The Broncos did what they wanted -- and they still got squashed in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a while Sunday night, the Broncos did exactly what they wanted to do.

They ran with power — even with the Kansas City Chiefs filling the box with defenders. Their offense had balance; for most of the night, the Broncos hovered right around a 50-50 balance between runs and pass plays.

And they had a drive that was literally unlike any that they had mounted in at least 20 years.

It seemed perfect: The most reliable kryptonite for the Chiefs’ super-powered attack of recent years has been to play keep-away, and for over 11 minutes of the second quarter, the Broncos did precisely that, marching 83 yards in 20 plays while converting a pair of fourth downs along the way.

And then they fouled up the ending: a third-and-2 incompletion and a fourth-and-2 stuff of running back Javonte Williams, who was the most effective skill-position player on either team.

It was a microcosm of the game itself. The Broncos had seven more first downs, 137 more yards and ran 18 more plays than the Chiefs, building up a 7-minute advantage in time of possession.

Denver also became the 28th team this season to have at least 400 yards, a total-yardage advantage of at least 100 yards and seven more minutes of possession than their opponent.

The first 27 teams to do that this season won, building a 38-game winning streak for teams with that stat line.

The Broncos lost, 22-9.

And it was only that close because of a fourth-quarter touchdown after trailing by three scores, the Broncos’ third such window-dressing touchdown this season.

Following the fourth-down failure, the Broncos saw two offensive possessions end in interceptions thrown by Teddy Bridgewater. Another drive never happened because Caden Sterns collided with Diontae Spencer as the latter tried to field a punt; the Chiefs recovered the muffed punt and quickly tacked on a field goal.

Those miscues mattered, but after the game, it was the second-quarter failure that lingered as the moment that tipped the Broncos’ train off the tracks.

Two questions emerged.

First, why didn’t the Broncos call timeout? A communication issue prior to the fourth-down snap sent the run call careening towards failure; Williams said he thought the play was supposed to be out of the shotgun formation, when it was actually run with Teddy Bridgewater under center.

“There was a little confusion, and by the time there that we knew there was confusion … it was too late to call timeout,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said.

And then … why go for it on fourth-and-2? Why not take the points?

The Broncos’ fourth-down success over the season — and on that specific possession — was a big reason why. Denver had already converted two fourth-downs on that series, including a fourth-and-7.

Fangio said there was some discussion about sending Brandon McManus on to attempt a field goal, but there was “very little” of it.

“I’m comfortable with that decision,” Fangio said. “We had converted a couple of fourth downs to keep it going; one was fourth-and-7, I believe. You guys just got done grilling me about the points; you’ve got to score touchdowns to beat this team.”

Certainly, that is true in the broad 66-game sample size of Mahomes’ time as Kansas City’s starting quarterback. But the Broncos have done far better than most teams at slowing down the Chiefs’ warp-speed attack.

Consider this: Since the start of the 2019 season, Denver has held the Chiefs offense to 1.8 touchdowns per game — well below its average of 3.0 per game in that span.

But the Broncos offense has just 6 touchdowns in those 5 games — and Kansas City’s defense and special teams have racked up 4 touchdowns in those 5 games, punctuated by Daniel Sorensen’s 75-yard return of a deflected Bridgewater pass Sunday that effectively ended matters.

“Frustrating. That’s all I can really say,” said wide receiver Courtland Sutton. “It’s frustrating.”

And just as frustrating is the offense’s maddening inconsistency in its last four games. Efficient performances against Dallas and the Chargers — in which the offense accounted for 25.5 points per game — were each followed by stinkers against Philadelphia and Kansas City, when the Broncos averaged just 11.0 points an outing.

Consistent inconsistency is how you end up with back-to-back games like the ones the Broncos just had, and how an 83-yard drive ends with two plays netting no yards.

The Broncos did what they wanted. But they didn’t finish. And then Kansas City dealt the final punches, closing out the Broncos for a 12th consecutive time.

A chance to move into first place became a ticket to fourth place after 13 weeks — and an extension of a run of misery that has defined the Broncos’ post-Super Bowl 50 purgatory.

The Broncos did what they wanted Sunday. And it wasn’t enough. Not even close.