Analyzing Jelani Woods' GW Touchdown vs Chiefs: Film Room
The Indianapolis Colts did the unthinkable this past Sunday, upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs 20-17. It was an ugly win, but the Colts were able to get it done for their first victory of this young season.
While there were many plays that I could highlight for the Colts' offense, the deciding one came with under a minute left in the game. Quarterback Matt Ryan found rookie tight end Jelani Woods for the game-winning 13 yard score to give the Colts the victory.
In today's film room, I dive into the details that went into this play succeeding like it did on Sunday.
Coverage and Formation
The Colts came out on this play in a 3 x 1 formation, meaning that they have three pass catchers to one side of the line and just one on the other side. 3 x 1 formations are advantageous for the offense because they have the option to attack the bunched side of the formation or they can can isolate their best receiver on the backside with little defensive help going that way.
The Chiefs come out in a typical cover one man coverage on this play. The safety over the top is playing deep and the middle linebacker (Nick Bolton) is serving as a robber over the middle. Quarterback Matt Ryan properly identifies this coverage pre-snap and understands where his hot reads are going to be on the play.
The Play Design
The play call itself is actually a well-designed levels concept against this type of coverage. The Colts are attacking the defense at so many different levels that it is hard for those two zone defenders to diagnose where they need to help on the play.
The safety over the top is put in a tough spot on this play. If he stays home and helps on the deep dig by Parris Campbell, he runs the risk of Jelani Woods pulling away from his man on the crosser. If he stays on Woods and the crosser, then Campbell has a ton of open space on the deeper dig.
Frank Reich and the Colts must have expected cover one on this play because this is the perfect play design to exploit it.
Jelani Woods' Leverage
One of the most important details of this play was how tight end Jelani Woods won this route. He is running a crossing route with a ton of open space in front of him. It is paramount that he wins inside leverage on this play and maintains that inside leverage until the ball is thrown.
Luckily for the Colts, he is able to do just that. He uses his massive frame the shield the defensive back to the outside and then uses his freaky speed to pull away after gaining that inside leverage. This is where Woods' insane athletic profile comes into play.
A smaller tight end likely loses inside leverage early in this rep. A bigger, slower tight end likely gets undercut by the defensive back after winning inside leverage. With Woods being both big AND extremely fast/athletic, he is able to shield away the defender and pull away for the score.
Michael Pittman Jr Impact
This play speaks volumes to how opposing defenses view Michael Pittman Jr. Pittman Jr is the number one receiver for this team, and the Chiefs were committed to making sure that he wasn't the target on this play.
In fact, both of the Chiefs' zone defenders on this play get pulled towards Pittman Jr on his five yard dig at the top of the screen. The deep safety sells out for Pittman Jr, and even the linebacker over the middle begins to move that way. The Chiefs were clearly worried about Pittman Jr on this play and it was what led to the opening for Woods over the middle.
The Catch
To wrap up this play with a nice and pretty bow, Jelani Woods made an outstanding catch. The rookie tight end was able to hold on through the contact from the diving defender behind him. This was just a clutch play by a young player that certainly needs more playing time going forward.
The Finished Product
In the end, this was yet another clutch play by this Colts' offense in 2022. The next step for the team is moving the ball before the fourth quarter, but we will take the win regardless. Rookie tight end Jelani Woods made his mark on the Colts in a big way, and this was a legit game-winning catch for the young player:
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