Here is the plain text result:
The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance.
NEW ORLEANS — Chiefs All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie is one of the NFL’s best coverage defenders, a player who can stay step-for-step with the best receivers. Most of the time, though, McDuffie’s favorite moment in a game comes when he doesn’t start the play backpedaling.
As the linebacker with the green dot on his helmet, Nick Bolton gets the play calls from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo transmitted in his ear and relays them to his teammates. Bolton loves when he realizes — before his teammates know — that the Chiefs defense is about to go on the offensive.
Justin Reid, the Chiefs’ all-everything safety, reminds himself of a short message just before the defense blitzes the opposing quarterback.
“The only thought is, ‘Don’t be late,’” Reid said, smiling. “You don’t want to hang those guys covering out to dry.”
A sequence of details in the final minute of the Chiefs’ most recent game, a win over the Buffalo Bills, is part of why the team will play in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. The Chiefs defense, led by Spagnuolo, is most known for its bold, exotic blitzes — especially in the biggest moments of postseason games. The Chiefs, who are aiming to beat the Philadelphia Eagles to become the first NFL team to capture an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory, have won nine consecutive playoff games. Each of those nine wins featured a successful Chiefs blitz at a critical time.
“Throughout the whole game, he plays the chess match with the offense,” safeties coach Donald D’Alesio said of Spagnuolo. “I’m showing this (play) to set up this (blitz) later in the game. Or I’m showing this to hope later in the game they slide (the pass protection) that way and we get the blitz coming the other way.”
Source link
