Chiefs roster: How they spied the Bills’ Josh Allen in the AFC Championship

When the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship on Sunday night, they will be looking to stop one of the NFL’s most dangerous quarterbacks: Buffalo’s Josh Allen.

In the team’s Week 11 matchup, Allen threw for 262 yards and a touchdown – while running for 55 yards and another score. His performance led to a 30-21 win that ended Kansas City’s 15-game unbeaten streak.

What led to that loss — and how could Kansas City prevent it from happening again? Let’s see.

A look back

During the regular season loss, the Chiefs did not do this spy Allen – that is, assigning a defensive player to monitor his movements. This opened the door for some highlight plays for the Buffalo quarterback. I previously pointed out that the Chiefs’ inability to rush Allen was a big problem in the loss – but the failure to use a spy was another.

In the first matchup, Kansas City’s Chris Jones won more than his fair share of one-on-one duels – but with no containment, Allen was often free to run away.

There is no doubt that Jones is the best defensive tackle in the NFL. He created significant pressure against the Bills – but without containment, Allen was still able to make big runs that were game-changing plays in big moments.

This became clear in the decisive move.

We see that as Jones makes a decent push up the middle, George Karlaftis storms past the goal – and that opens up a very big lane for Allen. With no spy in the middle, Allen has plenty of room to increase his speed. He rushes into the end zone and scores the decisive touchdown.

But many teams have shown how it is possible to limit the Bills’ quarterback.

How other teams spied on Allen

The teams that have scouted Allen have typically drafted an athletic linebacker or a bigger defensive back – someone strong enough to take him down but agile enough to keep up with him in the open field.

Here the Seattle Seahawks use an interesting look with their spy hovering over Allen – but then at the last second an edge rusher who was bluffing by playing the running back in the flat “sets the trap.” He comes back into the picture , as Allen considers which direction to climb.

Here we see the New England Patriots opt for a more traditional spy — but this time, instead of stopping the run, they use it to take the ball out of Allen’s hands. As time runs out, Allen tries to roll out and play with his legs. The walk-up linebacker posing as a spy does a great job of closing in on Allen and forcing an off-line throw.

Against the Houston Texans – in his worst game of the regular season – Allen experienced a combination of four- and five-man pressure designed to either get a quick throw or force it into the flats.

Here, the Texans bring a delayed four-man rush that is enough to force Allen out of the pocket. Once he starts crawling, the spying linebacker closes the gap. Allen almost completes an outrageous pass, but the receiver is just out of bounds.

Remember: in a game of customs, everything matters.

How could Kansas City spy on Allen?

While the Chiefs have their work cut out for them on Sunday night, they do have some experience against mobile quarterbacks.

In its season opener against Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City found ways to lock Jackson in key situations.

Jackson had a great game – he finished the game with over 100 rushing yards – but on critical downs in the red zone, linebacker Leo Chenal kept him in check.

As we see here, Chenal has the speed to keep up with Jackson, but also the strength to take him to the ground.

He could be the ideal candidate to scout Allen — but the Chiefs need to avoid telegraphing the looks. Luckily, Kansas City has several players who can get the job done in fellow linebacker Drue Tranquill – and safeties Justin Reid, Chamarri Conner and Jaden Hicks.

In this game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Reid, Tranquill and Chenal are all playing near the perimeter. This makes it difficult for the crime to figure out who the spy will be.

Once the ball is snapped, Reid and Tranquill fall, leaving Chenal as the spy. Russell Wilson searches the entire field but can’t find anything. Finally, Chenal puts pressure on Wilson and forces a bad throw.

While Chenal is probably the best man to spy on Allen, it will still be all hands on deck.

The end result

Allen is one of the best in the game. There’s a reason he has a very good chance of being named the league’s MVP.

But Sunday’s game won’t be about the Chiefs taking him out. Instead, they have to stop him in the most crucial moments of the game – like third and fourth downs, red zone plays and late game situations. These are the representatives where championships are won or lost – and where the Chiefs must play their best football.

Sunday’s match will be a heavyweight bout. The team that makes the fewest mistakes goes to the Super Bowl.