3 Scathing Takeaways from Broncos' 22-9 Loss to Chiefs
When the Denver Broncos Week 13 game at the Kansas City Chiefs was flexed to Sunday Night Football, it gave the Mile High fanbase much more than its second primetime game. The winner of the game would take a commanding lead in the tightly contested AFC West, and because the NFL is replete with parity, there’s hardly a sure thing when it comes to predicting divisional games.
As the Broncos fell at Arrowhead 22-9, it's apparent that the Chiefs have Denver’s number. The losing streak to Kansas City now stretches to 12 games and quarterback Patrick Mahomes still hasn't lost a matchup to the Broncos.
For the first time in years, it felt like Broncos Country repped its Orange and Blue with a heightened sense of anticipation for arguably this team's biggest game since Super Bowl 50. But a lot of the excitement lost its luster after Kansas City took an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and the familiar bullied feeling began to settle in.
Entering half-time trailing 10-3, we all knew that the Broncos wouldn't recover because they rarely ever do. Under head coach Vic Fangio, this team is now 1-19 when trailing at the half.
From the beginning of the game, it was chippy between players, but the superior team ultimately won out even if it was a sloppy win for Kansas City.
Here we are again, Broncos Country, reviewing a 12th straight loss on the 13-point spread, which happened to be Denver's average margin of loss to Kansas City in recent years. What did we learn?
Let’s review three scathing takeaways from the Broncos' sixth loss of the season.
Can't Capitalize on Chiefs' Out-of-Sync Offense
Kansas City's offense has been out of whack for most of the year. The league has grown accustomed to seeing deep bombs from Mahomes to WR Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce. But against the Broncos, the nation saw an offense that continually stubbed its toe, failing to make the familiar highlight-reel plays.
Mahomes was visually frustrated with Kansas City’s many faux pas as he finished the evening completing just 15-of-29 attempts for 184 yards and an interception. You read that correctly: Mahomes and company blew out the Broncos by 13 points without the former MVP throwing a single touchdown pass, although he did rush for one.
For crying out loud, Kansas City only had 15 first downs compared to Denver’s 22 and logged 267 total net yards to the Broncos' 404. Hill was targeted five times and was seemingly a ghost with just 22 yards while Kelce logged just three catches for 27 yards, furthering the Chiefs' disconnect on offense.
Not only did Kansas City bully and bruise the Broncos, but it did so on an evening where the team was lousy on offense. Of course, Andy Reid’s offense is going to get it together and will be in the postseason race as it continues to fine-tune its errors. But what does it say about a pro team like the Broncos when the outcome is seemingly decided before kickoff? Denver might as well not even show up if it can't capitalize on its opponents' evident shortcomings.
I’m not going to insult readers with the try-hard effort of moral victories. Denver had plenty of opportunities to remain competitive and even beat Kansas City on SNF. Instead, the Broncos' losing streak extends to 12 games.
Both teams will meet again on January 9th in the Mile High City, and it’s extremely likely that the Chiefs will have clinched a division title by this time for a fifth straight year.
Williams' Historic Night Squandered as Boone Goes the Dynamite
Broncos starting RB Melvin Gordon was inactive due to a hip injury, making rookie thoroughbred Javonte Williams the featured back. While the move wasn’t necessarily surprising due to the red-hot performance of the former North Carolina star, Williams' second-round pedigree suggested he’d be the future workhorse for Denver.
Williams' future as a Bronco was previewed with gusto as he rushed for 102 tough yards on 23 carries (4.43 avg.) and hauled in six receptions (on nine targets) for 76 yards and a touchdown. He became the first rookie in Denver's storied running-back history to post north of 100 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards in the same game.
It was truly surprising to see OC Pat Shurmur allow the Broncos' ground game to get rolling behind Williams and Mike Boone. Boone, the 26-year-old who entered the league as a college free agent with George Paton's (then) Minnesota Vikings back in 2017, was brought to Denver back in March in a rehaul of the Broncos' running back room.
Boone was sidelined for the entire preseason and a large portion of the regular season due to a quad injury. Although he's been on the active roster for a few weeks, his first exposure to Broncos fans came on primetime SNF.
Shurmur utilized both Williams and Boone on a drive that hogged most of the second quarter for the Broncos' offense. QB Teddy Bridgewater orchestrated a drive behind both blue-collar backs that lasted 20 plays and went 88 yards, sucking approximately 11 minutes off the clock before halftime.
But it was all for nothing as Denver failed to convert a 4th-&-2 deep in Kansas City's red zone on a play that felt doomed from its disorganized start. In relief of Williams' sensational first career start, Boone proved to coaches and teammates that he can be leaned on as the backup behind ‘Pookie’.
Boone logged four carries for 35 yards (8.75 avg.) in addition to catching one pass for 19 yards. Sure, those numbers don’t support a significant breakout performance, but the veteran back complemented Williams and the struggling offense.
I had previously speculated on the Mile High Huddle airwaves that Gordon would not retain his starting role once cleared by the Broncos medical staff. That’s not to say that he’s been a disappointment for Denver this season, but Gordon's time is simply up.
The Broncos have themselves an elite talent in Williams, and with Boone as RB2, they project to be a legit running back tandem for the rest of 2021.
Too Much Jawing, Not Enough Production
As soon as the game kicked off, it was evident that multiple players didn’t like each other. There was constant shoving and jawing between players like Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and Broncos OLB Bradley Chubb. Time and time again, the Chiefs' Pro Bowl tight end was continually complaining to referees only to see multiple Broncos chirp right back at him.
I must admit, though, as much as I appreciate Chubb’s 'never back down' mentality, he hasn’t exactly earned the reputation of a scrapper in the NFL. He finished the game with just three tackles and was hardly a disruption as a pass rusher.
Team captain Courtland Sutton was also visually frustrated with Chiefs' defensive backs, who played more than sticky coverage. The Broncos' No. 1 wideout was taken out of his element and distracted with verbal jawing it seemed.
The human element of egos in the NFL is undoubtedly present on every rep. But when pride takes precedence over production, there’s an avalanche of negative outcomes revealed in bunches. When Denver has never held a lead on the Chiefs in any of its 12 losses, it’d probably behoove players to stop the trash talk and focus on playing ball. Sutton completed the blowout loss with just two receptions (on six targets) for 15 yards.
Does pounding your chest and getting into verbal spats amount to anything other than false bravado? Especially in what amounts to yet another public beatdown.
Even when Denver was down 22-9 late in the fourth quarter, the Broncos' defense continued to have skirmishes. The fact of the matter is, the Chiefs have bullied the Broncos for the last 12 meetings tying the worst losing streak since the Raiders dominated them in the 1960s. It’s hard to have bad blood when only one team emerges victorious time after time.
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