LOS ANGELES (AP) —Monday night Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , Sean McVay was still buzzing when he left the building after the Los Angeles Rams‘ epic victory over Kansas City.When he finally reached his suburban home, the coach wasn’t ready to lose that feeling. Instead, McVay and some friends kicked off the Rams’ bye week by watching highlights of Los Angeles’ 54-51 win deep into the night.“I was pretty wired, man,” McVay said Tuesday afternoon, about 21 hours after kickoff. “I would say right now is about the first time I’m starting to wind down and to be able to take a nap hopefully here soon.”McVay and the Rams have absolutely earned their sleep.Los Angeles (10-1) is this season’s first team to reach double digits in victories after holding off the Chiefs in a game that featured so many eye-popping digits: a 14-touchdown, 105-point, 1,001-yard masterpiece of pure entertainment.The third highest-scoring game in league history was the latest peak in the Rams’ two-year transformation under McVay, whose staff has put this long-downtrodden franchise in position to clinch its first back-to-back division titles since the 1970s as soon as this weekend if Carolina beats Seattle.The win over Kansas City also was the culmination of two difficult weeks for the organization and its city.Players, coaches and team employees were forced from their homes by wildfires two weeks ago while many were still reeling from a mass shooting near their training complex in Thousand Oaks. The Rams then spent the previous week on the road in Colorado Springs to train for the high altitudes of Mexico City — only to have the Monday night game moved back home to LA on six days’ notice.“I think the players did an outstanding job of handling what seems like two weeks that was about two years’ worth of things that they had to go through,” McVay said. “All they did was just handle it like pros and do everything the right way that makes you appreciative of just being able to work with people like this.”The final snap against Kansas City felt like closure to the players who persevered through this two-week stretch. McVay and the Rams now get a holiday week to contemplate what they’ve accomplished and how far they’ve still got to go.Because for all their success, McVay knows the Rams have ample room for improvement.McVay and his staff will use part of their bye week to study this triumph over the Chiefs, likely turning a critical eye on ways to help a defense that relied on big plays to survive this thriller. Kansas City outgained Los Angeles 546-455 with six touchdown passes by Patrick Mahomes.The Rams are desperately looking forward to the probable post-bye return of standout cornerback Aqib Talib. They were also happy to get contributions from surprising defensive sources in an otherwise offense-dominated night.Samson Ebukam, the Rams’ unsung second-year outside linebacker, might have been the most important player on the field against the Chiefs. Ebukam returned a fumble forced by Aaron Donald for a touchdown, made a preposterous one-armed interception and returned it for another TD Discount Darwin Thompson Jersey , and finally pressured Mahomes just enough to impede his throwing motion on a pass subsequently intercepted by Rams teammate Marcus Peters with 1:18 left.“It’s crazy we had five takeaways, just to see they still put up 51 points,” Rams receiver Robert Woods said. “We tried to eliminate the big plays, but we know they have some talented players. At the end of the day, we sealed them off.”The Rams can also use their time off to get healthy, which is always a good thing at this time of year.Los Angeles dropped those 54 points on Kansas City even with mild contributions from NFL rushing leader Todd Gurley, whose 13-game touchdown streak ended while he made just 12 carries for 54 yards and caught three passes for 39 yards.Confirming what many suspected during the game, McVay said Gurley was limited by an ankle injury after “getting rolled up on” earlier in the game.McVay doesn’t believe it will be a long-term problem, and he said Gurley’s light action in the second half was mostly due to the Chiefs’ schemes — particularly a set with 11 men in the box late in the game, leading to McVay’s decision to call passing plays in a last-minute attempt to get a game-clinching first down.