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Ivis AburtoESPN Digital
Scoring at least 30 points is something that is already expected every week from the Kansas City Chiefs and they fulfilled that mission in the home victory over the New Orleans Saints, which makes us flip to see the exercise of their defensive.
While the Saints scored 29 points, the Chiefs’ defense managed to contain the attack led by Drew Brees for 50 minutes, who returned to action after losing four games while recovering from rib fractures and damage. in one lung and began the duel with five incomplete passes in the first quarter.
The Chiefs’ biggest weakness as a team is the defensive run and although they tried to exploit that area in the first half, Kansas City’s defensive managed to contain Alvin Kamara and the Saints virtually abandoned the ground game in the first half. ‘run only six times in the second half.
It was anticipated that the Saints defense would complicate the game for Patrick Muhammad and so it happened. The surprise was the performance of the Chiefs’ defense, which with an interception and forcing 8:00 rejection kicks, helped his attack build a 14-point lead at the start of the last fourth to preserve triumph.
It should be remembered that the Saints came close 29-22, after the Saints recovered a lost ball from Muhammad in the 25-yard yard in Kansas City, which made it easier for Brees and company to work and also changed for a moment the moment of the match to New Orleans.
For its part, the Saints ‘defense did its best to limit Muhammad with deep Safeties coverage and individual markings sticking to the receivers, causing the Chiefs’ passer to complete only 55 percent of his submissions (26 of 47 by 254 yards) and would have to resort on several occasions to his ground attack, which could suffer a severe blow with injury in the final minutes of the encounter suffered by Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Either way, the options in the air game that Muhammad has, the ability to escape the pressure of the quarterback and the versatility of his ground game were too much for a defensive of the Saints who did everything necessary and maybe more to curb an offensive by the Chiefs that actually seems unstoppable.
Seahawks experience wins the battle
The experience carries more weight in December, even more so in January, and the Seattle Seahawks used it to take a tight, hard-fought victory over a Washington Football Team that learned a valuable lesson for the future.
Washington, which seems to be very close to consolidating defensively as the basis for its rebuilding, is in the process of learning to win important games, that is, the experience of Russell Wilson and company was reflected in the marker to give the Seahawks the pass to the Playoffs.
Washington’s defensive line has been characterized in recent weeks as one of the most pressure applied to rival passer and although it did a decent job against Seattle, it was contained by the Seahawks’ offensive line, which did not allow catches Wilson, who, however, was able to hurt his legs by adding 55 yards in six runs, including a 38-yard touchdown escape to prepare for the annotation he put in Seattle 13- 0 in front of the scoreboard.
In all, the Seahawks ran for 181 yards against the Washington defensive iron.
On the other hand, Washington’s offensive did what it had to do: attack a weak Seattle air defense, which added up to 269 yards, but in the absence of Chris Gibson, Dwayne Haskins did not being able to balance his attack, which only added 84 yards per ground.
The handling of the pace of the game and the experience in this type of game were key because, although Washington scored twice in the fourth period, it still lost three points to miss an extra point attempt and a two-point conversion, the Seahawks could take home the win.
We are judging the Patriots and Bill Belichick in 2021
What was already anticipated a few weeks ago became official: after the loss to the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots will not go to the Playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons, but whoever considers this a failure, does so. only with the results as analysis material.
From a competitive standpoint, Bill Belichick and the Patriots will surely call his absence from the postseason a failure, but what can be considered the start of a rebuild in New England, staying out of the Playoffs was one of the more realistic options for the regular season.
The loss in free agency of the considered best quarterback of that era, the hiring of Cam Newton days before the start of the regular season, the decision of several important players not to play for COVID-19 and what this Limiting the roster in terms of talent are the reasons that make it difficult to evaluate the work of the Patriots in 2020.
In an environment perhaps more normalized in 2021, with a new quarterback or a more developed and experienced and a little more room for maneuver at the salary cap, Belichick will have to have a more competitive team next season and then yes, you can be judged with more sense of justice.
Tom Brady’s mental impact on Bucs
Tom Brady proved why he is one of the best quarterbacks in history, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not want to put their quarterback in a position to prove it often, because they only have one more game against the Atlanta Falcons.
After another slow start to the game, the Buccaneers had to overcome two 17-point deficits to beat the Falcons, who, since losing that 25-point lead in Super Bowl LI, have lost four games. be on top by 17 or more points.
The task for Bruce Arians, his coaching staff and his players is not complicated, as it is just a matter of starting the games at a good pace so as not to complicate their qualification to the Playoffs and to survive in the Postseason.
Mistakes in Atlanta’s strategy or execution to maintain advantages on the scoreboard are not the fault of its rivals, the merit is to go back, so let’s review some numbers that reflect the quality and influence that Brady has on the mentality of his mates.
The Falcons duel is the first in Brady’s run in which he commands three 75-yard offensive series in a quarter (Brady has played 1,352 quarters) and is the first game in which he has four 75-yard offensives in one half ( Brady has played in 676 equal parts).
Brady tied Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers as the quarterbacks with the most wins (7) in NFL history after going down by 17 or more points, including the Playoffs.
When the Falcons were encouraged to press with more than four defenders, Brady barely moved and completed 10 of 13 passes for 163 yards with two touchdowns. His total yards in this circumstance are the second highest in the last five seasons.
The other duel with more yards under pressure had him in Week 5 last season, when he added 166 yards by air against Washington.
The ability and quality of a star largely count to be considered one of the best in history or at a particular time, but its influence on the mentality of a team is an important part of the formula and in this line. , Brady’s impact on the Buccaneers is obvious.