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Five things that stood out about Kansas City Chiefs’ last-second win vs. Broncos

sam mcdowell
·4 min read

We’re two weeks shy of needing three hands to count the Chiefs’ victory total.

Because of the hand of Leo Chenal.

We think.

The Chiefs beat the Broncos 16-14 on the game’s final play, a sea of red jerseys breaking through the line to block the game-winning field goal try. Chenal was initially credited with the block.

Undefeated, the Chiefs remain.

By the slimmest of margins.

Let’s get to it. Here are five observations from immediately after Sunday’s game:

Well, we had to start here.

At the end.

Over the course of the past 10 1/2 months that have left GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium wondering about the what-if.

The Broncos will be wondering about this one for awhile.

They played the final drive to perfection — after Harrison Butker gave them a short field, and the Chiefs botched the usage of their timeouts.

But one thing wasn’t perfect: The blocking up front on a field goal.

The Chiefs keep winning games, but they keep winning them in a variety of ways. It isn’t only Patrick Mahomes anymore. That’s the sign of a good team, though the Broncos reminded us that good team has some flaws.

But if they can make this unbeaten streak last a bit longer — and the trip to Buffalo next week will offer their toughest test to date — this field goal will go down in Chiefs lore.

The Chiefs’ defense has been exceptional this year, but by exceptional, I mean with one exception:

The end of games.

For the second straight week, the Chiefs’ defense had a chance to seal a win, and for the second straight week, it failed.

Well, kind of. The offense bailed them out a week ago. The blocked field goal bailed them out Sunday.

The Broncos mustered only 25 yards on their initial 14 plays of the second half — covering three possessions — but drove downfield with relative ease to set up the the game-winning field goal attempt as time expired.

It would be one thing if the defense had been forced onto the field for a high volume of snaps — but that hasn’t been the case either of the last two weeks.

Whatever it is, it’s a bizarre trend that has to reverse course ... because the Chiefs aren’t exactly blowing teams out.

Mahomes tweaked his ankle in each of the last two weeks, enough that he was visibly hobbled in the second halves of those games.

He didn’t change his approach Sunday.

Well, he couldn’t change his approach Sunday. Mahomes was forced to scramble frequently — the Broncos pressured him throughout the game, including eight of his initial 15 drop-backs.

That’s customary for Denver, which leads the league in pass-run win rate, a statistic tracked by ESPN Analytics. The Broncos pressured Mahomes on 20 dropbacks and sacked him four times.

The KC offensive line has had better days, but Mahomes didn’t help the cause: He appeared in no hurry to take advantage of clean pockets before they eventually collapsed. He also missed two open touchdowns.

There was enough blame for everyone, which prominently includes ...

The Kingsley Suamataia encore went as poorly as the initial set.

Or worse.

At last, the Chiefs returned to Suamataia at left tackle, though only because they had no choice.

Starting left tackle Wanya Morris tweaked his knee in the opening minute of the second quarter, sending Suamataia, their second-round rookie, into the game early.

He had such a rough go that he encountered the same fate — a fourth-quarter benching.

On Suamataia’s first drive at left tackle, Broncos linebacker Nick Bonitto beat him on the edge — without Suamataia even getting a hand on him. He did it again in the third quarter — letting Bonitto hit Mahomes without even touching him.

When Suamataia got benched in Week 2, you could identify plays during which he lost his technique and reacted with panic.

But this was no reaction — just casually getting beat on the edge.

Morris, who sat out the middle quarters with the injury, returned in the fourth quarter.

If it wasn’t clear before, it should be now: It’s a project at left tackle, and that’s not a position at which you want to have such a significant question.

Finally, some fourth-down aggression.

It worked, too.

Andy Reid, who has been among the most conservative coaches in the NFL on fourth-down decisions, kept the offense on the field at the end of the first half — and the Chiefs turned three points into seven. On fourth-and-goal, Patrick Mahomes hit Travis Kelce on a quick route from the inside.

The decision paid off, but it would’ve been the right call even if it hadn’t. The analytics showed a 4.3% improved chance of winning the game by going for it rather than kicking the field goal.

The result was there.

But more within his control at the moment, the process was correct.