Chiefs vs. Broncos 2.0: Keep an eye on the young guys Sunday afternoon
Football might be a grown man’s game, but it’ll be important to keep an eye on the kids Sunday afternoon. A trio of rookies and one second-year player are our picks to watch when the Broncos and Chiefs square off for the second time this season.
No. 55 Bradley Chubb, OLB
22 years old, 6-4, 275 pounds, 1st season
Coming off back-to-back NFL Rookie of the Week nominations, Chubb represents a big part of the Broncos’ formidable pass rush. The N.C. State product had two sacks, including one strip sack, against the Cardinals and three against the Rams. Chubb, the fifth overall pick, is the first Broncos rookie to have consecutive multi-sack games since Elvis Dumervil in 2006. Chubb didn’t record a sack against the Chiefs in their first game, but he has come on strong in the weeks since. He’ll primarily be going up against Eric Fisher, one of the mainstays along an offensive line that’s been plagued by injuries in recent weeks.
No. 30 Phillip Lindsay, RB
24, 5-8, 190 pounds, 1st season
With Royce Freeman officially out for Sunday’s game, the Broncos’ ground game falls squarely on the shoulders of fellow rookie Phillip Lindsay. The team’s leading rusher, Lindsay is familiar with carrying the load. Against the Chiefs in the first matchup, Lindsay has 12 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown. He has 75 carries for 436 yards and two rushing touchdowns so far this year. He’ll have a little help from Devontae Booker, who will be filling in for Freeman. But just a little: Booker has just 13 carries for 51 yards this season and his longest carry went for 11 yards.
No. 44 Dorian O’Daniel, LB
24 years old, 6-1, 220 pounds, 1st season
In the first meeting between the two teams, the rookie linebacker played only two defensive snaps. This time, though, he’ll have a much bigger role. Bob Sutton was already planning to play him against the Bengals, but Terrance Smith’s ACL tear put O’Daniel on the field even more. The third-round pick played 42 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. With Smith on IR, O’Daniel will become a primary defender on passing downs. At Clemson, he spent time a lot of time at nickelback, defending slot receivers.
No. 15 Patrick Mahomes, QB
23 years old, 6-3, 230 pounds, 2nd season
In case you forgot, the last time the Chiefs’ quarterback played the Broncos, he performed a handful of second-half magic tricks in a fourth-quarter-comeback win. Will he complete another left-handed pass this time around? Odds are he won’t, but he’ll still be an exciting player to watch against the Broncos’ pass rush. Von Miller didn’t record a sack in the first meeting between the two teams, but the pressure he helped create chased Mahomes from the pocket throughout the night. It didn’t matter much in that one, though, as Mahomes still threw for 192 yards outside the pocket in the Chiefs’ 27-23 victory.
Brooke Pryor
Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
