It doesn’t make sense, at both first glance and second glance, that the Kansas City Chiefs stand 9-0 as the NFLs lone unbeaten team.
The Chiefs are far from dominant, having trailed in eight games. Nor are they riding good fortune. Injuries have deleted their top receivers and best running back. A soft schedule? Nope. The Chiefs serve as the No. 1 target of every opponent, including a pair of great coaches who joined their division in the past two offseasons.
The answer to the 9-0 riddle is made up of several ingredients beyond the obvious ones of the Chiefs’ employing a best-in-class coach (Andy Reid), quarterback (Patrick Mahomes), defensive coordinator (Steve Spagnuolo) and tight end (Travis Kelce).
Then theres this: More than most teams, the Chiefs force opponents to play sound and highly adaptive football, over and over, until the game clock expires.
That sets a high bar.
Sunday, the Denver Broncos often outplayed the two-time defending Super Bowl champions and positioned themselves to win the game in noisy Arrowhead Stadium.
Denver Broncos place kicker Wil Lutz (3) tries a field goal attempt, which was blocked, and then recovered by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams (2) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs defeated the Broncos, 16-14. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
All that remained was to kick a 35-yard field goal — a gimme in today’s NFL — in pleasant weather after the ball was snapped with 1 second on the game clock.
Then Denver’s left-side blocking ruptured under astute and intense Chiefs pressure, and Wil Lutz’s well-struck kick was blocked.
The Chiefs celebrated another victory, their 15th in a row dating to last season’s Super Bowl run.
Instead of seeing an AFC West rival earn a one-point win that would’ve rewarded a sharp performance and further validated Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton’s rebuild, K.C. took a 16-14 squeaker that firmed its grip on the AFC’s top playoff seed.
The lesson the block kicked reinforced was the Chiefs will mount some sort of dangerous push with their final breath.
The three-point denial was no fluke. Evident were sharp coaching, drafting and winning athleticism.
By lining up six attackers to the left of the long-snapper, the Chiefs outnumbered four Broncos blockers.
That’s not rare. Blockers spread out and link up, forming a human wall.
Because the blockers’ stances are widened to counter the numerical disadvantage, it can be harder to anchor against power rushes. Indeed, a failed anchor capsized the Broncos.
Chiefs rusher Leo Chenal bowled over Broncos blocker Alex Forsyth, advanced four yards beyond the line and snuffed the kick with upraised arms.
Forsyth has started four games at center this year. The former NFL scouts at OurLads.com praised the Oregon alum’s hand strength and quick feet before Denver took him in the seventh round of the 2023 draft.
But the scouts issued a caveat that rang true Sunday: “Lower body thickness is not there. Needs precise setup to maintain an anchor.”
Perfection was required of Chenal, a versatile third-year linebacker drafted by the Chiefs who played well in the Super Bowl win nine months ago.
Firing out of a four-point stance, the 6-foot-2 1/2, 250-pound Wisconsin alum didnt have to deviate in driving into Forsyths left shoulder and pancaking the blocker.
Critically, Chenal advanced fast through the collision, allowing him to surge precisely into the kicking lane.
The Chiefs understand special teams intricacies. Coaching those units is NFL veteran Dave Toub, a contributor to the three Super Bowl wins under Reid.
The payoff
It was a big win for the Chiefs in their pursuit of the much-sought No. 1 playoff seed, which brings a conferences only first-round playoff bye.
The Chiefs maintained a multiple-game lead over the Bills (8-2) and Steelers (7-2) in the AFC race. The Bills, who have the toughest remaining schedule of the three, will play the Chiefs this Sunday in New York.
The cushion the Chiefs have created could end up being the difference.
My whiff
Entering this season, I predicted the Broncos would end up with a top-10 slot in the next NFL draft. I wrote their roster was subpar, on both offense and defense.
Payton’s team, now 5-5, has outperformed that evaluation.
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has proven more agile than he appeared at Oregon and Auburn, a crucial development. Nix had no interceptions Sunday. He set up the potential winning kick by leading a 13-play, 43-yard drive that drained nearly six minutes off the clock.
“Played real well,” said Payton, calling Nix, 24, “poised and gutsy.” Another old rookie, receiver Devaughn Vele, a Utah alum wholl turn 27 next month, has provided needed dimensions in possession and run-after-the catch, complementing No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton.
Coordinator Vance Josephs defense, blitz-happy and physical, has figured out the Chiefs, who have just one TD in their last 10 red-zone possessions against Joseph’s unit.