Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will take chances against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in the AFC championship game, according to ESPN NFL reporter Sal Paolantonio, who says it will be critical for the Ravens to respond better than they did against the Texans in the first half of the divisional round.
A week ago, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans dialed up far more blitzes than he typically does. The Texans blitzed on 13 of Jackson’s 18 dropbacks in the first half, resulting in 10 pressures and three sacks, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Ravens went three-and-out on three consecutive drives to close out the first half. Baltimore will need a stronger 60-minute effort to beat Kansas City, according to Paolantonio, and that starts with making the Chiefs pay when Spagnuolo takes chances.
That’s easier said than done.
“Where would the vulnerability come from? I think it’s confusion, deception, the illusion of the blitz coming from one place and actually coming from another, the great job that Spagnuolo does in blitzing off the corners — just like Mike Macdonald does for the Ravens. That’s something that they’ll have to deal with in this game,” Paolantonio said on Glenn Clark Radio Jan. 25.
The Ravens did, eventually, have answers for the Texans’ pressure. They scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives to open the second half. By the end of the game, Jackson had completed 13 of 18 passes against the blitz, according to Next Gen Stats, in part because he got the ball out quicker in the second half.
Much has been made about Jackson’s halftime speech to his teammates, but Paolantonio said there was more to it than that.
“He bought in to the adjustments the coaches gave him, so it wasn’t just a speech. It was an X’s and O’s adjustment,” Paolantonio said. “You will hit the guy underneath. Isaiah Likely has been open. Throw him the football. Don’t pull the ball back on the zone-read runs. Don’t keep it for yourself. Yes, you’re a superhero, but you don’t have to be Superman in this game. Let others make plays because the Texans are just blitzing you out of the building, and it worked.”
What began in the second half against the Texans has to continue against the Chiefs, according to Paolantonio.
“Lamar can’t hold the ball like he has a tendency to do, and he’s taken a lot of sacks in the postseason. It’s well over 20, as we know, in his career, including last week against the Texans. He can’t hold the ball. He can’t give the ball away,” Paolantonio said. “That would be the No. 1 vulnerability that I see.”
On the flip side, Paolantonio identified Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco as a potential challenge for the Ravens, particularly if the Chiefs can get him going on the edge. In Week 17, the Dolphins had success with outside tosses to De’Von Achane, who picked up 107 yards on 14 carries.
Pacheco posted 935 yards and seven rushing touchdowns in his second year out of Rutgers this season. The 5-foot-10, 216-pound back ran for 97 yards on 15 carries in the divisional round in Buffalo last week, a key part of the Chiefs’ 27-24 win against the Bills.
Pacheco won’t find the same success between the tackles with linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen waiting for him, but what about on the edges? Paolantonio says to watch out for that, provided that Pacheco (toe) plays.
“The idea is to move Pacheco on the outside, get the linebackers on the outside, get Kyle Hamilton outside the numbers and then work Travis Kelce in the middle,” Paolantonio said. “You’ll see Rashee Rice, he’ll be running a lot of [go] routes. He’ll be trying to get the safeties off the line of scrimmage.”
For more from Paolantonio, listen to the full interview here:
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