Superb marks for Chiefs’ defense after dominant performance vs. Broncos | Report card
It was fitting that the defense clinched the Chiefs’ 19-8 victory over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Willie Gay Jr. on Denver’s final possession, and the Chiefs improved to 5-1.
KC STAR OF THE GAME
Safety Justin Reid’s excellent season continues. He came up with a sack to end the Broncos’ first possession. He also had the first interception of his two-year Chiefs career to stop a Broncos drive in the third quarter.
Next: The Chiefs are finished with Thursday night games this season. Their schedule resumes on Sunday, Oct. 22, when the Los Angeles Chargers play here in Kansas City. The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:25 p.m. and will be televised on CBS (Channel 5).
REPORT CARD
Passing offense: C
A rough beginning and end for Patrick Mahomes and the offense, but some good stuff in between.
Early on, He should have thrown away a ball that was ultimately intercepted by Justin Simmons. That marked Mahome’s ninth interception against the Broncos, the most Mahomes has thrown against any team.
Mahomes took an 11-yard sack on the Chiefs’ final possessions, pushing Harrison Butker’s field-goal attempt back to a 52-yarder. Butker still drilled it, but the sack made things interesting.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce missed practice this week and was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report. But there was nothing questionable about his performance Thursday evening: nine receptions for 124 yards. He continued to find openings against the Broncos’ zone and racked up yards after the catch.
Oh — it’s time to yank one from the playbook: the one where Clyde Edwards-Helaire takes the handoff, pitches (poorly) to Kadarius Toney, who misfires to Jerick McKinnon ... Just let Mahomes throw the ball.
Toney, however, took a nice route to the end zone on his 3-yard touchdown reception.
Rushing offense: C
The short-yardage gimmick offense failed. A direct snap to Toney on third-and-1 lost a yard and the Chiefs punted. Isiah Pacheco neared 100 total yards rushing and receiving combined, but the yardage and scoring totals should’ve been higher against a team that has surrendered the most average yards and points in the NFL.
Passing defense: A
Nick Bolton has hops. His leaping interception in the first quarter was the second by the Chiefs this season, and the first that wasn’t picked after a tipped ball.
Justin Reid turned in the game’s first big defensive play when he sacked Russell Wilson on a fourth-and-3 from the Chiefs’ 38. Drue Tranquill and Chris Jones added first-half sacks as the Chiefs took a 13-0 lead at halftime. Jones’ takedown was his fifth in five games.
George Karlaftis got his hands on a pair of Wilson passes. Like Kelce, Karlaftis entered the game with a status of “questionable” ... and like Kelce he turned in an excellent game.
Wilson finished with 95 passing yards and two interceptions. An excellent effort for the Chiefs’ defense.
Rushing defense: B
Good stuff from Malik Herring, who stuffed former Chiefs fullback Michael Burton on third-and-1, forcing a punt. The Broncos were having success early but had to rely more on Wilson’s arm as they fell behind.
Special teams: B
Butker is having a fabulous season. He made all four of his field goals, the second ending the first half from 60 yards. It was the second-longest of his career, and it had plenty to spare. Before the game, Butker boomed a 65-yarder in the same direction.
Later, on his most pressure-packed field goal of the season, Butker nailed a 52-yarder with four minutes remaining to give the Chiefs a two-score lead.
Tommy Townsend, also listed as questionable this week, put a punt at the 5.
Now, the bad news.
Needing 2 yards, the Chiefs sent out their field-goal unit, seemingly to attempt a 25-yard kick. But then the Chiefs rushed into fake mode, with tight end Noah Gray hustling to line up under center. The Chiefs tried their version of the push made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles, but it failed.
Gray came up a yard short, and the Chiefs’ special-teams woes — they’ve been burned by a couple of fake punts this year — continued.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 10:20 PM.