DOWN GO THE CHIEFS!
After a week and a half of haters, doubters, and non-bolievers, the Broncos silenced all of them with a huge victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. They improved to 9-2, have won 8 straight games, have a two-game lead in the AFC West, oh, and they are the number one seed in the AFC right now.
Things are great right now in Broncos Country!
As for winners and losers, we have a bunch of big winners from this game, as well as a loser or two that cannot be ignored despite the exciting victory. With all that said, here are the winners and losers from the Broncos’ huge victory over the Chiefs.
WINNER - QB Bo Nix
The non-bolievers were loud after the Broncos’ 10-7 victory over the Raiders, in which Nix had one of the worst games of his career. Since that game, the media was blasting Nix and the Broncos, calling them frauds, saying Payton may consider drafting a quarterback next year, and just a lot of hate and noise over the past 10 days. On top of that, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were coming into town and were heavily favored.
Despite that, Nix came into this game and played one of his most complete games of his career in what may have been the biggest regular-season game of his career.
He went 24 of 37 for 295 yards and led yet another game-winning drive. He did not have any touchdowns, but came up big in the 4th quarter and had multiple clutch third-down conversions.
Nix came up big in a playoff atmosphere against a team that has run the AFC and the AFC West for nearly a decade. He is a blocked field goal away from being 3-0 against the Chiefs and 2-0 against Mahomes.
I didn’t give up on Bo Nix and continue to be a B0-Liever. He’s the starting quarterback of the 9-2 Denver Broncos, who are the number one seed in the AFC.
WINNER - Troy Franklin redemption
I was hard on Franklin early in the game when he had a couple of tough drops. We haven’t seen him come down with the tough catches in big moments much at all this season, and it was looking that way again tonight. However, everything changed in the second half and 4th quarter when Franklin made multiple big catches, including the one that led to the game-winning field goal.
Franklin finished the game with 4 catches for 84 yards, including the big catch that set up the game-winner. It was a great redemption story for Franklin, and if he can contribute like this consistently for the Broncos, it could be game-changing for the offense.
Like it or not, he is a big part of the offense and has been getting a lot of targets from Nix in recent weeks. If the two can continue connecting on deep throws, this team is going to keep on winning.
WINNER - CB Ja’Quan McMillian
Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian is a bit of a forgotten man in the Broncos’ secondary and has been quietly having a great year. However, he had his best game, arguably of his entire career, tonight vs. the Chiefs and had multiple game-changing plays.
In a game that featured multiple players worthy of gameballs, Head Coach Sean Payton said after the game that McMillian received the gameball for his performance tonight vs. the Chiefs.
McMillian had two big sacks of Patrick Mahomes as well as an INT in the red zone that took points off the board for the Chiefs. This INT came after a would-be Jahdae Barron pick-6 was called back due to a defensive holding call on the other side of the field.
It was a bit of a “ball don’t lie” moment.
McMillian and the rest of the Broncos’ cornerbacks have stepped up in a big way while the DPOY Pat Surtain II has been sidelined. In 3 games, they have only allowed 3 touchdowns (2 rushing and 1 passing), and the defense hasn’t missed a step.
WINNER - Broncos defense/Vance Joseph
Anytime you have to play Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the Chiefs in a “must-win” playoff-like atmosphere, your defense, no matter how good it is, will be tested. This Broncos defense came in banged up (PS2, Singleton, and others sidelined) and despite this, held their own vs. an explosive Chiefs offense.
They held the Chiefs to 311 total yards, 62 yards rushing, 5/13 on third downs, added 3 more sacks to their league-leading total, and held the Chiefs to just 19 points. On top of that, most of the Chiefs’ big plays came off penalties, which set them up in scoring range. Take those away, and the Broncos held the Chiefs offense in check all game.
They also had a pick-6 taken off the board. Still upset about that one.
Vance Joseph and the Broncos defense deserve all the praise and are the backbone of this team and a big reason why they are 9-2 and leading the AFC currently.
You could say that Vance Joseph is having the time of his life.
WINNER - K Wil Lutz
Lutz replaced a fan favorite in Brandon McManus and needed to earn the trust of a damaged and skeptical fan base. However, through three seasons, Lutz has turned into a nearly automatic kicker who has made multiple clutch and game-winning field goals since being traded to the Broncos.
Lutz was 5 for 5 tonight with a long of 54 yards and kicked the game-winner as the clock hit zero. He came up clutch once again for the Broncos and is having one of the best seasons of his career.
