3 Duds, 2 Studs in Broncos' 19-8 Loss to Chiefs
The Denver Broncos dropped their 16th straight game to the Kansas City Chiefs with a frustrating performance. For a change, this was a winnable game, but the same old Broncos showed up to ruin any hopes of a victory.
Mistakes abounded, starting at the very top, ruining any chance the Broncos had of getting off this miserable skid against the AFC West rival. But the postmortem must be cataloged.
Let's go through the biggest studs and duds.
Dud: Sean Payton | HC
This looked like a junior varsity coaching job from head coach Payton. The playbook for the passing game needs to be tossed into a pit filled with liquid hot magma.
It was a terrible strategy from nearly start to finish that struggled to get receivers open. It was like the Chiefs defense had been given the script and playbook at the start of the week.
Furthermore, Payton called a time-out after a sack to end the Broncos' drive before halftime, stopping the clock that the Chiefs appeared eager to let expire. Instead, that boneheaded time-out gave the Chiefs plenty of time to get into field goal range.
Of course, they did, and Payton gifted them three points. It's fair to question whether Payton really is the man for the job.
Dud: Russell Wilson | QB
There is no beating around the bush; Wilson was abysmal. He held onto the ball too long and made bad decisions with the football.
Wilson's running did not even come close to making up for what he did throwing the football. Two interceptions, one being thrown right to a Chiefs linebacker, were bad, and he added several batted balls to the mix with questionable ball placement.
Wilson's passer rating reflects his performance well: 46.6. He went 13-of-22 for 95 yards, two picks, and a touchdown. An awful performance.
Dud: Damarri Mathis | CB
The once-promising young cornerback has become a disaster. He has played poorly all season, and this was another bad day. Mathis is constantly getting burned, that's a given, but he had a chance to cleanly lay a big hit on Patrick Mahomes.
Instead, Mathis opted to take on a block for some unknown reason, and in so doing, he gave up a big run by the quarterback and a first down. To add insult to injury, Mathis tends to celebrate incompletions that he had no part in making.
It's infuriating to Broncos fans watching the game. Mathis needs to be benched.
Stud: Javonte Williams | RB
Williams was back in the lineup after missing time due to an injury. He ran hard, broke tackles, and set the tone for an effective run game that, as usual, needed to be abandoned because of the score.
Williams' stats on the night won’t wow anyone, but his running style and ability are visible when he has the ball in his hands. He could’ve had a huge performance if the Broncos were not an inept team, but he instead had 10 carries for 52 yards with a respectable 5.2 yards per carry.
Stud: Nik Bonitto | OLB
The second year player has really taken off. The box score will not show a great statistical game, but Bonitto was applying pressure early on.
Bonitto ended up with two quarterback hits, a tackle for a loss, and three total tackles. He likely would have had a better game, but the curious decision to only activate Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, and the very inexperienced Ronnie Perkins as the outside linebackers severely stunted fresh pass-rush legs.
Bonitto looks like one of the few players who are progressing instead of regressing and actually putting out maximum effort on game day.
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