One of Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo's biggest strengths can make Eagles QB Jalen Hurts' life hell during Super Bowl LIX
Jalen Hurts could have a long day if the Philadelphia Eagles drop back to pass frequently in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs. Steve Spagnuolo has traditionally been able to get after the Eagles' quarterback in three career matchups since 2021. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Hurts has faced unblocked pressure on 16.8% of […]
Jalen Hurts could have a long day if the Philadelphia Eagles drop back to pass frequently in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Steve Spagnuolo has traditionally been able to get after the Eagles' quarterback in three career matchups since 2021. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Hurts has faced unblocked pressure on 16.8% of his dropbacks against the Chiefs in those three games, more than double his rate against all other opponents (8.0%).
The secret to Spags' success is his ability to create confusion and chaos by disguising his blitzes and marrying pre-snap looks with unique post-snap coverages. Why is that something that could stymie Hurts? Well, the fifth-year NFL quarterback struggles against zone blitzes, perhaps more than any quarterback in the NFL this season.
According to Yahoo Sports analyst Nate Tice, Hurts had some worrisome numbers against zone blitzes. He had the highest scramble rate in the NFL, at 12%. He ranked 22nd in net yards per attempt and 20th in explosive pass rate. But the worst of the stats was that he took a sack on over 20% of his dropbacks when facing zone blitzes in 2024.
This blitz that Spags ran against Broncos QB Bo Nix in Week 10 is precisely the type of thing we could see him break out against Hurts on Sunday. It presents as a Cover 2 man pre-snap, but it's really a blitz with a Cover 4 match behind it.
Chiefs defenders go through acting school during their rookie season
It's a significant focus from Day 1 in the Chiefs' defense for players to work on disguising their intentions pre-snap. That's part of why they do it better than any team in the NFL; it's a learned skill down to the body language and where you're looking pre-snap.
"Coach Spags is all about the acting skills and his pre-snap looks and stuff like that," Chiefs LB Nick Bolton told Theo Ash ahead of Super Bowl LIX. "Our department, (defensive quality control coach) Alex (Whittingham) and (outside linebackers coach) Rod (Wilson), all these guys, they give us all these packages when we're blitzing and try to change our demeanor and make sure things marry up. . . We spend a lot of time on our pre-snap looks and how our demeanor looks before the snap."
Then, it all comes down to the players' execution. Can you present something pre-snap, shift your coverages, and send it? As we saw in the AFC title game against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs can spend a whole game setting a particular look to get the blitz and pressure they want at a key moment. They'll use certain snaps to gather data and go from there. I'd expect the same out of them in Super Bowl LIX, especially with a longer-than-normal halftime, which the team can use to make the necessary adjustments.
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