Rival fans may call it luck, but the Kansas City Chiefs have continued to march through the 2024 season with an unblemished 9-0 record. They could not have won by a slimmer margin against the Denver Broncos, who fell on the back of a crushing 16-14 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
After surrendering two early touchdown passes to Bo Nix, the Chiefs' defense tightened up and held Denver off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game. However, after Kansas City took a narrow lead, Nix drove them into field goal range for what should have been a chip shot game-winner for Wil Lutz.
Instead, Chenal came flying in like a bat out of hell, blocking the kick and keeping the Chiefs perfect on the season in what has become a very crowded AFC. Chenal himself was chomping at the bit to finally take advantage of Denver's poor kick blocking, and he did just that.
Chenal explained, without giving away too many specifics, that he picked up on a flaw in Denver's blocking earlier in the game and exploited it when the game was on the line. When great coaching meets a player like Chenal begging for an opportunity to make a mark like that, miracles can happen.
#Chiefs: The man of the hour, Leo Chenal talks about the blocked kick pic.twitter.com/1sY316cxV3
— McKenzie Nelson (@McKenzieMNelson) November 10, 2024
Leo Chenal details Chiefs' game-winning field goal block
The Chiefs needed their defense to play lights-out football after some early stings from Nix, and they did just that. Nix looks like a player who could give the Chiefs trouble in the future, but the defense seems to have stumbled upon a plan to lock him down in the second half.
Patrick Mahomes wasn't his usual self, but he did just enough to keep this team in the game and move the ball. Against a Broncos defense that has quickly proven to be one of the best in the league this season, Chiefs fans should feel fairly satisfied with how No. 15 looked in this one.
Chenal is the hero of the day, however. Dynasties always rely on role players stepping up when their number is called, and Chenal did just that. While this is still the regular season, and the odds of Kansas City running the table are still very much against them, Chenal became an instant franchise legend for his game-saving move.