Ahead of the Super Bowl, two of the game’s most analytical play callers, Kyle Shanahan and Steve Spagnuolo, prepared for a high-speed game of chess at upwards of 20 miles per hour.
Shanahan, the coach of the San Francisco 49ers, learned the ropes from his father Mike, a Bill Walsh disciple. Walsh, the architect of the famed West Coast offense, concocted a scheme that enabled elusive wide receivers to turn short passes into lengthy plays that created stress on a defense. More than three decades after Walsh's final Super Bowl title as a coach, the intricacies of the scheme took center stage at a posh ballroom inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Spagnuolo had the unenviable task of containing a Niners offense that comfortably led the NFL in yards after the catch (YAC) over expectation. Within the category, three Niners – Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk – placed in the top 15 across the league. Possessing a jitterbug ability to make defenders miss, Samuel led the league in YAC over expected, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, powered by Amazon Web Services.
But Spagnuolo, the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, had a few arrows of his own inside his quiver. During the regular season, the Chiefs allowed the second-fewest YAC over expected across the NFL. One defensive back, fourth-year corner L’Jarius Sneed, allowed 50+ yards against an opposing wideout just once all season, Next Gen Stats found. The Chiefs prevailed 25-22 in overtime to secure their second consecutive Super Bowl win, holding Samuel and Kittle to just 37 receiving yards combined.