Chiefs had a sack party in win over Broncos, but 2 of them stand out as game-changers
The Chiefs came away with a 34-28 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.
But that outcome was not easily attained.
The Chiefs jumped out to a 27-0 lead, and then suddenly found themselves locked in a tight 27-21 tight game in the third quarter.
Denver had the momentum and possession midway through the quarter after the Chiefs went three-and-out. The Chiefs needed someone to step up and make a play on defense.
And instead of just one someone, there were three.
With the Broncos facing a second-and-6 situation at their own 39-yard line, Chiefs linebacker Darius Harris broke free on the left side of the offensive line and made a beeline to Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. Chiefs defensive tackle Brandon Williams made a push from the interior and combined with Harris to take down Wilson for a 14-yard loss.
On the next play, the Broncos now facing a third-and-24, Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark sacked Wilson for a 6-yard loss.
Denver punted and the Chiefs marched down the field in nine plays for a touchdown: quarterback Patrick Mahomes found wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 4-yard score and a 34-21 lead.
Those back-to-back sacks helped turn the momentum.
“That gave us a chance to get that touchdown drive there at the end of the third quarter,” Mahomes said. “The defense, the guys stepped up.”
Chiefs right guard Trey Smith agreed.
“That was huge for the defense to step up and make plays when we needed them to be made,” he said. “That was definitely huge for this team; it’s what we needed.”
In total, the Chiefs recorded six sacks for 49 yards on Sunday against the Broncos. That’s a season high for a single game this season. The Chiefs also recorded a head-turning 11 quarterback hits.
Harris and Williams split a sack, while Clark, defensive tackle Chris Jones, defensive end Mike Danna, rookie defensive end George Karlaftis and safety Juan Thornhill each recorded a sack.
“Just attacking their upfront guys,” Harris said. “From the coaches making the play calls to attack the weaknesses on the O-line, just being relentless in getting after the quarterback, trying to disrupt him. And understanding if we got to him, we could kind of throw off their game plan.”
On the surface, Sunday presented a perfect storm because Wilson entered the weekend as the third-most sacked signal-caller (37) in the NFL. But it takes execution on the field, and the Chiefs’ ability to disrupt Wilson started in practices leading to the game.
“Throughout the whole week, we worked on our stunts, our pressures and just executing and finishing, getting the quarterback down,” Danna said. “That was a big part of our week.”
Mission accomplished.
“Out D-line, man, they had a great plan,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said. “Coach Spags (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) came in with a couple of edge pressures that kind of hit home early, and then it kind of set us up later on.”
