What we learned from Chiefs’ Sunday nighter against Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos
With Sunday night’s 22-16 win over the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs are officially in the postseason for a sixth straight season.
A fifth straight AFC West title, however, will need to wait at least another week after the Las Vegas Raiders squeezed out a win against the Jets Sunday afternoon.
The win improved the Chiefs’ record to 11-1 for the second time in franchise history (2003 being the first). Sunday also carried over the Chiefs’ dominance over the AFC West since 2015, a span in which Kansas City has posted a 31-4 mark against divisional opponents, including 11 straight wins over the Broncos.
Nevertheless, the game wasn’t easy for the defending Super Bowl champions.
“My hat goes off to the Broncos,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “They came in and played a nice game.”
Denver gave the Chiefs all they could handle in the first two periods and entered halftime with a 10-9 lead. The Chiefs and Broncos then exchanged leads in the third quarter before the Chiefs took control on quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce.
That gave Kansas City a 19-16 lead that was never relinquished and Mahomes believes the tough games the Chiefs have endured in the past four games, which Kansas City has won by a combined 15 points, will prepare the team for what’s to come.
“We’re just battle tested,” Mahomes said. “We’ve played in a lot of tight football games and we find ways to win.”
Here’s what stood out Sunday night.
WINNING UGLY
The numbers were far from prolific, especially considering the Chiefs had 377 yards of total offense in the first half last week.
Against the Broncos, the Chiefs totaled 225 yards in the first two periods en route to 447 yards in the game. The offense sputtered in the red zone in the first half and had to settle for three Harrison Butker field goals, two coming from inside the Broncos’ 10-yard line.
The Chiefs kicker finished the game with five field goals and drew praise from his head coach.
“Butker, I thought, was a standout for his five field goals,” Reid said. “He did a nice job.”
Kansas City also went 3 of 10 on third-down attempts, converting just 30 percent, while seeing Denver gain a slight edge in time of possession, 30:31 - 29:29.
The Chiefs’ 22 points snapped a streak of 25 consecutive games (regular and postseason) of 23 points or more, which is an NFL record. Before Sunday night, the Chiefs scored 23 or more points in 47 of their previous 48 games.
LET’S GET PHYSICAL
Part of the Chiefs’ red zone issues are tied to the team’s inability to overpower the Broncos in the trenches.
For example and on first-and-goal at the Broncos’ 4-yard line in the first half, the Chiefs lined up for:
- running back Le’Veon Bell for 3-yard run to 1-yard line
- Bell for no gain
- wide receiver Tyreek Hill for -5 loss on a reverse
If you’re only looking at the box score on those three straight plays, context is missing.
On Bell’s first run, the Chiefs used a little razzle-dazzle by putting Mahomes in motion. Center Austin Reiter then did a direct snap to Bell. The second play was a traditional handoff, but Bell was stuffed between the tackles.
The third play was a head-scratching moment, as Mahomes took the snap and rolled to his left with Bell trailing for what could have been an option. But Hill came back from his position and took a pitch from Mahomes to the right side of the formation, where a host of Broncos bottled up the speedy Hill and forced him out of bounds.
Of course, it could be argued that one of the play calls inside the 5-yard line should involve Mahomes throwing at least once.
But a concern rises here and it surrounds their inability to impose will on the opponent while on the goal line. The Chiefs elected to use finesse on two of the three plays instead of taking a direct approach.
It hasn’t bitten the Chiefs yet, but there will be occasions during the postseason when Kansas City must show the ability to punch it inside the 5-yard line.
Of note, the Chiefs’ offensive line underwent shuffling after Mitchell Schwartz suffered a back injury in Week 6 and recently landed on injured reserve.
Mike Remmers, who was filling in at left guard after Kelechi Osemele suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5, moved to right tackle to replace Schwartz. Second-year pro Nick Allegretti then entered the lineup at left guard.
The Chiefs elevated guard Stefen Wisniewski from the practice squad for Sunday’s game, and he could stick eventually before the postseason. The Chiefs are sure to remember how the running game took off late in the 2019 regular season after Wisniewski, a physical mauler at the point of attack, was inserted as a starter at left guard.
NO C.E.H.
Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire entered the weekend as questionable with a stomach illness, but was active for the game.
Well, in spirit only.
Bell started the game and logged the majority of play, with Darrel Williams entering the contest on third-down situations.
Edwards-Helaire stayed on the sideline, but it all makes sense when looking at the situation from the outside.
The rookie rusher missed two days of practice last week, meaning Bell took all the first-team repetitions and was present for the install, situational segments and walkthroughs.
Reid added more insight after the game.
“He didn’t practice this week and I just felt like he lost some weight with the stomach virus,” Reid said.
Bell finished the game rushing for 40 yards on 11 carries, adding two catches for 15 yards. Williams chipped in with 38 yards on six carries.
DON’T STRESS OVER SACKS
The Chiefs didn’t record a sack for the second time in three games, but the defense won’t stress out over the statistic.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo indicated in the week leading to Sunday night’s game that the perceived value on sacks are inflated. Spagnuolo pointed out that affecting the quarterback and causing him to either get out of the pocket or make bad decisions in the face of pressure carry significance.
Spagnuolo’s points were on full display early in the game.
In the first quarter alone, rookie linebacker Willie Gay Jr.’s blitz from the right side led to a Drew Lock interception, which safety Tyrann Mathieu recorded. Then on Denver’s second possession, defensive end Frank Clark tipped a Lock pass and safety Daniel Sorensen came off the edge to record a quarterback hit.
Sorensen finished the game with two quarterback hits, while Mathieu picked off Lock twice.
“That kind of led the way,” Reid said of Mathieu’s interceptions. “The defense, I thought our defense played a good game and really rallied towards the end of it.”
NOTABLE
Mahomes has now thrown a touchdown pass in 22 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL. The Chiefs’ quarterback completed 25 of 40 passes for 318 yards and the score for a 95.6 passer rating.
Kelce finished the game with eight catches for 136 yards, which put him over 1,000 yards this season with four games to go. Kelce became the first tight end in NFL history last season to record 1,000 yards in four straight seasons and has now extended it to five.
“That’s quite an accomplishment,” Reid said.
INJURIES
None of note.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs travel to Miami in Week 14 to take on the Dolphins.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 10:47 PM.
