Week 4 – Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good…
Denver’s running game, before they decided to abandon it, was on point all night long. Phillip Lindsay averaged 5.8 yards per carry, collecting 69 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. Royce Freeman averaged 8.4 yards per carry, while picking up 67 yards on 8 carries and a touchdown.
Check out this run by Royce Freeman, courtesy of Twitter.
And the run from Phillip Lindsay, also via Twitter.
Lindsay and Freeman also made history last night as they became the first rookie tandem in Broncos history to each have more than 60 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown in the same game. Why we abandoned the run, with the lead, is beyond me.
The Bad…
When Kansas City got the ball back late in the 4th quarter, they were trailing the Broncos by 10 with 12:47 left to play in the game. QB Pat Mahomes took matters into his own hands, carving up the Broncos defense like he was preparing for a Thanksgiving dinner. In the ensuing drive, the Chiefs shaved 6:17 off the clock, capping off a 12 play, 75 yard drive with a 2 yard touchdown pass to TE Travis Kelce.
When Denver got the ball back after the K.C. kickoff, there was still 6:27 left on the clock. With a three point lead, Denver ran all three plays of the drive from the shotgun. The first down run by Lindsay was sniffed out as he was stopped dead in his tracks at the line of scrimmage. 37 seconds later, Keenum couldn’t connect with Emmanuel Sanders on what appeared to be a screen play, only to be sacked on the very next play. Punter Marquette King poured salt on the open wound with a piss-poor punt of 35 yards, setting the Chiefs up with a short field and down by 3.
The Chiefs regained possession after the punt with 4:35 left to play. Again, Mahomes was not finished carving up the Denver defense. After an 8 play, 60 yard drive that saw another 2:56 come off of the clock, the Chiefs were sitting pretty with a 4 point lead with just 1:39 left to play.
Denver got the ball back on their own 25 with 1:39 left. Two first downs later, it looked like the Broncos were in the driver seat to put the game away. On 3rd and 10 with 22 seconds left, Demaryius Thomas found an opening in the Kansas City secondary which for a second looked like it was going to be the game winning touchdown. Instead, Thomas started his route slower than Case Keenum expected him to and Keenum overthrew Thomas just before the pylon. The next play was just as absurd, as Keenum connected with rookie receiver Cortland Sutton on the 4th down play for what appeared to be a first down, but he attempted a hook-and-ladder play and fumbled the ball, giving Mahomes and the Chiefs the win.
The Ugly…
Not going to beat around the bush with this one. The ugly, as it has been since his 3 touchdown performance in Week 1, is QB Case Keenum. Keenum was brought in to change the culture and success at the quarterback position. Instead, its an exact mirror image of last years QB carousel in the likes of Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler. Keenum now has 3 straight games with 0 passing touchdowns and 1 interception. After 4 games, Keenum has thrown for 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Project those glorious numbers across the season; Keenum is projected, if he keeps up the way he has been going, to throw 12 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. In 11 games (10 starts) in 2017, Trevor Siemian threw for 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Case Keenum is not the answer to the Broncos problems at quarterback. Vance Joseph is in over his head, and this Bronco team now trails the potent Chiefs by 2 games for the AFC West lead. If he doesn’t find a way to light up the Jets on Sunday, then it would be time to start Chad Kelly at the Rams and let it rip.
Honorable Mention
The referees. 2 horrible no-calls on the final drive of the game. Delay of game should have been called as the play clock was clearly on 0 for about 2 seconds before the Chiefs got the snap off. Then, there was the play where Pat Mahomes stepped over the line of scrimmage before making a throw, and a completion.
Here is the no-call on the should-have-been delay of game:
October 30th, 2018 
Matt Loede 
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