In week 8, the Chiefs faked an outside toss to Tyreek Hilll with a shovel pass to Hunt underneath. Kelce and Watkins arc blocked to sell the outside pitch, and the line blocked like power with a pulling guard:

The end zone angle shows one potential issue on defense. Because Broncos DB Bradley Roby (#29) is in man coverage on Hill, he lines up in the box, which is unusual for him. Roby goes out wide with the fake to Hill, giving Hunt just the crease he needs:

In week 9 against the Browns, the Chiefs come out in the same formation and show the same pitch action to Hill. This time, Kelce and Watkins run routes. Meanwhile, both guards and the center pass set before releasing for a screen away from the pitch fake:

As seen from the end zone angle, the flow from the pitch fake moves both Browns linebackers enough to create great angles for the Chiefs to block downfield after Kareem Hunt catches the screen:

The Chiefs have also shown other runs to Tyreek Hill with other reads from this set. Here, Sammy Watkins motions from outside to inside Kelce, and Kareem Hunt arc blocks:

The end zone angle also shows the weakside guard pulling and Sammy Watkins taking a shovel path. Because the Chiefs leave the end man on the line of scrimmage unblocked, they almost certainly have a read element in this play as well:

The play essentially ends up like the shovel power read the Chiefs have run over the last few years. Overall, this formation presents a variety of problems for defenses. From a personnel standpoint, the defense has to be ready to defend the run with two tight ends on the field. With respect to the formation, because the Chiefs line up both tight ends to the outsides, the defense will often give strong coverage indicators pre-snap. For example, a linebacker lined up across from a TE out wide is a strong man coverage indicator, as is a DB lined up in the box across from Tyreek Hill.

The Chiefs have several plays they haven’t shown yet from this formation. First, the outside pitch to Tyreek Hill. Next, a fake pitch outside to Hill with a route combination similar to that of the screen touchdown. Finally, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a tight end screen to Kelce as well.

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Shovel, Jet, Power Read, and More

Andy Reid utilized his fastest players in (#10) Tyreek Hill and (#13) DeAnthony Thomas as decoys to beautifully set up (#87) Travis Kelce for a touchdown. On 2nd & 5 from the 15 with six minutes remaining in the game, the Chiefs aligned Thomas in the backfield and sent Hill in motion. The Eagles came out in a 4-3 alignment with one high safety:

The motion creates confusion for the Eagles defenders, and makes for even less certainty when Hill pivots and jet motions back to where he started. From the offensive line’s perspective, the play is blocked like power: 

The combination of the power blocking scheme and the backfield action makes for a great play design. Kelce’s assignment is to run parallel to the line of scrimmage and be a target for a shovel pass. Meanwhile, Thomas will also run parallel to the line of scrimmage and provide a stretch mesh action. Quarterback Alex Smith rides the mesh going left like the inverted veer or power read concept. Like in inverted veer/power read, Smith is reading the unblocked left defensive end, highlighted with a green triangle above. If the defensive end crashes down, Smith should hand it off to Thomas. If the defensive end expands, instead of running, Smith shovel passes to Kelce. The right guard (#76) pulls, but his assignment flows with the Smith/Thomas mesh, making for an easy block and a hole the size of a truck:

This play design is difficult to defend on its own; a player as fast as Hill jetting the other way catches the Eagles linebackers completely flatfooted:

Look for the Chiefs to work off this concept as the season progresses. This could mean a nasty play action with the same backfield action and a deep throw, or the same backfield action with a screen going to Hill on the other side of the field. Although the Chiefs brought in Thomas to run the stretch path, there is no reason Kareem Hunt couldn’t do the same thing.

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