Mile High Report
The Denver Broncos beat the Chiefs and lost to the NFL referees. Here are my thoughts, opinions, and analysis on a spectacularly played game by the Broncos.
Broncos Country, I have to say that I’m absolutely stoked about this game. Not about the loss. Not about a fluke block. But about what this game says about the Denver Broncos franchise, coaches, and roster.
This team is on the path. We have the Kansas City Chiefs' number and are poised to start battling them for the division in the near future.
Don’t get me wrong…I was as bent as anyone at that loss. It sucked to see a team win a game on a fluke block after our team did everything right and still lost against all odds.
But I don’t like writing these reviews in knee-jerk emotional fashion. They wouldn’t be the No Bull review if I did.
I look back at the game after a good night’s sleep and am quite happy with the game our players played.
The offense looked like what I’d expect from the Broncos in 2024. They are learning to play efficient ball, lean into the run when it is working, and have trouble when drives don’t stay on schedule.
I really liked Sean Payton’s decision to mix up the running game and to try leaning into another receiver this game. It kept the Chiefs excellent defense on their toes and provided enough offense to win the game. The fact that this offense was able to have such solid success against that defense is pretty impressive.
Bo Nix played a fantastic game and continues to impress me as a rookie quarterback. There were maybe two overthrows in the game that I’m sure he wants back, but against the backdrop of all the great throws he made, I’m not really concerned. He’s growing towards mastery of the offense (which will likely be another season or two away) and it shows each week. To go into one of the NFL’s loudest stadiums and play like he did is a testament to his quality of play.
The ugly from this game for Nix had to be taking some bad sacks. At the end of the 3rd quarter protection broke down and he just kept running backwards instead of throwing the ball away for another huge sack. It was the 2nd such play in the game and really sunk the drive.
The offensive line for the Broncos is one of the better-coached lines in the league. I do think some strides could be made in helping open up more in the run game, but protection-wise this unit is pretty darn fantastic. The front for Kansas City is very strong and to hold up all game long with only 2 sacks allowed (that the quarterback could have avoided) is impressive.
Audric Estime runs strong up the middle and does a good job finding the creases in the mess to power through....
