Broncos Lose Heartbreaker to Chiefs 27-23, Fall to 2-2

The Broncos lost to the Chiefs 27-23 on Monday Night Football in an absolute gut-wrenching defeat to fall to 2-2. The Broncos had this game and a 23-13 lead in the 4th quarter, and they just couldn't hold off Pat Mahomes and that Chiefs offense as KC came back and won the game late. It was a great game that went back and forth and the Broncos played the Chiefs as well as anyone as played them this year, but they fell short. There are no moral victories in the NFL, and the Broncos are 2-2. Here are my thoughts and observations on the game.............

1) The Broncos were able to get the ground game going. Royce Freeman had 67 yards on only 8 carries and Philip Lindsay had 69 yards on 12 carries. Freeman had a great 14 yard TD run on 3rd and 1 to tie the game at 10 with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter to tie the game at 10. Lindsay scored a 1 yard TD run to give the Broncos a 20-13 late in the 3rd quarter. Both backs continue to impress and I think the Broncos need to ride these two young backs going forward the rest of the year.

2) When you think about this game you will think about how the Broncos should have closed out this game and how Pat Mahomes made so many plays in the 4th quarter to win it. They Broncos were all over all game long, and he had this amazing ability to evade the rush and throw bullets while be tackled. That is where Mahomes is different then a lot of other young QBs. His left handed throw just summed up what kind of game he had last night. Mahomes is going to be a star player in this league for awhile and the Broncos found out firsthand.

3) With the game 23-13 Denver early in the 4th quarter, the Chiefs put back-to-back drives together to win the game. One the first drive, Mahomes completed a 15 yard pass to Tyreek Hill on 3rd and 16 and then converted a 4th and 1. He also converted a 2nd and 20 to Travis Kelce and it eventually led to a Kelce TD reception. After forcing a Broncos three and out, Mahomes completed a left-handed throw to Hill on a 3rd and 5, and 23 yard completion on 2nd and 30 and a 35 yard completion on 3rd and 7 to set up the winning run by Kareem Hunt with 1:39 to go. It was unreal, but he also got the help of a non-call on a delay of game as the official missed the play clock hitting 0 before the ball was snapped. It was amazing how the Broncos could not finish this game off on defense.

4) Case Keenum  did not play terrible in the game but he finished with 0 TDs and 1 interception. He made some gutty throws and he got the Broncos in position to win the game at the end, but he missed a throw to Demaryius Thomas at the end of game and overthrew him by a few yards. If he hits Thomas, DT walks into the end zone for the game winning score. The bottom line is that Keenum needs to play better. Right now, he one of the lowest rated QBs in the NFL. He has to get better.

5) The big picture of this game is no matter how close the Broncos were to winning the game, and no matter how close they were to stopping Mahomes and the Chiefs, they still couldn't get it done. Close doesn't count in the NFL. This reminded me of one of those primetime home losses the Broncos suffered in the early 2000s with Mike Shanahan  A loss is a loss, and I still wonder if Vance Joseph and Case Keenum can win a big game against a big time opponent. This Sunday is a must win for the Broncos as they head to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets. They have to get to 3-2 with the Rams on next the week after.