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

  East Rutherford, NJ – All week, the Thursday Night matchup between the 0-3 Denver Broncos and the 0-3 New York Jets was marked as a toilet bowl game. A game played by bad teams, both of which riddled with injuries, and coached by coaches that just can’t seem to get any offensive momentum going for their respective squads. And, to a certain capacity, the game lived up to its label, as Vic Fangio’s squad turns the heat up on Adam Gase’s seats, beating Gase’s Jets 37-28. 

Ugly, But Effective 

            Vic Fangio’s squad rolled into week four missing so many key players to injury. In fact, the total cap hit that the players on the Broncos' injured reserve list hits up to nearly $60 million. And when your team is missing big names like Von Miller, Jurrell Casey, Courtland Sutton, A.J. Bouye, Mark Barron, Phillip Lindsay, Davontae Harris, and franchise quarterback Drew Lock, you’d think it’s the end of the world. But not for Fangio’s squad. Third-string quarterback Brett Rypien, who made his first career start as an undrafted free agent from 2019, came out and held the ship sturdy for Denver, albeit running into a few rocks along the way. Rypien completed 19/31 passes (61% completion) for 242 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions, one of which went for a pick-six. Rypien picked on a Jets secondary that was mistake-prone and undisciplined, while also taking severe punishment from a Jets front seven that looked to rip his head off (more on that later). Melvin Gordon (23-107-2) assumed an RB1, every-down-back role against the Jets, getting 72% of the Broncos’ total carries. Don’t let the stat line fool you, though, Gordon was getting stuffed at the line frequently, with his 43-yard touchdown in garbage time padding his stats. In the receiving game, wideout Tim Patrick (6-113-1) was the favorite target for Rypien, averaging 18.8 yards per catch, while rookie first-round pick wide reiver Jerry Jeudy scored his first NFL touchdown against Jets corner Pierre Desire (more on him later). 

            On defense, Denver’s front seven went quarterback hunting, hitting to Jets quarterback Sam Darnold 10 times, with 6 of those hits turning into sacks. Third-year pass rusher Bradley Chubb used the game to get back into form, registering 2.5 sacks on the night. 

            In the kicking game, Brandon McManus was just money, going 3/3 from kicks from 40, 54, and 53 yards out. He should be a top-three kicker, next to Chiefs’ Harrison Butker & Ravens’ Justin Tucker. 

Adam Gase (and the Jets) Have Ruined Sam Darnold 

            When Adam was brought on to be the Jets’ head coach in 20109, the expectation was that Gase was going to be an offensive guru, set to mold supposed-franchise signal-caller Sam Darnold into a top-tier quarterback. But that just hasn’t been the case. Under Gase, Darnold has actually regressed as a passer. He looks scared and lost in the pocket, often sprinting outside to try and make a play with his feet. As a runner, Darnold was effective, rushing for 84 yards and a touchdown on six carries, a Jets record for a rushing quarterback. But Darnold isn’t Lamar Jackson; he can’t keep trying to win with his feet, he has to do it with his arm. And in the passing game, Darnold made plays. He found wideouts Jamison Crowder (7-104) and Jeff Smith (7-81) on big third-down plays (8/19 on third-down conversions). Darnold also showed his grit, coming back out to play after taking a huge sack during the first quarter that resulted in a right shoulder sprain. However, the USC product also hindered his team, completing only 23/42 of his passes (55% completion). Two of those incompletions were dropped interceptions by the Broncos’ secondary in the fourth quarter. It also doesn’t help when your head coach favors feeding a 37-year-old running back in Frank Gore (13-30) over a young-and-promising halfback in rookie La’Mical Perine (5-15). But there are no more excuses to make for Darnold. This year was supposed to be a prove-it season for the Jets signal-caller, and so far, he’s showing Jets fans that Clemson quarterback (and possible first overall pick) Trevor Lawrence is the more favorable option. 

            On defense, it was a trademark performance by a Gregg Williams-coached unit. The Jets gave up only 359 of total offense against the Broncos offense, but they were undisciplined and, at times, playing dirty. “There were a couple of personal foul calls at the end,” Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said in his post-game presser. “And our sideline was getting pissed off about it. I wanted to avoid any confrontation at the end of the game. I thought it was the prudent thing to do.” Out of the 11 penalties called on the Jets, six of them were personal foul calls; two committed by DT Steve McLendon (helmet-to-helmet contact and roughing the passer), DE Quinnen Williams (roughing the passer and facemask), LB Alec Ogletree (late hit on RB Melvin Gordon), and S Bradley McDougald (helmet-to-helmet contact). The only bright side this unit showed; cornerback Pierre Desir, who allowed both Rypien touchdowns tonight, had a touchdown of his own, picking the Broncos quarterback twice, with his second one going to the house. Slot corner Brian Poole also registered a pick. 

            Like McManus, Jets Kicker Sam Ficken was perfect on his night; 4/4 from 26, 54, 54, and 36. 

What’s next? 

            The schedule doesn’t get any easier for either middling squad. The Broncos stay on the East Coast, traveling up to Foxborough to face a New England Patriots team that will be coming off a tough matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.  

            As for the Jets, they stay home, where they’re set to host an Arizona Cardinals squad that could be coming off an easy win against the 1-2 Carolina Panthers. 

Writer

-By: Juan Guarin-Camargo

  DENVER, CO. – Monday night at Mile High. It doesn’t get any better for fans looking to end week one of the 2020 NFL Season with a nail biter of a prime-time game, as the Tennessee Titans upset the Denver Broncos 16-14. 

Tennessee’s Kicking Woes Continue into 2020

Mike Vrabel’s squad had quite an effective night. All-pro back Derrick Henry did his usual thing; grinding out 116 yards on 31 carries for 116 yards, newly resigned quarterback Ryan Tannehill had his best passing performance as a Titan, completing 67 percent of his passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns (with 4th-year wideout Corey Davis going off with 7 catches for 101 yards), and the Titans defense kept a high powered Denver passing attack to just 216 yards on the night.

But none of that mattered, as TV fans could only keep their focus on one thing; Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The “future hall of fame kicker” (not my words) whiffed on four out of his six kicking attempts last night. He missed three consecutive field goals from 47, 44, and 42 yards out, respectively, along with a missed extra point attempt. He made one extra point and the game-winning field goal kick from 25 yards out. Last year, the Titans had three kickers make only 8 out of 21 field goal attempts.

Denver Cooled Down after a Hot Start

Second-year quarterback Drew Lock came out firing during the first half of the game, connecting with rising star tight end Noah Fant and rookie wideout Jerry Jeudy early and often. Entering the second half, though, it was a different story. Denver opted to stay on the ground more, using their running back carousel of Melvin Gordon and Philip Lindsay as a change of pace in order to wear out Tennessee’s front seven. However, that approach led to just a single touchdown drive in the entire second half. Denver OC Pat Shurmer seemed to have lost confidence in his signal-caller. Granted, a good chunk of Lock’s incompletions were nearly picked off by Tennessee’s secondary in the second half.

As for Denver’s defense, the loss of Von Miller was felt on that front line, as third-year pass rusher Bradley Chubb registered only one QB hit the whole night. To make matters worse, veteran cornerback AJ Bouye exited the game with a shoulder injury, weakening the Broncos’ passing defense even more.

Going Forward

It’s a short week for both squads. Tennessee heads home to host a Jaguars team that pulled off a major upset against Philip Rivers’ Colts on Sunday. As for the Broncos, Fangio’s defense is in for a fight against a rejuvenated Steelers squad.

Writer

-By: Juan Guarin- Camargo