“There were a lot of instances where they were playing some defensive structures where they were basically daring you to throw it,” McVay said. “That’s a result of the respect they have for Todd and our running game.”Chiefs vs. Patriots: How the Chiefs defense beats New England It’s Friday at Arrowhead Pride, so we’re leaving a good defensive performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the rear view so we can look ahead to this Sunday night’s matchup versus the *gulp* New England Patriots!The Patriots offense is a well-oiled machine that now has all their weapons healthy — and back from suspension. Despite missing key players at skill positions, the Pats offense has managed to average 34.3 points per game at home, and 38 in each of their last two games.So what do the Patriots do well, and what can the Chiefs do to stop them? Follow me down to The Laboratory and let’s take a deeper look at some of the X’s and O’s behind the New England Patriots.The Patriots offenseWinslow Townson-USA TODAY SportsEverybody and their dog knows who Tom Brady is, and while he’s not been particularly great going deep this season, he’s still a highly efficient quarterback that gets the ball out on time and accurately. He has thrown six interceptions this year Super Bowl Darwin Thompson Jersey , which is a bit uncharacteristic for Brady.At running back, the Patriots pack a killer 1-2 punch. Fifth-year player James White is an excellent pass-catching back that is a matchup nightmare for most defenses — the Chiefs included. The Patriots also drafted a running back in the first round this season. Sony Michel has been integrated into the offense more and more, and is a big-play threat whenever he touches the ball.Wide receiver is a major strength for this offense, too. New England got Julian Edelman back from a four-game suspension last week, and he returned to his role as Brady’s security blanket in the slot. They also scooped up Josh Gordon for a fifth round pick from the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago after Cleveland was reportedly going to release him. While he’s still getting the playbook down, Gordon has shown the ability to be a game-breaking receiver.The Patriots also get to mix and match Cordarrelle Patterson, Phillip Dorsett, and Chris Hogan into their three and four wide receiver sets.These three guys would be contributors for a lot of teams in the league.While running back and wide receiver have some marquee names, the star weapon of the Patriots offense is tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski is a great pass catcher, great in the open field, and really is the only player tight end in the league who is regularly mentioned in the same breath as our very own Travis Kelce. Backup tight end Dwayne Allen hasn’t been a factor in the passing game this year.The Patriots let stalwart offensive lineman Nate Solder walk in free agency this offseason, and to take his place, acquired Trent Brown in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. He starts at left tackle, opposite eight-year veteran Marcus Cannon.The interior offensive line is the same as it has been for the most of the last three years, with Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney at right and left guard, and David Andrews at center. The group as a whole does well — and when they’re coupled with Brady’s quick passing game — rank third in the league in pressure rate, according to Football Outsiders.How to defendEmpty formationsWith all of the stellar weapons the Patriots possess Darwin Thompson Jersey nfl draft , they like to force bad matchups by going empty and forcing a linebacker or a safety out of the middle of the field. These empty formations stretch the defense horizontally, and the Patriots offense likes to run mirrored routes with their number three receiver out of the passing strong side, and the number two on the weak side.Above, the Patriots motion White out of the backfield, and the Indianapolis Colts motion one of their three safeties out to cover him at the bottom of the screen. The strong side number one (White) runs a 9 route while the strong side number two Gronkowski) runs a post route. The weak side number one runs a dig route, while the two underneath routes are mirrored curls from Edelman and Hogan.The strong-side linebacker drops to carry Gronkowski to the safety, and Edelman’s curl is wide open. The Colts try to drop a defensive lineman into coverage, but the play succeeds because of the stressed linebackers.This is a situation where the Chiefs can utilize some of their match coverages to simulate man coverages against those mirrored routes but still protect their linebackers in coverage. Rather than a Nick Saban-esque Cover 3 match where the linebackers would be in man coverage against vertical stems, Bob Sutton could have his hook defenders in man coverage for every underneath route — crossers, curls, and slants. The strong corner can drop into the deep third and key off of the receivers — inside to out — while the defense implements a safety shading the number three and a cloud safety to the weak side of the formation.While this likely means that crossing routes would force the Chiefs linebackers into a trail position against a quicker player, the three deep defenders — keying inside to out — would be able to identify these routes early and spin down in support for short gains.With the Chiefs defense giving up over nine yards per play — and holding a 31% success rate against empty formations — holding the Patriots to four yards on a crossing route would be a major