The Denver Broncos got dominated by Kenneth Walker III and the Kansas City Chiefs in an awful Week 1 loss
The Denver Broncos talked big in camp about taking that next step to the Super Bowl, but they came out and played soft against the Kansas City Chiefs and took a 31-10 beatdown as a result.
The Broncos were bad from the beginning, as a Bo Nix underthrow on their first drive produced an interception by Chiefs cornerback Mansoor Delane.
That led to a statement drive by the Chiefs as they turned new running back Kenneth Walker III loose. Walker rushed seven times on the drive for 32 yards, with only one short throw to Xavier Worthy, and Mahomes wound up running it in from 15 yards out on what was supposed to be a pass attempt.
That made it 7-0, but the Broncos finally showed some life in coming back as they unleashed their passing game, with receiver Pat Bryant following up on his great camp by catching three passes for 32 yards. Nix followed that with a 19-yeard touchdown strike to tight end Evan Engram in the front corner of the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.
Things settled down quickly after that, and the second quarter was mostly a defensive battle. But the Chiefs put together a late drive that once again featured Walker, with Mahomes hitting a short pass to Rashee Rice, who broke a poor tackle from cornerback Riley Moss to score the touchdown and make it 14-7 at halftime.
The Chiefs broke the game open to start the third quarter as they once again unleashed Walker, who bounced a fourth-and-1 run outside on the first series to run 60 yards for a touchdown that made it 21-7.
But the Broncos got some help from Mahomes on the next drive, as an interception by safety Brandon Jones on a deep throw to Worthy set them up deep in the red zone after Jones’ return. But the Broncos couldn’t capitalize, and the result was a short field goal from Wil Lutz to make it 21-10.
The Chiefs made a big play to get the field goal back, as Mahomes hit Kelce on a short throw that tight end Travis Kelce turned into a 59-yard gain by breaking yet another poor Denver tackle to get to the four-yard line. But the Broncos defense rose up to stop the drive, and a short field goal from Harrison Butker made it 24-10.
Kansas City blew the game open after that as Chris Jones recovered an awful Nix fumble, and the 34-yard touchdown drive that followed featured a 26-yard catch-and-run to running back Emmett Johnson, who showed some nifty moves to made more Denver defenders miss. Walker finished off the drive with a two-yard shovel pass from Mahomes to make it 31-10.
The rest was mostly window dressing that combined more futility from a Denver team that couldn’t throw effectively or stop the Kansas City running game. Walker finished with 173 yards rushing on 23 carries, with Mahomes going 15-for-27 for 184 yards and two touchdows to go with an interception.
Bo Nix, meanwhile, wound up 17 for-28 for 131 yards with a pick and a touchdown, and he was sacked four times for a total of 16 yards. The loss left the Broncos with plenty of work to do and questions to answer as they looked totally unprepared to play a well-coached Chiefs team that dominated and pounded them from start to finish.
