From the sideline, Stephen Alexander saw one of the most dominant running backs in the NFL become lulled into slow-motion frustration.
“It was so crazy, there were plays where Larry Johnson was just jogging back and forth in the backfield waiting for holes to develop,” the Broncos tight end said. “The holes were closing on him big time late in the game.”
Denver’s entire defensive plan Sunday was clear – stop Johnson, do not let him steal the game. Inexperienced Damon Huard was quarterbacking the Chiefs in the absence of the injured Trent Green, so Denver knew Johnson was going to be the entrée on the Chiefs’ menu.
Johnson ran the ball 27 of Kansas City’s 34 rushing attempts and caught five of the Chiefs’ 17 pass completions. He touched the ball on 32 of Kansas City’s 51 offensive plays in Denver’s 9-6 victory over the Chiefs.
While it was Jason Elam’s three field goals that won the game, it was another spectacular effort by the Denver defense that made the victory possible.
Denver hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the first two games of the season, a feat the franchise hasn’t accomplished in 11 years.
Kansas City was 0-2 inside the Denver 20-yard line, and in two games Denver opponents are 0-for-7 in the red zone. Last season, the Broncos defense was 28th in red-zone defense. The defense also has not committed a penalty this season.
Johnson wound up with 126 yards rushing, but considering he was such a major part of the Chiefs’ attack, his yardage didn’t really hurt Denver.
“In truth, we were playing the Chiefs, not Larry Johnson, even though we knew he’d be a big part of the offense,” cornerback Domonique Foxworth said. “And the bottom line is, the Chiefs scored six points and lost the game.
“We don’t care if Larry Johnson gained a billion, trillion yards. As long as the Chiefs had just six points and lost the game, that’s the only number we care about.”
Alexander’s assessment was Johnson was slowing down, particularly late in the game.
“You saw him waiting back there in the backfield,” Broncos defensive tackle Gerard Warren said. “It was like he was thinking ‘OK, I’m used to this hole opening and that hole opening.’ But we closed those holes up. There was nowhere for him to go.”
Johnson ran nine times in the fourth quarter. Other than one 11-yard run, he was stopped cold. Seven of his nine attempts went for 4 yards or less.
Kansas City took the ball over at its 31 with 3:07 remaining and the game tied at 6-6. Instead of attempting a classic two-minute passing drill, the Chiefs decided to let Johnson try to get them into position for a field goal. He couldn’t do it, and Kansas City punted from the 50-yard line with 22 seconds to go.
The Chiefs never touched the ball again.
“We knew their game plan was for him to try to wear us down,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “But it seemed to work the other way.”
On Kansas City’s first possession of the game, Johnson lost a fumble at the Denver 6. It was recovered by Lynch, who returned it to the 13. Johnson carried the ball nine times on the series, setting the tone. But neither Johnson nor the Chiefs recovered.
“It doesn’t matter how hard you play, you have to score,” Johnson said.
And Johnson couldn’t find his way into the end zone. Denver contained him for the most part, whether he was running inside or outside. Last season in Kansas City, Johnson killed the Broncos on sweeps.
“We closed all that up this time,” defensive tackle Michael Myers said. “We were expecting him to come at us 40 times. He almost did. But when it counted, we shut him down. And that was a big part of winning this game.”
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-954-1262 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
