One of the best ways to bring cover-0 pressure is to do it in situations where the offense isn’t expecting it. Few have been better at this than Steve Spagnuolo (surprise, surprise).
This example came against the Chargers in Week 1 of the 2025 season on a 2nd-and-7 from L.A.’s own 29-yard line. That’s an area of the field and a situation where you rarely see cover-0 pressure.
First, notice how the Chiefs hid their intentions pre-snap against L.A.’s shotgun 1-back set. There were no hints that a cover-0 blitz was coming here:
However, there were two clues that the Chiefs might be bringing some kind of pressure.
Linebacker Nick Bolton (#32) was hovering near the line of scrimmage. And to the offense’s right, the safety was stacked over cornerback Trent McDuffie (#22). It almost seemed like Spagnuolo wanted the Chargers to see the blitz coming from the right:
From the end zone angle, you can see how the Chargers would block this. Their 5 O-linemen would account for the 5 most dangerous defenders (the 4 down linemen and Bolton):