improvement.GRONK. WHAM!As my good friend and fellow Nerd Squad member Kent Swanson discussed on The AP Laboratory podcast two weeks ago, a well-timed wham block sets the tone for an offense, and is absolutely demoralizing for a defense. The Chiefs interior defensive linemen have been caught a couple of times this year — most notably against San Fransisco, when nose tackle Derrick Nnadi was blown out of the gap by a fullback.The Patriots love to use these with Gronkowski. He’s an excellent blocker as it is, and a dense enough athlete to hold his own against most interior defensive linemen. By pulling Gronkowski across the formation to block a 1-tech in a nickel defense, the right guard and center are free to climb to the second level to swallow up the linebackers Xavier Williams Jersey , creating a massive hole for the running back to hit all the way to the third level.Wham blocks are difficult for defensive linemen to defend. While the Chiefs — with their 1-gapping scheme — are constantly trying to get penetration, when a defensive lineman is unblocked, it usually means something else is happening that needs to be diagnosed.It could be a screen, a pulling guard on a sweep or a wham block, so the unblocked defender has to keep his head on a swivel to diagnose the play.If the running back appears to be attacking the nearby gap, the defender needs to find the wham block and purposefully engage it to clog the running lane. Most defensive linemen — especially nose tackles — aren’t quick enough to beat the block with speed. So getting appropriate leverage and driving the tight end back takes away the running lane and allows the lineman an opportunity to make a play himself — or give the rest of the defense a chance to beat a block and make a play.James White catching the ballI know it. You know it. Sutton knows it. James White is going to be force-fed into the Patriots passing offense this week.New England targeted White fourteen times against the Colts defense. If I were a betting man, I’d guess that the Chiefs defense will see at least that many targets to White this week.The Patriots do an excellent job at consistently getting White on their opposition’s weakest coverage linebacker. In this example, New England runs three curl routes and a clear-out post from the slot receiver, with White running a flat. If the Colts are in a Cover 2 zone, the post attacks the seam over the top of the underneath defenders. If they’re in a Cover 3 zone, the curl routes on the outside are open, with the corners bailing to the deep third. Finally, if it’s man coverage, White is one on one against a slower linebacker in the flat — with space to run because of the post route.Since the Chiefs have struggled in coverage with their linebackers, it’s almost certain that Anthony Hitchens, Terrance Smith, or Reggie Ragland will be in major mismatches against White in the passing game.Unless the Chiefs are planning to utilize a safety — which is unlikely given to the current depth at that position — or stick a player like Dorian O’Daniel on the field for his coverage abilities Patrick Mahomes Jersey , we can expect Sutton will drop outside linebackers into coverage to rob flat routes, or be able to stop these receptions for minimal gain.The bottom lineThe Patriots are going to force the Chiefs defense into poor matchups, and they’re going to move the ball fairly effortlessly. For the yards matter crowd, this week’s game will almost certainly push their narrative further.This is the best set of weapons that the Chiefs have seen thus far this season — and with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers among the teams the Chiefs have played, that’s saying something. Very few defenses match up well with the skill players the Patriots have, and no quarterback on the Chiefs schedule this season will rival the schematic advantage that Brady gives New England.The Patriots are going to get the ball out quick, nullifying a Chiefs pass rush that has found some rhythm over the past two weeks. The interior rush will still be able to disrupt Brady, but as we’ve seen in previous matchups between these two teams, the Chiefs edge rushers will practically have to teleport into the backfield to get pressure.Expect a healthy dose of linebackers in coverage this week, with some hesitant or delayed rushes to make sure the defense keeps White in check underneath. If Kansas City can match to minimize damage out of the Patriots empty formations — and actually get to third down a little more often this week — we might see some more drives stall out.I’d expect the Chiefs offense to hang points on the Patriots defense this week, so getting a stalled drive or two early — maybe even tightening up and forcing red zone field goals — is a big win for the defense. Forcing the Patriots to play from behind will force longer developing routes — and the elimination of the running game — allowing the pass rush to bear down and kill off a good offense.