WINNER - Marvin Mims Jr, the All-Pro punt returner
Mims didn’t do much on the offensive side of the ball, but he proved once again why he is a multiple-time All-Pro/Pro Bowl returner. He returned 3 punts for 101 yards and put the Broncos into great field position on two of his returns, and nearly broke one for a touchdown earlier in the game.
While he may not have the biggest role on offense, Mims has proven to be a big-play waiting to happen whenever he has the ball in his hands. Whether that be as a returner, as a receiver, running back, or a ‘Joker’ in space. The team sorely missed him while he was out with a concussion and may not have won this game without his contributions.
WINNER - Broncos extending their lead in the AFC and being the number 1 seed in the AFC
With this win, the Denver Broncos improve to 9-2 and have a two-game lead over the 7-4 Chargers in the division, and basically eliminated the Chiefs, who are 5-5 from the AFC West conversation. The Jaguars gave us a helping hand with an absolute ass whooping of the Chargers earlier in the day, and now the Chiefs see themselves out of the playoffs with a decent shot of missing the postseason altogether.
I’ll cover the entire postseason outlook tomorrow morning, but things are looking great for the Broncos right now, who sit at the top of the AFC with the Patriots with a 9-2 record.
LOSER - CB Riley Moss/Refs/Penalties
Unfortunately, Riley Moss’s issues with flags continued tonight. He had two DPIs called on him tonight, which gave the Chiefs big 40+ gains and led to points. He now has 9 DPIs on the year, and the next closest player has 5. He also had a defensive holding call that erased a possible game-changing Jahdae Barron pick-6.
Now, were these penalties correctly called? That can be debated (I say most are bogus, but biased), but they cannot continue to happen. His flags resulted in two of the Chiefs’ biggest plays of the game and nearly cost the Broncos the win.
While it sucks and I feel like they’re not always correctly called, they simply cannot continue to happen. The Broncos had 10 flags for 147 yards. That’s unacceptable and simply cannot happen if you want to win in the playoffs.
LOSER - Broncos run game
In their first game without JK Dobbins, the Broncos’ run game was mostly non-existent. They had just 59 yards on the ground, and rookie RJ Harvey led the team with 30 yards rushing.
With that said, the Chiefs played the run well all game, but still, it’s a bit concerning to see them struggle in their first game without JK Dobbins.
Harvey averaged just 2.7 yards per carry while McLaughlin had 3.2 yards per carry. Hopefully, it was just due to a tough Chiefs defense and not something we’ll see consistently moving forward.
Other notable Winners and Losers
WINNER - Sean Payton: Payton gets a lot of hate, but he has completely turned around this franchise. They were at their lowest of lows when he was hired, and now, in just 3 years, he has them at the top of the AFC, leading the West, and beating the Mahomes and the Chiefs.
WINNER - Darren Rizzi: The Broncos’ special teams played well. Lutz was automatic, Crawshaw was booming punts, Mims had multiple big returns, and the coverage units did not give up any big plays. They also blocked an XP attempt. Rizzi gets a lot of hate when they struggle so I am giving him some love after a strong performance by the special teams.
WINNER - Jeremy Crawshaw: The rookie punter had an embarrassing effort vs. the Raiders but bounced back in a big way tonight. He had 4 punts for 211 yards, averaged 52.6 yards per boot, and pinned the Chiefs inside the 20 a total of 3 times.
WINNER - Frank Crum: Another special teams winner! The reserve OT blocked a Chiefs XP which kept it to a 3-point lead and allowed the Broncos to tie it up prior to their game-winning drive.
WINNER - Pat Bryant: I think we’re going to see more and more from Bryant in the second half of the year. He had 5 receptions for 82 yards and seems to be gaining the trust of Bo Nix who looks for him in big moments.
WINNER - Next man up: Despite being down multiple key starters and reserve players, the Broncos played probably their most complete game of the year and came away with the victory.
WINNER - Jahdae Barron should of had a pick-6: The Moss penalty had no impact on the play and Barron should of had a huge game-changing pick-6. It was deflating in the moment but McMillian would end up getting the INT a few plays later
LOSER - Refs: YOU SUCK (but thanks for calling some penalties on the Chiefs and not overlooking them).
WINNER - Justin Strnad: Stepped in and played well for Singleton
WINNER - Broncos Fans: WE’RE BACK BABY!