The Chiefs lost a lot of starters during the game, making it difficult for them to run a precision game, and resulting in mistakes and penalties.  And most of all, Mahomes twisted his ankle, making him unable to escape and run, and extend the plays.

 

We ran the ball down their throats.  They knew we were going to run the ball.  They stacked the line to defend it.  And we ran it anyway.  Our average per rush was less than the Chief's season average.  But it was still big enough to keep getting first downs and run the clock.

 

We score just enough.

 

But the biggest thing we did was we built a defensive plan, not against Mahomes, but against Andy Reid.

 

Andy Reid is a fanatical proponent of the West Coast Offense.  He is well known for completely eschewing the run, and calling nothing but passing plays.  And with Mahomes, who could blame him?

 

What is the Colts biggest problem on defense?  Defending against cutback runs.  Andy Reid knew this.  And he called a few.  What was our plan?  If we could just limit the effectiveness of that cutback run a couple of times, Andy Reid would abandon it, and start doing what he wanted to do anyway: throw continuously.  If we could get him to do that, then we could abandon defending the run, and just pass rush Mahomes like crazy.

You could see this most clearly at the beginning of the 2nd half.  They ran two running plays.  We limited them to 3 or 4 yards.  And they never ran again.

Mahomes' ankle and injuries to Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins played directly into our defensive plans.  Cover TE Travis Kelce and frustrate him.  Force Mahomes to beat us throwing to his lesser targets like Pringle.  (He very nearly did!)  With a hobbled Mahomes unable to scramble, we were able to just simply rush the passer and collapse the pocket.

 

It was punch 'em in the mouth football.

 

And it worked.  This time.  If we played them again, it may not work.  But it worked this time.