Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10 at Arrowhead Stadium:
1.. Payton needs to not get cute on the road: Thumbs-up to Broncos coach Sean Payton for playing to Bo Nix’s strengths and rocking the no-huddle approach. But what the heck was up with some of those calls in the second half? On second-and-10 at the Kansas City 43 with 57 seconds left in the third quarter, Payton dialed up a reverse to Marvin Mims Jr. that went nowhere, setting up a third-and-long that landed right in Steve Spagnuolo’s lap. He sent the house, sacking Nix for a 16-yard loss. The Broncos’ first four first-down runs of the second half averaged 4.3 yards per pop. Their first four second-down plays after those runs netted just 11 yards combined. At least he changed course with 3:13 left in the game, down 16-14. On third-and-1 at the KC 40, the Broncos gave it to powerful Audric Estime up the middle. The rookie dragged Chiefs defenders with him for a 6-yard gain that got Denver into field goal range. And then … well, you know the rest. Oy vey.
2. Nix’s progress: Was it perfect for Bo Nix? No. Was it progress? Heck yeah. In front of one of the most hostile home crowds in the NFL, Nix regularly answered the bell. There was no bigger answer than on third-and-6 at the Chiefs 30 with 1:53 left, when Nix stepped up in the pocket to freeze the linebackers fearing a scramble and hit Courtland Sutton for a 13-yard gain to the KC 17, helping the Broncos chew precious clock while Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce could only stand and watch. Even more impressively, he unlocked the next piece on his development when he hit Sutton for a 33-yard TD over the top in the second quarter. If teams are worried about getting beaten deep, it’s going to open the other stuff up that he’s already figuring out. Nix was AFC Offensive Rookie of the Month with almost his entire set of options within 12-13 yards on the line of scrimmage. When that expands, so will the possibilities.
3. Vance owns Mahomes: Yeah, yeah, bad ankle. Yeah, yeah, the two-time defending champs are bored with the regular season. Yeah, yeah, the streak. Sorry, Sea of Red, but Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph continues to have a handle on Patrick Mahomes, the new Tom Brady. Consider this: over the 11 quarters of Broncos-Chiefs games dating back to last season (eight quarters in ’23, three in ’24), VJ’s defense had sacked Mahomes nine times. For perspective, Jake From State Farm’s favorite wingman had been taken down by Broncos rushers eight times over the previous three seasons combined. VJ’s sack attack in those 11 quarters averaged 3.3 sacks per game. Heading into Week 10, Mahomes had only been taken down an average of 1.79 times per tilt over his previous 24 regular-season appearances.
4. A Chiefs illegal formation flag? Never!: Write it down, because, like Halley’s Comet, it doesn’t come around very often. But with 10:48 to go in the first quarter, Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor actually got flagged for being lined up improperly. As AFC West fans know, Taylor is lined up improperly — usually a step or two behind the line of scrimmage in order to get a back-pedaling “head start” on his pass rusher — all the blasted time. Fortunately for the Broncos, it was caught in the Denver red zone, turning a second-and-7 at the 19 into a second-and-12 at the 24. The Chiefs eventually had to settle for a field goal that trimmed the Broncos’ lead to 7-3.
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