Broncos Will Need To Stop This Familiar Chiefs Weapon

The Denver Broncos defense doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses, but tight ends had some success against them. According to Sam Jane of the Denver Post, tight ends had 1,015 yards against the Denver defense, which was the ninth-most in the NFL. 

The Kansas City Chiefs have a pretty good tight end in Travis Kelce, and according to the writer he’s “had the Broncos number throughout his career, posting 1,663 yards against the Broncos, the most against any opponent. He led the Chiefs in receiving in both games against Denver last season, recording 91 yards on nine catches in the Nov. 16 contest and 36 yards on five catches in the Christmas game.” 

So where does that come from, exactly? According to Broncos coach Sean Payton, it’s the improvisation that makes Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes tough to defend. 

“Players with real good, savvy IQ like Kelce, those guys flourish with understanding areas that the quarterbacks are going to be in or want him to be in with a play that has moved into its second element,” Payton said. “You build up that chemistry over time, and you begin to think alike.”

That means a match coverage scenario can quickly turn into man-to-man, and Payton added that it’s important to know how to rush the quarterback to prevent mismatches from resulting in big plays, even if Kelce isn’t what he once was at 36. 

“A lot of it depends on the type of defense you’re playing, but if you’re in match coverage, then it ends up playing like man. I think it’s important you understand how to rush certain quarterbacks to avoid maybe six or seven of those plays that get extended,” Payton added.

The specific weakness here is that linebackers Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad can struggle to cover receivers in the middle of the field, and former linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga also got beat for big plays by Kelce last year. 

But the Broncos did make a significant change that worked after that. They subbed in Jahdae Barron, and he matched up six times against Kelce in coverage last year and allowed just two catches on three targets for 14 yards, per Jane. 

That’s one possible adjustment, but there may be others coming. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has a lot of depth to choose from, and he’ll probably plug in different players situationally to get the job done. It’s an important game-within-a-game matchups to watch for, tomorrow night, and it’s one of many.