Up: Lathering up. The parking lots outside of Arrowhead Stadium were hopping four hours before kickoff of Sunday’s prime time matchup. As NFL tailgates go, few are better than the one in Kansas City.
Down: Still chopping. As teams are moving away from Native American names and mascots, Chiefs fans continue tomahawk chopping away. We get it, traditions are hard to break. Even bad ones.
Up: Chiefs fan reaction. An hour plus before kickoff, the fans in their seats inside Arrowhead roared after watching Las Vegas’ Hail Mary pass vs. Washington fall incomplete on the stadium big screens. Finally, something Broncos and Chiefs fans can both celebrate.
Down: Communication breakdown. A promising start to Denver’s first drive (9-yard Javonte Williams run) was quickly squandered with a negative carry and K.C. sack. The latter was the direct result of right guard Quinn Meinerz and right tackle Bobby Massie allowing OLB Melvin Ingram to run free on a blitz.
Up: Rare flex. One of the side effects of being a mediocre-to-bad NFL team? You don’t play on prime time very often. And you get flexed into NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” even less. Sunday’s game marked the first time NBC “flexed” the Broncos into prime time since Nov. 27, 2016, against, you guessed it, the Chiefs.
Down: Un-Surtain start. First, cornerback Pat Surtain II appeared to pull up at the goal line on Patrick Mahomes’ touchdown run. Then, he completely whiffed attempting to tackle receiver Byron Pringle short of the sticks on third-and-long. Not the first quarter Denver’s first-round pick envisioned.
Up: Boone sighting. Free-agent running back Mike Boone has been invisible most of the season, largely due to injuries. But his downfield block on third-and-8 at the end of the first quarter was hard to miss. QB Teddy Bridgewater wouldn’t have run for a first down without it.
Down: Penalty problems. Unfortunately, that effort was squandered after Courtland Sutton was flagged for offensive pass interference and holding on the same play (Huh?) and Bridgewater was penalized for intentional grounding on the next play. As you’d expect, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur didn’t have a go-to play for third-and-30.
Up: Riverboat Vic. If there’s one thing Broncos head coach Vic Fangio consistently gets right, it’s when to be aggressive on fourth down — as he was on fourth-and-short near midfield (Teddy sneak) and fourth-and-7 at the K.C. 42 (Teddy to Sutton) on Denver’s long first-half march.
Down: Too rushed. Then there’s that fourth-and-2 inside the Chiefs’ 10 at the end of that 20-play drive. Love going for it again. Hate the play call (Williams up the gut). Really hate how rushed/disorganized it looked. Absolutely loathe the result: a 20-play, 88-yard, 11-minute, 9-second drive wasted.
Up: Javonte’d. What’s been obvious all season was brought into stark relief Sunday night: Javonte Williams is the best running back on the Broncos’ roster. He almost never goes down on first contact. And he needs to be fed. Often. Like 20-25-carries-a-game often.
Down: Poor returns. A good returner picks his spots wisely. Diontae Spencer did the opposite twice in the first half — first fielding a punt inside the 5-yard line, then wasting precious time at the end of the second quarter to gain just six yards. As for the muffed punt at the end of the third quarter? Just run-of-the-mill Broncos special teams buffoonery.
Up: K.C. drops. Aren’t the Chiefs the ones with all the offensive weapons? On Sunday, they were the ones dropping passes, including two on one drive from Tyreek Hill — the last of which ended up in Surtain’s hands for his fourth career interception. Right place, right time.
Down: Short-of-the-sticks Shurmur. Hard to know who’s to blame on the failed third-and-8 call that immediately followed Surtain’s pick. Sutton for going to the ground short of the sticks? Or Shurmur for not dialing up a route that ensured his guy was on the other side of the line to gain?
Up: Pulling guard. Few things are as magnificent as Quinn Meinerz pulling on a run play. Poetry in motion.
Down: Teddy’s INTs. The first interception — thrown directly to a safety (Juan Thornhill) he clearly didn’t see — was all Bridgewater. The second coming off a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage? That’s just a blitz getting to the QB. Give Teddy this much credit: At least he tried to tackle Daniel Sorensen. Albeit feebly.
