I put a loss in the Chiefs column for the first time this season. The offense stagnated and settled twice for field goals inside the ten-yard line. Yet, with the Broncos driving to win the game, the special teams blocked a potential game-winning field goal, and the Chiefs are a perfect 9-0!
I’m running out of words to describe the resilience and never-die Kansas City Chiefs football team. In a game they should have lost and honestly deserved to lose against their division rival, the Denver Broncos, they swapped opportunities with the grim reaper soaring over the Arrowhead crowd, yet they thwarted the upset and made a play that defined this franchise.
With one digit left on the clock, Leo Chenal blocked a Will Lutz chip shot, and the Chiefs found a new way to win a football game. Jack Cochrane, Justin Reid, Mike Danna, George Karlaftis, and Chenal made the play on the final play, crashing the left side of the Bronco’s line.
In the aftermath, Denver Broncos kicker Will Lutz couldn’t get the ball high enough on the potential game-winning 35-yard field goal, and the Chiefs won 16-14 in nail-biting fashion to remain perfect on the season.
The star of this game was the Broncos’ defense. I said they were the best in the AFC, and after Sunday, it’s hard to argue how they beat up the Chiefs’ offense. After being nearly perfect in the red zone for the last three weeks, Denver forced the Chiefs to score on fourth goal, and two other drives ended in field goals.
In both failures, Mahomes missed open receivers on each drive. To his credit, he was hammered today, and his Dad-Bod took a beating Sunday. He tweaked his ankle again, and he was struggling to move his feet in the pocket.
Wanya Morris went down, and though he returned in the fourth quarter, Head Coach Andy Reid learned he couldn’t count on rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia. They might consider bringing in former Green Bay Packers Left Tackle David Bakhtiari.
Either way, even though the Chief’s defense didn’t give the Broncos a single point. They could not stop the Broncos offense on the final drive. Denver Quarterback Bo Nix, who struggled in the second half, put an incredible drive together and should have left the field as the winning quarterback.
Still, the Chiefs did make enough plays when they fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter. Mahomes hit Kelce for a touchdown, and Kareem Hunt, who tweaked his knee in the game, ended up receiving 100 yards and running the ball.
Defensively, cornerback Nazeeh Johnson led the Chiefs with ten tackles. He did an excellent job in coverage when asked to blitz. It was good to see him back on the field with the Buffalo Bills looming next Sunday.
Overall, the Chiefs have to feel lucky, but as Andy Reid and Leo Chenal said after the game, they practice these special team moments. Chenal hinted that they saw something on tape that could collapse their field goal protection unit. If that’s the case, Dave Toub deserves a lot of credit for pointing that out to his players defending the final play.
Kansas City is now 9-0 on the season, and as I stated, only a few felt the Chiefs would win this game. Add up the mistakes by Mahomes, the poor play by the tackles, and the fact that they scored 16 points on the Broncos.
To their credit, Sean Payton did a fantastic job getting his team ready to play the Chiefs after they were blown out by the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. Yet, they were 5-5, and this loss was crushing. He was the better coach Sunday, and he has something special with his defense and Quarterback, Bo Nix.
Changing a losing culture takes time, and Chiefs fans know that well. Yet, it’s even harder to be 9-0 and feel like nothing else matters until the final scoreboard says otherwise. As their reward, the Chiefs win the game on the final way, and the Arrowhead fans walk out of the stadium pumped, feeling lucky, but they can pound their chests that the Chiefs found a new way to win a football game on Sunday.
The team will celebrate this win for about ten minutes. Next Sunday, they travel to Buffalo to face the Bills, who are only two games behind the Chiefs for the AFC lead. They kicked the football out of the Indianapolis Colts on the road despite missing their top wide receivers.
The Chiefs might get JuJu Smith-Schuster back this week, which would help the offense. Xavier Worthy needs help getting on the same page with Mahomes. It’s not all his fault, but the Broncos respected his speed on every snap, and he could not get open.
So, Chiefs fans, enjoy the week ahead, and tell your friends complaining about how they won or how lucky they might have been that they’re just jealous!
Bring on the Bills!
