The Denver Broncos once again played down to their competition against a Kansas City Chiefs team forced to play its third-string quarterback, but the Broncos somehow managed to overcome their struggles to win, 20-13 in a problematic game that once agains exposed their limitations.
This game was defined by four long Denver drives, one in each quarter. The first two came up short to produce a pair of Wil Lutz field goals, with gave the Chiefs a chance to hang around and counter with a touchdown on a short drive after a Bo Nix interception to make the score 7-6 at halftime.
The Chiefs actually scored first in the third quarter after a pass interference penalty on Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II gave KC the ball in Denver territory, which led to a 53-yard field goal by Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker that made it 10-6.
The Broncos proceeded to drive the field again, and this time Nix was able to finish by running the ball in from nine yards out for Denver’s first touchdown of the night. That gave the Broncos the lead, 13-10, but the Chiefs were able to counter with yet another Butker field goal from 47 yards after a 44-yard punt return by running back Brashard Smith.
Denver’s final drive of the game was the fourth one to last for at least 14 plays, and Nix finished the 65-yard effort with a one-yard touchdown pass to running back RJ Harvey. The key play in the drive was a defensive offside penalty by Chiefs tackle Chris Jones that gave Denver a critical red-zone first down that led to the score.,
The Broncos were lucky to win this one, and Kansas City’s last-ditch scoring attempt featured some receiving heroics from Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But a final pass to receiver Hollywood Brown in the end zone in the final seconds ended up bing an overthrow that allowed Denver to survive.
Nix was decidedly mediocre, producing just 182 yards passing as he went 26-for-38, and his longest throw of the night went for just 10 yards. The Broncos also struggled to run the ball effectively for most of the night, and it was this combination that allowed the Chiefs to stay within striking distance.
The Denver defense did what it had to do against third-string Chiefs quarterback Chris Oladokun, but there were some scary moments when bad tackling in the secondary once again nearly cost them. Oladokun passed for just 66 yards on the night as he went 13-for-22, but the fact that the Chiefs were in this one at all was mostly a testimony to the Broncos’ ongoing struggles.
The win gave Denver the pole position in the race for the top seed in the AFC, but it’s hard to imagine the Broncos making a deep playoff run given their lack of a running game and Nix’s ongoing issues with inconsistency. There’s a lot to fix before their final game against the Los Angeles Chargers, and that game will be for the AFC West title if the Chargers can defeat the Houston Texans on Saturday.
The Chiefs played valiantly given their offensive limitations and the fact that this game was meaningless for them, and they’ll wrap up their broken season with a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders that promises to feature some ugly football given where both teams are right now.