KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All Talanoa Hufanga could do was chuckle and say “wow.”
The safety was baffled by the stat that told the story of the Denver Broncos’ 31-10 drubbing at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos missed 28 tackles Monday night, including eight defenders who failed to bring down a runner multiple times. The Broncos’ 29.8% missed tackle rate was the third-worst in an NFL game since 2018, while their 247 missed tackle yards allowed were the most by any defense in that same span, according to Next Gen Stats.
The staggering numbers don’t stop there: Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker’s 144 rush yards after contact tonight ranked ninth out of 5,386 running backs since 2022, according to . For reference, no other back surpassed 100 yards after contact in Week 1, according to Next Gen Stats.
Two of Kansas City’s touchdowns were the direct result of multiple missed tackles, including Rashee Rice pinballing off Riley Moss and Jonah Elliss for a 13-yard touchdown. Moss missed another one when Walker got outside the defense on a 60-yard touchdown run.
It got so bad that even backup running back Emmett Johnson got in on the fun in the fourth quarter, making Alex Singleton and Hufanga miss on a third-down conversion for the Chiefs.
“We didn’t do a good job tackling at all,” Hufanga told The Post after the game.
Every single Broncos starter other than Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto missed a tackle Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium, according to Next Gen Stats. In the lead-up to the game, Denver stressed the importance of tackling Walker, who’s one of the most elusive backs in the league. At one point, Denver defensive players were pleading with each other to try to wrap up the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
“This ain’t us. We need to tackle him, get him to the ground,” defensive end Sai’vion Jones said about the messaging on the field.
Instead, Walker had a field day in his Kansas City debut. His 173 yards were the most by a Chiefs back since 2012 and his 14 forced missed tackles were the most by any Kansas City player since 2018.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ pedestrian stat line in his return — 15 of 27 for 184 yards — was merely an afterthought Monday night. Mahomes was the only quarterback in the NFL not to complete a pass over 10 yards downfield in Week 1. He simply had to turn, hand the ball to Walker, and watch his new teammate gash the Broncos’ defense.
“We played a great back, I would say the best pure runner in the league, and in order to beat a guy like that you have to tackle well,” linebacker Justin Strnad said.
So what happened to Denver’s defense Monday night? This was the second-best rushing defense in the NFL last season, a group that surrendered more than 100 yards to just one running back, Colts star Jonathan Taylor.
Jones pointed to the unit’s lack of experience tackling in training camp and in the preseason. Teams don’t do live tackling drills during training camp and the Broncos’ starters just got a handful of drives in the preseason.
“We ain’t tackled somebody since preseason, especially if you’re a starter, so just not having that experience coming up in the first game played a major factor,” Jones said.
Denver also lost defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers in the offseason.
Most players were frank in their assessment. Monday’s efforts were not nearly good enough. Not when you’re playing the Chiefs. Not when you’re trying to contend for a Super Bowl. Not when you’re aiming to establish yourself as an AFC contender.
The Broncos will certainly aim to address the issue in practice this week. Denver does circuit drills, tackling drills and uses a moving tackling robot during practice to practice tackling. The road ahead isn’t any easier. While Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten isn’t Walker, he forced seven missed tackles on rushes Sunday, tying for the league lead in Week 1, according to .
If Denver wants to avoid a 0-2 start, it’ll need to fix one of the core parts of its highly paid and highly regarded defense. The Broncos’ championship aspirations could be in jeopardy if they don’t.
