5 Biggest Takeaways from Denver Broncos' Week 10 Loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
The Denver Broncos suffered an absolutely humiliating defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. They were beaten soundly by the Chiefs 29-13 in a game that could be the season's low point.
For the first time in his career, we saw quarterback Peyton Manning get benched. In the third quarter (and after his fourth interception), the team decided to park Manning in favor of fourth-year quarterback Brock Osweiler.
After the game, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak explained why he made the switch.
“To be honest with you, I was protecting [Manning] because I was worried about him. Let me just say this, I am obviously very disappointed in the NFL game. I’m disappointed in myself. This is on me. I probably should have made a decision not to play him in the game and the reason, I needed to make that, probably, a tough decision there.”
Kubiak revealed, “He practiced Friday, felt good, came out of practice Friday and Saturday, as you all know, his ribs were bothering him a little bit. I probably should have right there said, ‘No, he’s not going to go this week.’ But he’s a competitor. He felt like he could go, but I’m disappointed in myself because I probably should have made that decision yesterday, and I didn’t. It’s on me.”
Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Broncos’ Week 10 loss to the Chiefs.
Peyton Manning Gets Benched
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Peyton Manning entered the game on the verge of breaking two major records—and he ended up breaking one and getting benched after that. Early in the game (but after his first interception), Manning was able to pass Brett Favre to become the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards. The game was stopped to honor Manning, but he seemed uncomfortable during the pause as the offense was struggling.
“I think that’s an awkward situation to have any type of stoppage of play in the middle of the game. I wasn’t off to the best start, we were looking at a 3rd-and-long or something coming up. I think it’s an awkward position to kind of be put in, to tell you the truth.”
In the third quarter, Manning was benched in favor of Osweiler. He refused to blame his poor play on the ribs/foot injury he was dealing with during the week .
“If you look back on it now, I have a hard time saying that’s why I played badly. Could that be the reason? I guess it always could be. But to me, that’s an easy way out.”
Osweiler was able to move the team and get into the end zone, but he has no plans to be the starter moving forward. There’s no clarity about Manning’s status for the game against the Chicago Bears in Week 11.
“I talked to coach Kubiak, and obviously he wants to see how I feel. You know, tomorrow and during the week, I think I’d like to be able to practice during the week. I didn’t practice until Friday, and that’s not ideal for anybody to go out and play, and so I’d like to be healthier to practice some on Wednesday, like I have in the past, and on Thursday.
"So we’ll address that when those days get there.” Manning concluded, “That would be the goal to get back to a normal practice schedule, so we’ll see how that goes tomorrow.”
Brock Osweiler Sparks Offense Too Late
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Osweiler took over for Manning in the third quarter, but the spark he provided for the offense came too late in the contest. The offense seemed to respond to the young quarterback, and you could see a concerted effort by players like wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer after Osweiler was inserted into the lineup. All of the Broncos' 13 points came with Osweiler at the helm.
Kubiak liked what he saw from the young quarterback.
“He battled. He came out of some piles. Protection-wise, we didn’t protect him well at times, and yet he came out and made plays. He took some shots going down the field physically to help make plays for his team. I’m not surprised. He’s been working really hard. He’s a listener. He’s been watching [No.] 18 for many, many years.” Kubiak concluded, “I think he’s always working toward his opportunity. He went in there and battled.”
Osweiler can efficiently run the Kubiak system as designed.
He has the athleticism to keep plays alive with his feet while keeping his eyes downfield. This makes Osweiler dangerous on bootleg plays and rollouts—both hallmarks of the true Kubiak offense. If no receiver comes open within a reasonable time, Osweiler has no fear when taking off to pick up yards as a rusher.
Osweiler has a rocket arm, and he can stretch the field vertically. He’ll take chances in one-on-one situations on the outside, and this keeps a defense on its heels. By throwing deep, Osweiler opens things up on underneath routes. His incredible arm strength also helps him fit passes into tight windows.
Running Game Makes Little Impact
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The Broncos have not yet figured out how to run the ball consistently. They’ve had three 100-yard rushing games this year, but those have come from their backup back. When C.J. Anderson was starting, Ronnie Hillman was able to go over the century mark twice. When Hillman has been the lead back, Anderson was able to go over 100 yards once.
Against the Chiefs, the Broncos ran for 69 yards and one touchdown. Hillman started for the third game in a row, and he finished with 14 carries, 42 yards and one score. Anderson saw his smallest workload of the 2015 season; he had only two carries for nine yards against the Chiefs.
Hillman summed up the offense's problems after the game.
“We’ve got to figure it out. What we do, we’ve got to get back on track, and we’ve got the second half of football. We have to get it going. This month, next month, we have a couple of months to get it going, and we have to. It’s imperative.” Hillman continued, “We’re going to get it done and go back to the boards tomorrow, watch the film, see what mistakes we made, try not to make them again.”
The lack of a rushing attack has made a negative impact on the entire offense. The Broncos fell behind early, and that’s one of the reasons why they shied away from their rushing attack. With a one-dimensional offense, the Chiefs defense was able to get after Osweiler with no worry of getting gashed by any Broncos backs.
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Emmanuel Sanders Gets Hurt
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Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders entered the game banged-up, and he exited the game banged-up on Sunday. After not practicing all week with an ankle and shoulder injury, Sanders was considered a game-time decision. He warmed up before the Chiefs game, and the team determined he was healthy enough to play.
Kubiak revealed the team had a plan for Sanders.
“We felt like Emmanuel could play about 30 plays in the game. He was fine. He could play. He worked out good for us before the game. He said, ‘Coach, I’m good.’ That was what we needed him to do. Obviously, I didn’t see the play specifically that he got dinged on.”
Sanders was targeted four times on Sunday, but he failed to come down with a single catch. He was going to bring in a catch when he was hit hard near the sidelines by Chiefs defender Daniel Sorensen. The hit looked vicious, but Sanders was determined not to be a defenseless receiver, and the hit was not flagged.
The veteran receiver was clearly shaken up after that play. The team quickly and thoroughly evaluated him for a concussion.
Kubiak shared good news about Sanders after the game. “I do know that he did pass the [concussion] test, but I chose to keep him out of the game when he came back out. That was my decision.”
Sanders should be limited next week during practice as the team prepares for a game against the Chicago Bears and former head coach John Fox. There’s a chance Sanders doesn’t practice until Friday, and there’s even a chance he will miss the entire week of practice for the second week in a row.
Pass-Rushers Struggle to Pressure Alex Smith
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The Broncos defense has played at an incredible level to start the season, but over the last two weeks they have struggled to make an impact. The defense was only able to sack Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith twice while also hitting him six times. Von Miller had one sack, and Sylvester Williams had the other.
Miller was brutally honest when summing up the defenses performance against the Chiefs.
“We didn't play well on defense. We didn't play well enough as a team. We didn't do much to get the spark going as a team. From a defensive standpoint, we didn't create turnovers and gave them a short field. We just didn't do that tonight, but that's how we've been playing all year.” Miller summarized.
“We were just waiting around and waiting for someone to do something. As a defense, we went out there and got turnovers. We just didn't do that today.”
The Chiefs average starting point on 14 drives was their own 45-yard line. Getting the ball near midfield meant the Chiefs were able to put a lot of pressure on the defense and score plenty of points. Once the offense can get back to play with a consistent and balanced attack, then this defense should be able to play better. That means the pass-rushers might be able to do more against outmatched opponents.
All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.
Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.
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