The Kansas City Chiefs won a sloppy affair against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football that gives them considerable cushion in the AFC West.
A win is a win in the NFL which is good news for the Kansas City Chiefs, who didn’t exactly look the part of a division leader when they bested the Denver Broncos at home, 29-19, on Monday Night Football. Odd play calls, an inability to run the football (or stop the run) and a mortal Alex Smith were all on display at Arrowhead Stadium in primetime, but the Denver Broncos were even worse. It could even be said that the Broncos beat themselves on a night important for position in the AFC West.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, Justin Houston and Travis Kelce provided the sort of standout performances expected of them on the biggest stage, and they provided enough production on their respective sides to stave off the Broncos.
For Kelce, he had a combined 19 catches against the Broncos last year and until Denver can show an ability to limit the mismatch that Kelce creates, it’s not surprising the Chiefs continue to go to him in these divisional contests. Kelce ended this game with 7 catches for 133 receiving yards and 1 touchdown, and the tight end came up big at points to move the chains when the offense was stalling in the second half.
As for Houston, he also came up huge at points when the Broncos were starting to rally. Not only did he get after the passer with 3 quarterback hits and 2 official sacks, but the outside linebacker also pressured Trevor Siemian a number of other times, collapsing the pocket in the process and forcing several miscues or QB runs. In addition, Houston came up big against the run and showed his ability to seal the edge among the best in the NFL.
More from Arrowhead Addict
- Former Chiefs cornerback in legal trouble in Las Vegas
- Chiefs Kingdom: Get ready to break contract news
- Chiefs news: Travis Kelce wants to host fan ‘chug-off’ in Germany
- Podcast: Breaking down the Chiefs biggest roster battles
- KC Chiefs send Dave Merritt to NFL coaching accelerator
The Chiefs took an early lead against the Broncos a fumble by Jamaal Charles during his homecoming early in the first quarter led to a Marcus Peters touchdown. A Kelce touchdown put the Chiefs up 14-0 and things looked like a blowout early, before the Broncos started to claw their way back via defensive stops along with a puzzling Chiefs offense. From Tyreek Hill throwing an interception (yep) to several miscues by Smith (overthrows, missed opportunities), the Chiefs offense either took unnecessary chances or just stalled due to a lack of execution.
For all of their issues, however, the Broncos looked even worse. Vance Joseph, the Broncos head coach, refused to move off of Siemian as the starter. He was 19 of 36 for 198 passing yards and 1 touchdown along with 3 interceptions. Even though the Chiefs committed 2 turnovers, the Broncos did them 3 better with an incredible 5 turnovers—another example of Denver beating themselves in primetime.
With the win, the Chiefs move to 6-2 in a division without a single other team at .500. The Raiders and Chargers already have 5 losses and the Broncos now sit 2.5 games behind the Chiefs heading into the second half of the year.