The Denver Broncos accomplished something other than a 22-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11: they proved they are legit contenders.
Going into the week, there was a lot of dialogue surrounding the Broncos and their early success. Is this a good team, or are they getting lucky? After beating the Chiefs, a perennial Super Bowl contender, that dialogue should be put to bed.
Quarterback Bo Nix didn’t throw a touchdown pass, but he had a strong game and narrowly outperformed the best quarterback of this generation. Nix completed 24 of 37 passes for 295 yards while Patrick Mahomes completed 29 of 45 passes for 276 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
In their first game without star running back J.K. Dobbins, who will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, the running game was ineffective. Rookie RJ Harvey managed to rush for just 30 yards on 11 carries (2.7 average yards per carry), but veteran Jaleel McLaughlin stepped up to score a touchdown in the third quarter to give the Broncos a 13-6 lead at the time.
Dobbins was fifth in the National Football League with 772 rushing yards and was well on his way to his first 1,000-rushing yard season. He averaged five yards per carry, double what Harvey produced in his first game without Dobbins, though the Chiefs defense is a strong unit.
The defense stepped up big yet again, holding the Chiefs offense in check just like they have held other offenses in check this season. Even with missing three key starters in star cornerback Pat Surtain II, linebacker Alex Singleton and linebacker Jonah Elliss, Denver’s defense made Mahomes’ job difficult.
Denver is proving the notion that a strong defense can take you really far, and they hope the defense can stay strong throughout the rest of the season and into a deep playoff run. There is still a lot to clean up on offense, but the defense allows the offense to figure it out while still winning games.
The Broncos have now won eight straight games and take their American Football Conference West-leading 9-2 record on the road to take on the Washington Commanders in Week 13.
Denver’s bye week is Week 12 and the expectation is that head coach Sean Payton and his group will focus heavily on fixing the offense’s mistakes to give them the best shot down the stretch.