Oftentimes, we see a play and forget about it. Big gain, short gain, touchdown, first down, etc.
It’s a long season with 272 games. Unless the play is absolutely spectacular, it’ll be one of approximately 1,000 snaps an offense has in a campaign.
But some plays are important beyond the box score. They’re instructive either on scheme or effort, or in some cases both.
Here are three plays from Week 1 that helped their teams win, with the details telling a fascinating story for each.
All film was captured via NFL+’s All-22.
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1
Christian McCaffrey’s 65-yard touchdown runLeading 20–7 over the Steelers to start the third quarter, the 49ers were looking to put the game away.
After dominating Pittsburgh to the tune of 200–1 total yards to start the afternoon, San Francisco turned to its ground game and McCaffrey to finish the job. And while his 65-yard touchdown went into the box score as a solo effort, it was anything but.
As we see below, the 49ers are in 11-personnel (three receivers, a tight end and a back). The Steelers have eight in the box and nine players within six yards of the ball, with a single-high safety look.
On the snap, look at San Francisco’s blocking on this stretch run to the left. The Niners leave All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt unblocked off the back side, while sealing everything on the front side.
San Francisco gets a double team of outside linebacker Alex Highsmith with receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle. Meanwhile, left tackle Trent Williams kicks out safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, while guard Aaron Banks and center Jake Brendel erase defensive tackle Montravius Adams, before Brendel climbs to wall off linebacker Markus Golden.
Lastly, right guard Spencer Burford does a terrific job of impeding defensive end DeMarvin Leal before getting to the second level and handling linebacker Cole Holcomb. Right tackle Colton McKivitz works through Leal with a key reach block, giving McCaffrey multiple lanes to choose from.
McCaffrey decides on an inside cut and makes corner Levi Wallace miss with a nasty spin move. Once that happens, Aiyuk becomes the star. With McCaffrey accelerating toward the left boundary, Aiyuk moves past his initial block and crushes safety Damontae Kazee, giving McCaffrey a huge lane.
Still, the work isn’t done. Aiyuk continues downfield alongside McCaffrey as fellow receiver (and former Steeler) Ray-Ray McCloud III gets a block of corner Patrick Peterson an astounding 55 yards from the line of scrimmage.
The result is six points and, essentially, game over.
Want to know why the 49ers are a great running team beyond their excellent scheme?
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) September 12, 2023
Look at this master class in blocking, including some serious effort from the receivers: pic.twitter.com/mcnlQCGg4g
2.
The Dolphins’ sack ends the gameThe Dolphins have a 36–34 lead over the host Chargers, but they remain in peril with 1:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. Miami is trying to stop quarterback Justin Herbert and an offense that, on the day, racked up 433 total yards and 30 first downs.
However, after the Dolphins allowed a first down on the initial play of Los Angeles’s final drive, Herbert was called for intentional grounding. The penalty sets the stage for second-and-21 from the Chargers’ 24-yard line.
With only one sack and three hits on Herbert to this point, Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio reaches deep into his bag.
As you see, the Dolphins have three rushers lined up left of the center (Nick Chubb, Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins, from left to right), with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips on the right side. However, linebacker Jerome Baker is lurking as a potential blitzer.
On the snap, Chubb gets chipped by tight end Donald Parham Jr. to help left tackle Rashawn Slater. Meanwhile, both Sieler and Wilkins take inside moves. Baker blitzes over right guard Jamaree Salyer, while right tackle Trey Pipkins III is responsible for Phillips.
The result is a jailbreak.
Sieler blows up the play immediately, easily beating 2022 first-round guard Zion Johnson. Phillips also wins with a strong rip move around Pipkins. Herbert has nowhere to go, and no chance. Sieler gets the easy sack, setting up third-and-29 and all but ending the game.
The blitz was a great design from Fangio, who was able to get a four-on-four situation from left guard to right tackle. Although Chubb was effectively doubled, the addition of Baker into the pass rush didn’t allow for help inside on Wilkins and Sieler, who instantly crushed the pocket’s interior.
This is one of my favorite defensive calls of the week.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) September 12, 2023
Vic Fangio needs to get a stop with the Dolphins leading 36-34 in the final 90 seconds. He dials up a blitz which gets his best interior rushers - Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins - with 1-v-1s.
The result? Chaos. pic.twitter.com/NBa3t8zNrt
3.
Calvin Ridley shows the Jaguars he was worth the waitIn Week 1, only eight receivers topped 100 yards. Ridley was one of them, leading the Jaguars to a 31–21 road win over the Colts.
Of his eight catches, a second-quarter reception for 29 yards was most instructive of why Jacksonville’s offense has added another dimension in 2023.
Here we have second-and-8 at the Indianapolis 45-yard line. The Jaguars are going four-wide with running back Travis Etienne sidecar to quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the shotgun; the Colts are in their nickel defense and showing a man-coverage look with a single-high safety. Ridley is lined up wide right.
On the snap, Indianapolis rotates into a Cover 3 look (deep middle safety, two boundary corners in zone and four underneath defenders, also in zone), which you can see below.
Despite a triangle of Colts defenders tight around Ridley, Lawrence fires for a first down. Ridley comes back to the ball, and Indianapolis has a pair of defensive backs collide as they attempt to bring Ridley down.
From there, Ridley turns upfield with pace and gets a tremendous hustle block from Etienne, who was nothing more than a release valve in the flat. As you can watch the rest of the play unfold, Ridley almost scores but steps out at the 15-yard line.
It’s the kind of play, by all of Ridley, Lawrence and Etienne, that should have Jacksonville fielding one of the league’s best offenses this year.
This is winning football.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) September 12, 2023
Check out Trevor Lawrence throwing a dart to Calvin Ridley between three defenders, and then Travis Etienne sprinting to make a block almost 30 yards downfield. pic.twitter.com/2KqFyLxt9E
