OFFENSE — A
Sean Payton had the Denver offense ready to roll from the start. He had a nifty fake reverse in his bag and deployed it perfectly as soon as the Broncos got solidly into Chiefs territory. Bo Nix started hot and stayed that way through the entire first half, plenty of time to build a comfortable lead against a Kansas City team that looked like it had turned its attention to divisional weekend before they even landed in Colorado. But hey, there’s no reason to apologize for racking up 18 first downs in the opening 30 minutes or giving the crowd reason to celebrate rather than consternate.
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DEFENSE — A
Vance Joseph’s group has been a little shaky down the stretch run of the season. But there was no way they were going to let Carson Wentz keep them out of the playoffs. Denver’s defense was humming from the start.
No matter when this season ends, this group will be worth appreciating. They racked up a ridiculous 63 sacks, a franchise record and most in the NFL on the season by a wide margin. This one came against backups, sure, but the Broncos defense closed the regular season with a dominant performance. They logged the team’s first shutout win since a 26-0 Week 3 win against the New York Jets in 2021 for good measure and held Kansas City to 98 total yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS — A
Why not? It was a day of light duty for the special teams units overall. Wil Lutz had another clean outing kicking the ball and knocked home his 31st field goal of the season, tying a franchise record. What’s more impressive: You can make an argument Lutz has really only missed one should-have-had kick on the year. That was in the fourth quarter in the rain against the New York Jets. Otherwise he missed a 60-yard try at the end of a half earlier in the year and had the kick blocked at Kansas City in Week 10. Really consistent stuff.
COACHING — A
The Broncos could easily have played tight. They’d blown their first two chances at clinching a spot and both games featured clock management decisions from Payton that were thoroughly criticized.
This team hasn’t been to the playoffs in a long time and undoubtedly felt pressure to get the job done at home against the Chiefs.
But if they felt the pressure, they certainly didn’t show it. In fact, they played like they thrived on it. All three units were sharp from the start and Denver gave Kansas City’s second-liners no reason to think they had a chance to pull an upset.
It’s a different challenge altogether at Buffalo next weekend. But the Broncos are playing in the Wild Card round. And that’s a heck of an accomplishment in its own right.
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