How Steve Spagnuolo Fooled Joe Burrow in a Critical Moment

Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has a sick, sick mind. He’s made a career out of tormenting the best quarterbacks with his disguises and blitzes, and he has 4 Super Bowl rings to show for it.

In the example I’ll show you today, he set up tendencies throughout an entire game against Joe Burrow and the Bengals only to break them in the most critical moment and get a sack that would ultimately pave the way to a last-second win.

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Before we get into this particular blitz disguise, it’s important to set the stage first. This was Week 2 of last season, and the Bengals were without their #2 receiver Tee Higgins. So Spagnuolo dedicated extra attention to Ja’Marr Chase, doubling him in various ways throughout the game.

With just three-and-a-half minutes remaining, the Bengals faced a 3rd-and-6 while nursing a 2-point lead. Chase was aligned as the single receiver to the right side here:

Burrow was probably anticipating another double-team based on what he’d seen all afternoon. And the extra defender in the double was likely coming from the safety to Chase’s side, Chamarri Conner:

Against a Steve Spagnuolo defense, quarterbacks have to anticipate blitzes and have answers, particularly in critical situations. If he was going to bring pressure here and try to get a free rusher that the protection couldn’t pick up (something he’s great at doing), it seemed that Burrow thought it would come from the offense’s left:

So Burrow moved his tight end in the backfield to that side before the snap:

Here’s how the Bengals would end up protecting this:

The 4-man slide to their left would pick up the 4 most likely rushers shown above. Tight end Drew Sample (#89) in the backfield was responsible for #20 Justin Reid if he came. If he didn’t, Sample was now in position to handle any extra blitzers off the edge to his left instead of having to come across the formation to do it since Burrow had just moved him.

But the Chiefs wouldn’t bring extra defenders from that side. Instead, the pressure would come from an unexpected place.

Chamarri Conner, the safety who initially looked like he’d be doubling Chase and who was seemingly too far off the line of scrimmage to be a blitz threat, would ultimately drop down before the snap and rush the passer. He was unaccounted for by the protection:

The deep safety from the opposite side of the field would then race over to become the second defender on Chase, ensuring the double was still in place:

Burrow looked left, but with defenders dropping out and the picture unclear, he didn’t feel comfortable unloading this ball quickly. The hesitation was all the Chiefs needed, and the result was a sack that would force the Bengals to punt the ball away:

Take another look from the end zone angle. Justin Reid (#20) blitzed, which ate up tight end Drew Sample:

4 defenders rushing to the right of the center meant there wasn’t enough to account for Conner. Burrow would have to throw hot off of him.

But notice that Burrow looked down the middle to read the deep safeties and then his eyes went left. He didn’t account for Conner coming from his right at all:

It’s tough to blame Burrow for that sack, though. This was just excellent design and execution. Ultimately, one of the defenders who was least likely to blitz based on pre-snap alignment would end up rushing and get the sack. And a defender from the opposite side of the field would end up doubling Ja’Marr Chase. How are you supposed to play quarterback against that?

As Spagnuolo loves to do, he used sleight of hand to draw the offense’s attention to one place and then attack where they weren’t looking. And he saved his best disguise for the biggest play of the game.

The Bengals never got the ball back after this and the Chiefs would go on to kick a last-second game-winning field goal.

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