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Chiefs 28, Broncos 24: The Good, Bad, & Ugly

Was there a silver lining to Denver's 10th loss of the season?
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Although there are rarely moral victories in the NFL, the Denver Bronco’s gave a valiant effort in Saturday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In the final game of the season, with no chance of going to the playoffs, the Broncos had little reason to fight. 

To the Broncos' credit, the team didn’t capitulate to the seductive impulse of making a business decision and not giving their best. But a loss is still a loss. 

Sadly, the Broncos did not have enough gas to get up the hill and recover from a four-game slide, leading to the dismissal of head coach Vic Fangio.

Even though fans want to focus completely on the Broncos' coaching search, we must conclude our postmortem on the 2021 season by recounting the good, bad, and ugly from the team's 28-24 loss to Kansas City. 

The Good

The Secondary

Denver's secondary came into the contest shorthanded. Starting cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Ronald Darby, along with safety Kareem Jackson, did not suit up for the game due to injuries, leaving the secondary undermanned against All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes. 

To their credit, the remaining secondary crew held the line and kept Mahomes to a pedestrian 27 completions for 270 yards and two touchdowns. In his first start of the season, Broncos cornerback Michael Ojemudia had eight solo tackles and broke up numerous passes in key situations. 

What made things more challenging was the need for Denver's secondary to stick to its man longer than expected due to the lack of pressure by the front four. Overall, it was good to see the depth at secondary handle the pressure of the Chiefs' vertical pass game.

Offensive Imagination

It wasn’t a perfect offensive performance, but we did see a glimmer of innovative thinking in getting the players in position to leverage their talents. In his last game calling plays with the organization, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur did a solid job of sticking to the run, using play-action, and formations to create opportunities for the offense.

Shurmur even dialed up a trick play that had wide receiver Courtland Sutton throwing a pass to tight end Noah Fant that gained 16 yards. It was good to see quarterback Drew Lock use his legs to score two touchdowns and take advantage of Chiefs defenders paying too much attention to covering their designated man and not spying the signal-caller. 

Although Lock completed only 12 passes for 162 yards, it was good to finally see the Broncos put up 24 points on the scoreboard.

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The Bad

Gordon's Game-Losing Turnover

Let’s start with a positive. The Broncos' offense did a superb job of controlling the line of scrimmage and running the ball effectively. Running back Melvin Gordan rumbled through the Chiefs' defense for 110 yards and a touchdown. 

Gordon was a key factor in the Broncos controlling the clock and keeping Mahomes on the sidelines. Unfortunately, Gordon fumbled after being rocked by a blitzing linebacker, while the Broncos were in scoring position and set to salt the game away. 

The Orange and Blue's hard-earned momentum was stopped cold. For the respected veteran running back, it's not the first time this season he’s given the ball away in a moment that altered the trajectory of the game.

The Ugly

7-10 Record

Broncos Country feels the pain of not watching the team compete in the playoff for the last six years. Despite the high expectations set in training camp, the Broncos were unable to win games consistently against high-caliber teams. 

Fangio’s 2021 Broncos were constructed to be a dominating defense that kept opposing offense contained, combined with an offense that moved the sticks but minimized turnovers. Despite having a very good defense, and an offense that plays subpar in big-game situations. To become a playoff contender, the Broncos must consistently score at least 24 points per game.

Despite the disappointment in this season performance, fans should hold onto a glimmer of optimism. The organization has improved the talent on the roster. 

There is a solid foundation of players to build upon. GM George Paton’s vision of the 2022 Broncos organization has already begun to take shape as he begins the search for his new head coach.


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