Officially, the Kansas City Chiefs were winners. It's too bad they felt like losers for the majority of Week 10.
The Chiefs hosted the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium for their first game of two scheduled contests this season. In Week 10, the Broncos had the lead for most of the game and the ball near their own goal line with only seconds to play. Instead of heading home victorious, the Broncos were left scratching their heads over what went wrong.
The Chiefs are 9-0 after the 16-14 win at home against their rivals. Let's run through some winners and losers on the afternoon.
Winner: Leo Chenal
If we're going to make any game from this mostly miserable game on the part of the Chiefs, we have to begin with the one guy responsible for sending everyone at Arrowhead home happy—and that's Leo Chenal.
Chenal has turned into a very interesting defender for the Chiefs, someone who can do several things well on defense which allows Steve Spagnuolo to use him in a number of ways. He's a devastating blitzer and terrific run-stopper whose plays is directly proportional to the importance of the game.
The Broncos are going to have a hard time shaking this defeat knowing how close they were to victory. They did everything right on the game's final drive and still came away the losers despite only needing a chip shot of a field goal to win. Chenal's game-winning block was the stuff of legends.
Winner: Travis Kelce
Despite the recent burst of midseason production, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce still had (and perhaps has) his detractors on the field. After a slow start to the season, at least statistically speaking, a number of excuses were thrown out—from his age to a distracted mindset to a declining athleticism. Now at the season's midpoint, Kelce is looking as useful as ever to this Chiefs offense.
One week after setting a career mark with 14 receptions in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kelce was back with another solid game against the Broncos with 8 catches, 64 yards, and 1 score. At approximately the halfway point through the season, Kelce has 60 catches for 499 yards and 2 touchdowns—including 254 yards in his last three games.
As Mark Twain once famously wrote, "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
Losers: Chiefs left tackles
This one hurts—and in more ways than one.
Second-year tackle. Wanya Morris came into the game as the starting left tackle over the last seven games, but was taken out in the second quarter after taking a hit in the knee that ultimately led to him leaving for the team's locker room. The Chiefs would later designate him as questionable to return and would keep him on the sidelines until the fourth quarter. Fortunately, he came back in but his condition is something to watch.
Rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia was the starting option coming into the season but was replaced by Morris in Week 2 when it was clear he was in over his head. A return to the field in Week 10 against the strong Denver defense proved that was still true, although it had to be tough for Suamataia to be thrown to the wolves like that.
Still it's his job to be ready (and for his coaches to get him there) and the Chiefs were without answers to the Broncos edge rushers all day on Sunday afternoon. Even Jawaan Taylor needed some help and that's where the lack of anyone else on the roster hurts. Maybe Ethan Driskell can step in and surprise, but we woudn't be shocked to see the Chiefs sign a veteran for some assistance in the next few days..
Winner: Chamarri Conner
The Chiefs have been feeling the heat in the secondary a bit more than normal ever since Jaylen Watson hit injured reserve with a fractured ankle. After being able to replace one bright young corner after another over the last few years with a draft-and-develop system that's proven to be second-to-none, the Chiefs have struggled since losing Watson.
While they're still sorting things out between Joshua Williams, Nazeeh Johnson (who had a good day), and others, the good news is that Chamarri Conner continues to blossom with each passing game. In fact, the second year defensive back is turning into the team's best tackler not named Bolton.
Conner made multiple impressive stops on Sunday against the visiting Broncos, including a textbook open-field stop of Marvin Mims that saved the defense in a big way. Conner is the next great Chiefs DB and this is his breakout season.
Loser: Dead, er, Red Zone Offense
It feels lazy to write the word "groan" here in capital letters but that's just about all that should be said about the Chiefs' inability to do anything when facing the goal line these days.
Every run in the red zone felt like it was stuffed at the line of scrimmage or shortly thereafter. Every pass felt like it sailed overhead. Every dropback felt like a challenge to just get a play off. In the end, the Chiefs converted just one of four red zone opportunities, leaving a ridiculous amount of points on the board in one of the closest games of the year.
The play has to better. The playcalling has to be better. Everyone is at fault here.
Winner: Broncos' credibility
Win or lose, the Broncos came into the game with a winning record overall (5-4) against a fairly easy schedule. While the Broncos were obviously better than they were 12 months before, there were suspicions about their ability to compete with better teams or how Bo Nix would fare against stiffer competition—especially after losing to the Baltimore Ravens the week before.
As it turns out, Sean Payton and company have a lot of reasons to feel proud. Vance Joseph's defense is very, very good and the team's pass rush is among the NFL's best. Nix looks the part even as he's still learning a few things (don't run back so far if you're getting sacked, for one) and the team has a clear direction forward.
Given how things are also looking up in L.A., the AFC West should be a tighter race going forward than it has been in a long time.