Report card time: Chiefs’ defense starting to rally, and it’s reflected in these grades
The Chiefs, a 14-point favorite, defeated the Denver Broncos 22-16 Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Here’s the star of the game and this week’s report card.
KC STAR OF THE GAME
Tyrann Mathieu collected two interceptions including the one that sealed the game on Denver’s final snap. He also had a big open field tackle at the end of the first half that forced the Broncos to attempt a 57-yard field goal, instead of moving a few yards closer. Denver kicker Brandon McManus pulled it, and the Chiefs had good field position to drive for their own field goal just before halftime.
Reason to hope: The Chiefs are in the playoffs for the sixth straight year. The chase for the top seed continues as Pittsburgh remains 11-0, one game ahead of Kansas City. The Chiefs haven’t been winning big lately. But they’ve been winning, and the defense has turned in two solid games.
Reason to mope: The Chiefs settled for short field goals in the red zone, missing touchdowns on their first three trips to the 20. It’s a recent problem for a team that hasn’t typically had these issues with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Also, it took the Chiefs a few series to connect on a third-down conversion. That was a problem against the Broncos in both games this season.
Next: The Chiefs return to the place of happy memories, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., where Super Bowl LIV was won. The Dolphins improved to 8-4 with Sunday’s home victory over the Cincinnati Bengals and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Kickoff for the game on CBS (Ch. 5) is noon (Central).
REPORT CARD
Passing offense: B
Travis Kelce became the first tight end in NFL history with five seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards, and his 20-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter that gave the Chiefs a 19-17 lead.
It was the 22nd game with at least one touchdown pass for Mahomes. And the TD pass was Mahomes at his best. His hard count got the Broncos to jump offsides, so he had a free play. Mahomes avoided a sack and spotted Kelce around the 5.
Mahomes nearly had a second touchdown pass. He beat the blitz and hit Hill for a 52-yard completition. But guard Nick Allegretti was called for holding, and the Chiefs punted away.
Rushing offense: B
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was active but didn’t play. He had missed practice time this week with an illness. Le’Veon Bell got his first start in a Chiefs uniform and ran well, picking up 40 yards in nine attempts. Tyreek Hill got off his longest run since 2018, a 30-yarder. Darrell Williams had a couple of nice runs as the Chiefs were burning the clock late in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs finished with 134 rushing yards. They’ll take that about every game.
Passing defense: A
A Mathieu interception ended the Broncos’ first possession. He leads the Chiefs with four picks. The Chiefs often got Lock out of rhythm. His biggest miss: WIth about six minutes remaining and the Broncos facing a third-and-3 from their 49, Lock just missed K.J. Hamler. The Broncos punted and didn’t get ball back until 64 seconds remained — and they had no timeouts.
Rushing defense: C
The best path for the Broncos was to establish their running game and burn clock. So it went with Melvin Gordon. He hadn’t had a 100-yard rushing game in nine previous games against the Chiefs. On Sunday, he had 105 at halftime, the most by a Denver player in the first half since 2013. The Chiefs did a better job in the second half, but Gordon finished with 131 yards and the Broncos finished with 179 on the ground as a team.
Special teams: A
Terrific game by Harrison Butker. He made all five of his field goal attempts, matching a career best. His longest was from 48. On the final attempt, he initially banged through a 43-yarder, but the Chiefs were flagged for delay of game. It appeared on replay that James Winchester got off the snap in time. No matter. Butker split the uprights on his second try, too. And he even made a tackle on a kickoff return.