NFL Playoff Teams Are Earning Their Yards After the Catch

On the rare occasions Kelce is not open, Mahomes often jettisons short lobs to running back Jerick McKinnon, whose 9.7 YAC per reception ranked third in the N.F.L. Kansas City’s game plans are also loaded with shovel passes and other glorified handoffs designed to deliver the ball to Kelce (5.9 YAC per reception) or speedsters like Kadarius Toney (7.3), who was acquired in a midseason deal with the Giants.

Mahomes sprained his right ankle against the Jaguars, limiting his mobility and ability to plant his foot to throw downfield. He is expected to play against the Bengals in the A.F.C. championship game Sunday; if he cannot, the backup Chad Henne (essentially an assistant coach in pads and a helmet) gets the start. Either way, Kansas City will probably rely heavily on its YAC game.

For pass-catchers like Samuel and Kelce, yards after catch typically involve a slalom through rush-hour traffic. The Eagles’ A.J. Brown, however, generates much of his YAC on leisurely jogs into the end zone after torching a defender on a deep catch. Brown produced 152 yards after catch on passes that traveled 20 yards through the air to reach him, the highest figure in the league.

Not all of the Eagles’ yards after catch come on glorified victory laps, however. As the Giants learned their 38-7 loss to the Eagles on Saturday, Philadelphia Coach Nick Sirianni likes to scatter his receivers near the sideline so Jalen Hurts can fling quick screens immediately after the snap. By the time defenders sift through all the blocking and braiding, tight end Dallas Goedert (7.6 YAC per reception) or receiver DeVonta Smith (5.2) might already be in the end zone.

A strong downfield passing game can force the opposing defense to play on its heels, which creates lots of open space for catch-and-run opportunities in the middle of the field. Kansas City and Philadelphia use such tactics effectively, but Cincinnati excels at punishing opponents who line their safeties up in the stadium parking lot to stop the deep threats Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins.

Bengals running backs Joe Mixon (7.8 YAC per reception) and Samaje Perine (8.4) often leak out of the backfield for short Burrow lobs when defenses are preoccupied elsewhere. Chase himself sometimes evades defenders after catching quick screens (16 broken or eluded tackles in just 12 games) or threatens them with what looks like a deep route, then turns to snag a short catch before strolling through the open countryside as they stumble backward. All of those short jabs inevitably set opponents up for a deep haymaker.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/sports/football/nfl-yards-after-catch.html