The Kansas City Chiefs' offense was the riddle the rest of the NFL had been trying to solve for the past two seasons.
In Super Bowl LV, the Buccaneers found a simple and time-tested answer: pressure Patrick Mahomes with four pass rushers.
It's hardly a new solution. After all, the San Francisco 49ers held the Chiefs to 10 points through three and a half quarters in Super Bowl LIV largely through the efforts of a stellar defensive line.
While the Niners ran out of gas and surrendered a 10-point lead, the Buccaneers were relentless and their pass rush had a more devastating impact, completely derailing the most feared passing attack in the NFL en route to a 31-9 win.
How did they do it, and what do the Chiefs' struggles in pass protection mean for Kansas City next season and beyond? We examine those questions with the help of Stats Perform data.
Four-man front delivers five-star performance
The Buccaneers racked up 33 total pressures of Mahomes, with the sight of last season's Super Bowl MVP sprinting from the pocket to avoid swarming Tampa defenders the defining image of almost every Kansas City possession.
Just seven of those pressures came via the blitz, illustrating the dominance the Buccaneers' four-man defensive line had against an undermanned Chiefs offensive line.
When the blitzes did come, they were well-designed and effective, with defensive coordinator Todd Bowles devising a gameplan his counterparts around the league will surely be looking to replicate.
Yet it likely would not have been so effective had the Chiefs entered the field with two key members of the offensive line group that did just enough to keep the Niners at bay a year ago.
Fisher injury a fatal blow
Kansas City had been without three-time second-team All-Pro and 2018 first-team All-Pro Mitchell Schwartz since Week 7 because of a back injury.
The Chiefs managed to cope minus his services, but the loss of left tackle Eric Fisher to an Achilles issue in the AFC Championship game proved the tipping point on the O-Line.
It forced a reshuffle in the trenches, with Mike Remmers moving over to left tackle and Andrew Wylie playing on the right.
Adapting to new positions at short notice in the biggest game of the season against a defense as talented of that of Tampa Bay is a long way from ideal, and so it proved as the Bucs' edge rushers prospered throughout.
Shaquil Barrett made a strong case for MVP with a remarkable 13 pressures, while veteran Jason Pierre-Paul registered five.
But the Chiefs cannot just point to injuries for their struggles up front, with the Bucs' success up the middle pointing to a larger problem the Chiefs will have to solve in the offseason.
Interior issues
A Week 5 injury to guard Kelechi Osemele loomed large as the interior of the Chiefs' offensive line left Mahomes having to deal with pressure in his face as well as Barrett applying it from the periphery.
Center Austin Reiter and guards Stefen Wisniewski and Nick Allegretti were overmatched in their battle with the Bucs' defensive tackles.
Veteran Ndamukong Suh had eight pressures, Vita Vea logged six and Steve McLendon added four as they took advantage of an area of the Chiefs' roster that looks set for a rebuild.
Reiter, Remmers, Osemele and backup center Daniel Kilgore are all in their 30s and are all unrestricted free agents this offseason.
In a year where the salary cap is set to shrink due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, the Chiefs must determine whether it is worth the outlay to bring any of that quartet back or if they would be better served to trying to upgrade the heart of their O-Line through the draft.
With just over a month to go until teams can negotiate with pending free agents, Kansas City's front office has a relatively quick decision to make about an area that opponents will surely target more readily after it was ruthlessly exposed by Bowles and the Bucs.
Browns quarterback Watson won't play vs. Ravens due to shoulder injury
The Cleveland Browns will be without Deshaun Watson for their game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday because of an injured right shoulder.
With Watson out, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will make his first NFL start in this key AFC North matchup.
Watson hurt his shoulder in last Sunday's 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans, and was limited in practice all week.
He warmed up before Cleveland's game against visiting Baltimore, but was ultimately ruled out.
Watson is coming off his best game of the season, throwing for 289 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions after throwing two TD passes and two picks in Cleveland's first two games of the season.
His absence means the Browns may lean more on the ground game and running back Jerome Ford, though he rushed for just 18 yards on 10 carries last Sunday in his first start following Nick Chubb's season-ending injury.
Thompson-Robinson is a fifth-round draft pick out of UCLA, and appeared in five plays against the Titans, but has yet to attempt a pass.
The Browns and Ravens are each 2-1, and enter Week 4 tied atop the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Raiders rule out Garoppolo for game against Chargers due to concussion
The Las Vegas Raiders have ruled Jimmy Garoppolo out for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers because of a concussion.
Who gets the start at quarterback is still uncertain less than 24 hours before kickoff.
Garoppolo practised on a limited basis Thursday and Friday but has not cleared the league's concussion protocol and Las Vegas announced Saturday night that he would not play.
The Raiders did not say who would start between veteran Brian Hoyer or rookie Aidan O'Connell.
Garoppolo played every snap in last Sunday's 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was evaluated for a concussion afterward.
The concussion is the latest setback for the 31-year-old Garoppolo, who has struggled to stay healthy over the past several seasons.
Las Vegas signed Garoppolo to a three-year, $67.5 million contract in March, including $34 million guaranteed, but the 10-year veteran is off to a shaky start with his new team. He has thrown for 709 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions for the 1-2 Raiders.
Hoyer is a 15-year veteran and is 16-24 in 40 career starts. In 77 career games, the 37-year-old has thrown for 10,668 yards with 53 TDs and 35 interceptions.
The Raiders also said starting cornerback Nate Hobbs won't play because of an injured ankle, while running back Brandon Bolden is expected to play despite not travelling with the team to Los Angeles because of a personal reason.
Raiders release defensive end Chandler Jones after arrest
The Las Vegas Raiders released Chandler Jones on Saturday, less than 48 hours after the defensive end’s arrest.
The club confirmed the move with a post on social media.
Jones, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has been away from the team since before this season after a flurry of social media posts criticising the team’s leadership. He was placed on the non-football injury/illness list on Sept. 20.
Jones was in the second season of a three-year, $51million contract.
Jones’ arrest was the latest in a series of concerning developments that led to the Raiders cutting ties with the veteran sack artist.
Jones said on social media Monday that he had been hospitalised and taken to a behavioural health facility “against my will.”
The 33-year-old continued his concerning and bizarre social media activity throughout the week, including multiple live videos.
In one video, Jones spoke about a variety of topics for about 25 minutes before breaking down in tears while discussing the death of former teammate Aaron Hernandez.
Jones has since deleted those posts and said that his account had been hacked.
Early Friday morning, Vegas-area police arrested Jones on accusations of violating a domestic violence temporary restraining order. He was detained at the Clark County Detention Center before paying his $15,000 bail.
There has been a wave of growing concern about Jones’ mental health, given his erratic behaviour.
After Jones’ arrest, the Raiders posted a statement on social media saying they are “hopeful that Chandler Jones receives the care that he needs. He, his family, and all those involved are in our thoughts. As this is now a legal matter, we will not be providing further comment.”
Jones has 112 career sacks over 11 seasons with the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Raiders.
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