Well, that was fun. For all the fawning and saddle-riding the national media gave the Denver Broncos heading into this season, it turns out the burros were the paper champions all along.
This game was a good old-fashioned AFC West beat down. Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs dragged the NFL’s angriest little elf behind Arrowhead and took a switch to their backsides like my grandma did when I stole her pack of smokes as a kid.
The Chiefs came out on a mission. They didn’t just want to win this game. They wanted to stake their claim back on the division. This was the Chiefs saying, time to get off the porch, lil pup; the big dogs are back.
And although it’s just one win. It was a heck of a win, as the Chiefs force-fed Denver’s defense the rock like a kid who doesn’t want to eat their veggies at dinner time, rolling to a three-touchdown victory, winning 31-10.
Here are five things we learned from the Chiefs dominating the donkeys.
1. Chiefs can be a running team if they want to be
The Chiefs made a point out of the gate to establish the run come hell or high water, and luckily they didn’t have to wait long for the benefits to take effect. Kenneth Walker was everything he was advertised as and more. Rushing for 173 yards on 23 carries, including an electric 60-yard touchdown run on 4th down.
Do I think the Chiefs will run the ball this much each week? I honestly don’t. But they can if they need to. If left tackle Josh Simmons is going to miss extended time. Or if the wide receivers struggle to create separation. I think there will be weeks where quarterback Patrick Mahomes passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, but on the days when it’s not there, it’s good to know you can run the ball down the throat of one of the NFL’s best defenses.
2. Mahomes’ knee is fine
Whether they will admit it or not, fan bases all around the NFL were hoping and praying that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes would be limited in his first return to action since tearing his ACL last season. Because then there was at least a possibility that he would play like a mere mortal.
But those hopes were dashed right off the back, when Mahomes tucked that ball and scrambled up the middle, scoring the team’s first touchdown of the season.
In the words of the man himself, “You woke up the wrong mother******.”
3. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Well, it depends on the dog. If that old Saint Bernard is Andy Reid and you’re a competitive son of a buck who doesn’t want the final years of his legacy to be known as a guy who couldn’t change and adapt in the NFL.
By running the ball 31 times, Andy Reid proved on Monday night that all he cares about is winning, and he is willing to change his stripes to get there. But Reid has never been afraid to evolve when the moment called for it. I don’t think this is any different. This is a coach leaning into his offense’s strengths and trying to offset the fact that he has an undrafted rookie starting at left tackle. It was a master class by one of the greatest to ever coach the game.
4. Kahlil Benson isn’t great, but he battled
At times, the pass rush beat him. There were times he looked overwhelmed. But overall, the undrafted rookie free agent offensive tackle played passable football in his first NFL action. If the Chiefs’ regular starting left tackle, Josh Simmons, is going to miss significant time, then the Chiefs will be counting on Benson to hold things down until Simmons can return.
The biggest question now is: how does Benson adapt now that there is an entire game of tape on him out there? You can believe that defenses are watching his reps, and his success will depend on how he responds to their counterpunch.
5. This team is going to be hard to pass against
The severity of rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane’s injury hurts this defense. He is a special talent who looks like a cornerstone you can build around for years to come. But even without Delane for most of Monday night, the Chiefs secondary locked down Denver’s vaunted wide receivers, holding Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton to three receptions for 13 yards.
Do I think this performance was an outlier?
Nope.
Fellow cornerbacks Nohl Williams and L’Jarius Sneed were all over the place, too. Now, I don’t think Bo Nix is anything special. But our defense might be. There is a good possibility that our defense is the reason we win games this year.
