The Green Bay Packers stomped the New England Patriots this past weekend. Jordan Love was dealing, but so was the Packers defense. They picked off Drake Maye three times, and they started quickly, intercepting his first pass of the game.
Play 1: 2nd & 9, 14:32 remaining in the 1st quarter
The Patriots come out in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR), starting in a completely balanced, 2×2 look. They motion a TE under the formation before the snap. They run a playfake away from the motion, then Drake Maye [10] starts to boots away from the fake, ultimately
pulling up deep on a half-boot look.
The Packers are showing a single-high safety (Xavier McKinney [29]) before the snap, and that holds after the snap. Per SumerSports, the Packers rotate their safeties after the snap on 39.6% of their snaps, the 4th highest in the league. This time they stay in that single-high look (looks like Cover 3).
The Patriots are running Kyle Williams [18] on a deep post from the left, then bringing Mack Hollins [13] on a deep crosser. Initially, it looks like McKinney is going to be running with Williams on the post, but, as Maye climbs in the pocket, McKinney breaks down on Hollins on the crosser.
The Packers have the second level of their defense dropped extremely deep, which makes the throw to Hollins a difficult one. Evan Williams [33] is sitting right under the place Maye wants to go. Maye climbs up in pocket, and it looks like he’s doing that as a way to try to pull those defenders away from the window.
While Hollins is looking to settle into a window behind Williams, Maye throws across the field, where McKinney is waiting.
McKinney returns it 36 yards, setting up the Packers with 1st & 10 on the Patriots 14. They scored 2 plays later on a Jordan Love scramble to make it 7-0.
Play 2: 1st & 10, 12:54 remaining in the 2nd quarter
The Patriots are in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in a 3×1 formation. Kyle Williams is the lone receiver on the left. They’ve got a concept on the right that Maye can work, or he can take Williams on a vertical route if he likes that match-up.
The Packers are showing press coverage on the outside and their safeties are pulled up tight to the line. Evan Williams is the safety to the single receiver side. Just before the snap, he starts to bail to the middle. This looks like man-to-man coverage with the safety bailing away from the single WR side. That would put Kyle Williams man-to-man on Brandon Cisse [2] with no safety help, a match-up Maye clearly likes.
It’s a really cool bit of deception from the Packers. Maye thinks he caught the Packers showing their hand a bit early, with Evan Williams bailing before the ball is snapped. Instead, it’s the Packers showing Maye what he believes is a single-high rotation, but it quickly turns into a two-high look at the snap. Evan Williams goes from bailing to the middle to dropping wide as soon as the ball is snapped, with Javon Bullard [7] dropping to a deep zone on the other side of the field. Really subtle bit of deception here.
Maye has a bit of time so he ends up seeing that Evan Williams has dropped to a deep half-zone, but it’s not a wide drop so Maye still thinks he can hit Kyle Williams.
As soon as Maye starts his throwing motion, Evan Williams looks like he’s shot out of a cannon to the sideline. Cisse is in great position and he tips the ball to Evan Williams, who makes the pick.
Absolutely beautiful.
It’s impossible for me to see a tipped INT and not think of the classic Mike-McKenzine-to-Tyrone-Williams tip against the 49ers in the 2001 Wild Card Game.
Play 3: 2nd & 7, 5:47 remaining in the 2nd quarter
Patriots are in 12 personnel in a shotgun, 3×1 formation. They are, once again, using Kyle Williams on a vertical route and bringing Eli Raridon [82] from the other side on a crossing route. To help spring that open, they’ve got Hunter Henry [85] on a curl route underneath. Push the defense vertical with Kyle Williams, pin down the second level with Henry and hit Raridon behind it. Nice idea.
Packers are starting with McKinney as the single-high safety, aligned extremely deep over the trips side. At the snap, he sinks down into a deep-half zone, with Evan Williams dropping into a deep-half zone on the other side. This looks like Cover 2, with Cisse passing off the vertical route from Kyle Williams to McKinney.
This should all work, but McKinney goes and makes a play. Maye hitches roughly a thousand times, looking to the route from Raridon in the middle. McKinney is still staying deep, but his hips are turned in and he’s not even looking at the streaking Kyle Williams: he’s looking to drive on Raridon.
As soon as Maye starts his throwing motion, McKinney triggers down, beating Raridon to the ball.
It was 17-7 at this point in the game. The Packers scored on a Kaleb Johnson rushing TD 3 plays later to take a 24-7 lead.
Albums listened to: Brother Bird – The Lodge in Miller County; Wilby – Center of Affection
