4 days Ago
Terrel Bernard was bouncing on his toes, eyes locked on Patrick Mahomes. He seemed to know where Mahomes was going before it happened. As the Kansas City Chiefs star tried to break the pocket, Bernard took off at a sprint, taking the right angle to close in and haul Mahomes down for a sack.
There are few new innovative plans to defend Mahomes at this point, because, well, he’s probably going to wreck even the best scheme. As much as anyone else has, the Buffalo Bills have put together solid plans to contain Mahomes over the years and he’s caused havoc anyway. Nobody has been able to stop Mahomes, but there are ways to limit the damage.
The Bills were able to match the game plan with execution, hemming in Mahomes just enough to secure a 30-21 win. . Mahomes went 23 of 33 for 196 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions overall, but he went 16 of 21 for 139 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception inside the pocket.
Although his completion percentage was high, the Chiefs had one passing play longer than 15 yards and Mahomes averaged 6.6 yards per attempt, 1.2 yards lower than his career average.
The Bills set the tone from the jump, recording an interception on Mahomes’ first drop back and a sack on his third. “If rush and coverage aren’t working together, it doesn’t matter,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “.
.. They complemented each other well.
There were even a lot of non-statistical things that the D-line did that was really, really a major factor in the outcome of the game.” Mahomes’ most dangerous trait is his knack for breaking the pocket and scrambling or buying time for receivers to get open. Only Josh Allen (297) and Lamar Jackson (275) have more scrambles than Mahomes (255) since 2018, but he did not have a single rushing attempt Sunday.
It was only the ninth time in 106 career games that Mahomes didn’t run. In the first eight, it was usually because he didn’t have to run, averaging 330 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and one interception, while the Chiefs went 7-1 and averaged 36.5 points per game.
On the second play of the game, Mahomes looked downfield, but didn’t have an open receiver. Bills defensive end A.J.
Epenesa had a wide rush upfield on left tackle Wanya Morris, but before Mahomes could break the pocket, defensive tackle Ed Oliver not only slid over to plug the gap, but he put his hand up to prevent a throw. The only place for Mahomes to go was up the middle, but defensive tackle DaQuan Jones was able to wrap his arm around Mahomes. Even if Mahomes broke away from Jones, Bernard was running toward the ball to limit any rushing yards, so Mahomes lofted the ball as he was falling and safety Taylor Rapp had an easy interception.
“We did a fairly good job just communicating up front and making sure we were on the same page,” Jones said. “And when a call came in, we ran the call, executed the call, and it kind of all took care of itself.” On the next drive, the Chiefs were faced with a third and 5 from their 30-yard line.
Von Miller got upfield on right tackle Jawaan Taylor, forcing Mahomes to step up in the pocket. Once again, there was a brief hole to slip through, but defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson quickly filled it. The key to the play, though, was solid coverage downfield that made Mahomes hold the ball and Bernard, whose job on the play was to spy Mahomes in case he scrambled.
The right side of Buffalo’s defensive line lost contain while caving in the pocket, but Bernard read the play the entire time, reacting just as Mahomes tried to run and tracked him down for a sack. Buffalo frequently used Bernard or linebacker Dorian Williams to spy Mahomes. It’s a role Williams played in spots last season and he reprised it again, with the Bills using three defensive linemen and Williams as a spy in their dime package on occasion.
On Kansas City’s final play, Williams, like Bernard, read the whole play and when Mahomes broke the pocket, he bolted toward him. Even though Mahomes got the ball out this time, Williams delivered a big hit and Bernard snagged the game-sealing interception. But whether it was a sack or an interception, Bernard was instrumental in matching wits with Mahomes and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
Bernard consistently communicated and made the right adjustments on the field to ensure the Bills were aligned correctly and had the proper coverage on almost every play. “He is the unquestioned signal-caller, lead of our defense and he showed a lot of fire,” Babich said. “The work TB puts into it is a good case where if you work your tail off at something and pay attention to the details and all that, things will happen the way they’re supposed to happen.
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