The Bills were ranked #1 in the league in 3rd down efficiency in 2021.
In week 18 the Jets were 1-14 on 3rd down vs the Bills. The Bills frustrated the Jets with some zone concepts , man free lurk coverages and some combination concepts that caused confusion for Zach Wilson. They actually only blitzed Zach 2/14 times but still managed to sack him 4 times on 3rd down.
In there last 3 games of the regular season the Bills 3rd down defense was dominant.
week 18. Jets 1/14.
week 17 Falcons 1/7
week 16 Patriots 1/10
That's 3/31 over a 3 week period which is excellent.
Coverage Breakdown vs The Jets
Here is the down and distance and the different coverages vs the Jets.
3rd 1-3. man free, man free w 5 man pressure. 2/2 man
3rd 4-6. man free lurk(explained below) 1/1 man
3rd 7-9. 2 hole, man free lurk, man free lurk, cover 2, man free lurk 3/5 man
3rd 10+. 3 weak, 2 combo , 5 man pressure cover 4 fire zone, 3 weak, cover 2 hole, cover 4 0/6 man
As you can see, as they get into those 3rd and long situations, you will see more zone coverages from the Bills.
Here are some clips with the coverage breakdown.
I will cover the following in this article:
Combo coverage- a cover 2 variant
Cover 2 hole vs 3x1
Man free lurk- it starts as 2 man and the safety opposite 3x1 dives to play the hole with the other safety playing over the top of 2/3.
Cover 2 with a safety playing the deep hole instead of a mike LB like traditional cover 2 is making it's way up to the NFL. Here are some concepts of the coverage.
Combo Coverage, zone to the strong side, man to the weak side.
vs the Jets 3rd and 9
The Jets come out in 2 back for protection purposes. The bills play a cover 2 combo principle. They are in man to man to the single wr side with the back and wr being taken by the CB and LB. But to the 2 wr side the Bills play cover 2.
Nice design by Frazier and company.
Later in the game you see another 3rd and 10
3rd and 10
Bills 3 safety cover 2 hole concept
This was one of there 3x1 checks as they ran it 2x in the game.
The Jets come out in 3x1. They run a vertical route with 2 and 3. The Bills are sitting there waiting for the hole dig route. WIlson doesn't have enough time to work the middle of the field. Leads to a sack as the pocket collapses.
The Jets come out in 3x1. They run a vertical route with 2 and 3. The Bills are sitting there waiting for the hole dig route. Wilson doesn't have enough time to work the middle of the field. Leads to a sack as the pocket collapses.
The other coverage you saw quite a bit of is Man free lurk. All that means is you start out in a cover 2 man look and dive the safety down to play routes to the middle of the field. It is a nice concept that was utilized very well by the Bills in the Jets game.
Here's a 3rd and 9 vs the Jets.
THe free safety opposite the 3x1 is the lurk defender. All underneath defenders are in man to man.Jets have a comeback route up top and a stick concept to the bottom. #2 ends up trying to run the slant late.
In progress:
In week 10 vs the Jets here's some of the coverages we saw. I will review some of the coverage concepts very shortly!
The Jets were 3-13 efficient vs the Bills. The Bills played the following concepts based on down and distance.
3rd and 1-3 6 man cover 0
3rd and 4-6 axe pressure with man free lurk, DE taking back &tight end3x1, rush 3 c-2,fire zone cover 3, man free lurk.
3rd and 7-9 odd 5 man pressure c-1, odd cover 0,
3rd and 10+ mug cover 2, cover 4, cover 3 weak , odd 5 man rush man free, mug cover 2, 2man , cover 3
Here's a 3rd and 6 vs the Jets
Bills 4-2 Nickel Personnel.
Bring both ILB peel the DE on the RB and TE.
Play man free lurk on the backend. White tries to hit the HB vs the DE in man coverage.
More to come!!!
