Kansas City Chiefs Locks Up Playoff Birth, Sweeps Denver

Kansas City, MO –“Aaaaaah, it’s so cold!” is what Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce screamed into the NBC mic during his post-game presser when his QB Patrick Mahomes squirted two water bottles down the tight end’s shoulder pads. It’s a great metaphor for both their performances, along with that of their kicker Harrison Butker, on Sunday night, as these three playmakers had to have ice running through their veins, helping them carry KC to a 22-16 primetime win and playoff birth over their division rival Denver Broncos.  

Slow starts won’t stop a KC playoff Birth 

            The Chiefs are built like a team that can survive a shoot-out, as their offense is averaging nearly 426 yards and 32 points per contest, and their otherworldly quarterback is leading the league in total passing yards (3,497) and has a league-best 30-2 touchdown-interception ratio. But it didn’t take a shoot-out for KC to come out of Arrowhead with the win. In fact, it was a slow approach for the Chiefs, as their first four red-zone trips resulted in four field goals. It was the strangest thing; Mahomes (25/40-318-1-0) was connecting on chunk plays outside the red-zone. He hit the speedster Tyreek Hill (6-58), Kelce (8-136-1), and the rest of his weapons for huge gains. But once they got to within Denver’s 20, the offense stalled. It shouldn’t be a surprise, though. KC came into Sunday as the 12thmost efficient red zone offense in the league, scoring on only 62% of their visits. Their only TD of the game in the 3rdquarter; Mahomes’ hard count caught a Bronco lineman offsides, forcing a free play where he hit Kelce in stride on a post route, then trucked his way into the endzone for the 20-yard score. Hill could have had two scores himself on the night, but the first one was ruled incomplete, even though you can clearly see Broncos DB AJ Bouye help Hill secure the catch as he went down to the ground, and the other was negated by a holding call on guard Nick Allegretti. 

But let’s not undervalue where the other 15 points for KC came from. Harrison Butker has been nearly automatic in 2020; hitting nearly 90% of his field goals (17/19), going a perfect 3/3 from 50+. Against Denver, Butker was 5/5, with his longest kick of the night being the game-sealer. Originally, it was a 43-yarder that NBC graphics said would have been good from 57. But a delay of game penalty pushed Butker back 5, turning it into a 48-yarder. The “Butt Kicker”, as he’s known, split the uprights, with NBC saying the kick would have been good from as far as 61. Automatic.  

Is it time to Lock Drew away? 

            QB Drew Lock has been inconsistent as Denver’s franchise leader. Granted, he’s missed time due to a bad shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the season, and was ruled out of Denver’s 31-3 loss to the Saints in week 12 because of a COVID situation that broke out in the QB room. But even when Lock’s out there, he hinders Denver’s offense; completing only 55% of his passes for 1,767 yards (29thamong starting QBs), seven touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Lock came in to face a Chief’s defense that is middle of the pack, to say the least, ranking 16thagainst the pass & 23rdagainst the run. It was a rough start for the Missouri product (15/28–151-2-2); getting picked off by Tyrann “the Honey Bader” Mathieu on the first drive of the night. But Lock played (relatively) mistake-free football after that, playing more of a game manager role for the Broncos. Head coach Vic Fangio went for a run-heavy approach vs KC, with Melvin Gordon (15-137) and Philip Lindsay (14-26) combining for 88% of Denver’s total rushing yards, to help set up the play-action for Lock to have easier passing lanes. Ultimately, though, it came down to Lock having to play hero ball. Down 6, with 64 seconds left on the clock and 75 yards ahead of him, Lock just couldn’t channel his inner Elway and lead Denver on a miracle comeback. First pass; an incomplete post route to Jerry Jeudy. The second attempt; a short out route to Jeudy that kept him in bounds and the clock running. Third down; a deep pass to Hamler that got altered because of a hard hit from Frank Clark. Fourth down; Lock throws his second pick to, guess who, the Honey Badger. Elway has had terrible luck looking for an heir to Peyton Manning’s seat since Denver’s last Super Bowl run. Since then, Denver is 31-45, they’ve gone through 11 starting quarterbacks (yes, Kendall Hinton counts), and they haven’t been to the playoffs since. It may only be his second season, but it may be fair to say Broncos fans have seen all they need to evaluate whether Lock is the answer. He’s not. 

Coming up next?

            The Chiefs’ schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they take on an 8-4 Miami Dolphins team that has sprung up as a surprise contender for a wild card spot in 2020. As for Denver, it’s a similar situation, only instead of a playoff contender, it’s a Panthers squad that’s coming off refreshed from a week 13 bye, looking to get right after that heart-breaking 28-27 loss to the Vikings in week 12.   

Writer

-By: Juan Guarin-Camargo