2022 Week 14 Game Recap: Chiefs 34, Broncos 28 (by Ross Jacobs)
I've heard some analysts saying that this game was proof that Denver has finally turned a corner, that Russ is coming on, that Jerry Jeudy is a must start in fantasy...that all will be right, finally, in Colorado...
No, just no.
Let me break down what happened in this game because it was an insane sequence of events that allowed Denver to kinda, sorta sneak their way back in it and make things look competitive when it really wasn't.
Firstly, the Chiefs were up 27-0 in the 2nd quarter...let that sink in...when a score like that happens there are only two possible explanations. 1) The team in the lead is vastly superior in every way and is beating down their hapless opponent or 2) The team leading got an unbelievable amount of luck, almost certainly turnover luck, that allowed them to build a quick but fortuitous lead.
Which do you think this was? It's no mystery. KC is one of the 2 or 3 best teams in the league and the Broncos are one of the 2 or 3 worst. This was a classic ass whooping and 95 times out of 100 it just continues on that way and KC wins this game something like 44-10. But that didn't happen. Why? How did Denver get back into it?
The goofiness actually started out with a great play by Josey Jewell, one of the best, most underrated linebackers in the entire league and a guy I have been championing for weeks as I watched him fulfilling his FFM destiny after struggling to stay healthy for years. So happy for him...where was I? Oh right, Jewell dropped into coverage and instantly recognized the play. He took a fake step left like he was going to drop with the receiver to that side in zone coverage but instantly broke back to his right because he knew Kelce would be sitting down in the vacated spot from the other side of the field. Mahomes tried to look Jewell off and then come back to Kelce at the last second with a rocket, but Jewell knew what was happening the entire time and picked Mahomes off with ease.
That INT set up Denver with a short field and Jeudy scored an easy TD in the corner of the endzone after not so subtly pushing off the corner but getting away with it. 27-7 KC. On the next drive Mahomes was pressured in the pocket and tried to throw a sidearm pass around the defense but it was low and behind Skyy Moore and somehow Surtain scooped it off the ground for another INT. At this point it was a 2-minute drill and the KC defense was dropped back in a soft zone trying to keep everything in front of them...but they left no spy on Russ who picked up about 30 yards on two wide open scrambles then found Jeudy for his 2nd TD on a broken coverage where rookie corner Trent McDuffie jumped inside on the wrong man instead of going outside with Jeudy. 27-14 KC.
On Denver's first drive after halftime they caught KC in an all-out blitz and Russ dumped the ball to Marlon Mack with a convoy of blockers. Mack weaved through traffic, stiff-armed the last defender, and collapsed into the endzone for a 66 yard TD. 27-21 KC.
It was at this point that KC finally realized the game was competitive again. They have done this so often over the years and it gets them into trouble, taking a huge lead and thinking they can coast to an easy win but the other team claws back into it and KC has to hold on for dear life. The defense started to play more aggressively and the offense went down for another score of their own to extend their lead. All seemed right with the world...until Jeudy got a 40 yard pass interference call on McDuffie after a balloon ball from Russ. Dulcich caught a rather lucky long pass to get Denver close to the end zone but then Russ was injured after banging his head hard against the ground on a scramble. Brett Rypien entered the game and found Jeudy in the back of the endzone for his 3rd TD of the day.
KC pretty much slammed the door shut after that. Technically Denver had another decent chance to tie or win the game after Jewell baited Mahomes into yet another INT, but the KC defense was swarming Rypien and gave him no chance. Yes, Denver had their chances in the end, but the game never really felt close even then. Rypien and the Denver offense were clearly overmatched and unable to really move the ball. All the Denver scores here were incredibly fluky/lucky and not the result of their good play.
I have absolutely no concerns about KC and no warm fuzzies about Denver. They are the same teams they've been all year, one really good and one really, really bad, nearly unwatchable. I LOVE KC -14 against a Houston team that was lucky to not get blown out by Dallas last week and I LOVE Arizona +3 with or without Russ but even more if he's out. I don't care that they suck...they suck less than Denver.
Fantasy Player Notes:
– Strange game from a fantasy perspective. Don't let it warp your ideas about the pecking order here. Jerick McKinnon had a monster day through the air but half of it came on one play where Mahomes scrambled out of the pocket and threw an underhand toss to McKinnon who was all alone down the field and he outran the defense for a long score. It's always possible he can get a short TD or two, especially because KC likes to pass so much around the goal line, but it's hard to count on.
– Travis Kelce had a muted day for him but also dropped two passes including what should have been an easy TD and had another couple land just out of his reach. This easily could have been a 120+ yard, 1 TD game for him. This year Kelce has scored more in fantasy than George Kittle, Darren Waller, and Kyle Pitts combined.
– I already discussed Marlon Mack's weird TD. I hope I don't need to tell anyone that it won't happen again. Of course I'm sure the idiotic staff in Denver will give him more touches after that because “he's a playmaker!” but that's just nonsense. It was dumb luck. He looks very slow. Whatever speed he had years ago is gone now after that Achilles tear. Do not get sucked into this.
Ditto Jerry Jeudy and Russell Wilson. All the TDs came off of short fields and were very fluky. It's not like Jeudy was just out roasting people and Russ was throwing him lasers. This is still the same terrible offense we've seen all year. Unless Jewell can keep picking off two passes per game...
– Rookie WR Brandon Johnson got a lot of snaps for Denver here with Sutton out...it was not good as expected. He's simply too slow, too poor of an athlete to be in the NFL. He looks like a much slower, less tough Gabe Davis, just a very stiff receiver. The fact that he was on the field over Montrell Washington tells you everything you need to know about this coaching staff and Washington's chances of playing.
– Brett Rypien isn't the worst backup QB in the league, but he doesn't stand a chance in this offense. The line is just so bad and the receivers can't get open. I would not be shocked at all if Arizona's defense got 2 TDs this week. They have to be one of the top streaming options this week. The offense has been putrid all year with Russ...what makes anyone think it's going to be better with Rypien?
IDP Notes:
– And on that subject, I've been writing it here every time I cover Denver...Jewell is playing some of the best ball at linebacker in the league this year. Another 10 tackles after having 18 last week. 2 INTs, both of them brilliant plays. He hasn't had less than 7 tackles in a game all year and the one game he had 7 he only played 43% of the snaps!
I wrote about my love for De'Vondre Campbell for years, how he playing DPOY level ball for Atlanta and then Arizona and I was flabbergasted when he got a measly $2 million deal to play for Green Bay...and then turned in his best year yet as the mainstream finally “discovered” how great he was. Well, ditto Josey Jewell. He's been playing out of his mind this year, but I bet very few people outside of Denver know about him. I really hope he gets a big contract out of this. He deserves it.
One other defender on this Denver defense I need to highlight. I noticed him playing well weeks ago and forgot to mention it, so I'm rectifying that now...Dre'Mont Jones has been on fire this year as well, one of the best defensive linemen in the league to my eyes. He's a force inside and is constantly creating havoc. He's going to get paid this year as well whether that's with Denver or not.
Snap Counts of Interest:
62 = Hinton
60 = Jeudy
53 = Brandon Johnson
54 = Dulcich
38 = Murray
23 = Mack
55 = Juju
44 = Watson
35 = MVS
55 = Kelce
39 = Gray
39 = McKinnon
29 = Pacheco
