New Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was the last defensive play caller to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs.
As the Chiefs look to win their third straight Super Bowl in a few weeks, the last time they lost in the postseason was to the Cincinnati Bengals in January of 2022 in the AFC Championship game, when Anarumo was the team’s defensive coordinator.
In that game, Mahomes, as he is, was still effective, completing 26-of-39 passes for 275 yards with three touchdowns. However, what Anarumo’s defense did do is come up with some timely plays, forcing two interceptions and generating four sacks.
The first interception came at the Chiefs’ own 32-yard line and set the Bengals offense up with a short field that they were able to capitalize on with a touchdown. The second interception came in overtime and led to a Cincinnati field goal to win the game.
After the Bengals’ defense surrendered 21 points to the Chiefs through two quarters, they allowed only three points the remainder of the game.
As we all know, since that game, the Chiefs have gone on to win their last nine playoff games, which includes two Super Bowls.
When up against the top quarterbacks, you can’t simply rely on outplaying them. Instead, you’ve got to throw a lot at opposing offenses to keep them off-balanced and guessing, to a degree.
One of the cornerstone’s of Anarumo’s defensive scheme is versatility. This allows the defense to disguise the play-call with late movement and defenders able to fill a variety of roles and it also creates a more adaptable scheme that is able to better adjust on the fly.
“Going through the playoffs and things like that and to the Super Bowl, you have to keep those great quarterbacks off balance,” Anarumo said via ESPN.
“I think you have to make them uncomfortable. Even the best ones, at times, you’re not going to fool them all day. But if it’s in the most critical situation, that’s what you’re hoping to do. And, certainly, we’ve had some success doing that.”
Among the top items on Anarumo’s to-do list as the defensive coordinator is to help get improved play out of the secondary. As GM Chris Ballard said during his end of season press conference, the Colts have to get better on the back end.
This was a unit that ranked in the bottom 10 in 2024 in completion rate, yards per attempt, pass deflections, and quarterback passer rating.
Perhaps some new additions, whether that be via free agency or the draft, can help, but Anarumo’s scheme will have to help with some of that heavy lifting as well.
