Nix answered, Mims gets new role and the Denver defense held tough
Nov 11, 2024, 7:14 AM
The Denver Broncos proved they could hang with the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, and they almost won on the road in Week 10 had it not been for their lst second field goal getting blocked.
The Broncos are now a .500 team with a 5-5 record. Broncos head coach Sean Payton was beside himself after the tough loss.
“Obviously a tough loss. I thought we played well on the road. We thought third down was going to be important. We won that battle. It felt like we outplayed them, but we didn’t finish. We had an opportunity to right at the end. We controlled the ball. We have to be able to finish. That one will take a while. It will sting. When you do this long enough, hopefully you are on the better half, not the other way around, on tough losses like that. I told our team I was proud of how they fought. I thought we outplayed them. None the less, you have to beat a champion. We weren’t able to do it. It is gut wrenching,” Payton said.
Here are three observations from the Broncos loss to the Chiefs in Week 9.
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Bo Nix Plays Well Against the Champs
The Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions mostly because of their explosive offense, but this season it’s been their defense that has led the way to their undefeated record. They have a great defense, and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix played well against them.
While he looked nervous against the Baltimore Ravens last week, Nix looked comfortable as he picked apart a much better defense. Nix was steady when reading the defense, and he didn’t abandon the plays as the rush fell in on him. Instead, Nix did a great job of stepping up in the pocket while keeping his eyes down the field as a passer.
Nix can run when necessary, but he wants to beat you with his arm. He did a good job of staying on time and on target with his receivers. After this loss, Nix knows what the team has to do moving forward.
“We’ve got to go back to work. All we want to see is effort, intensity, passion and love for the game of football. That’s what they’re going to continue to get from me and everybody in the locker room. It doesn’t hurt you if you don’t care. It doesn’t hurt if it doesn’t mean anything to you. It doesn’t hurt if you don’t put in the work and want the good result. Everyone in that locker room is hurt because we do all that stuff. We put in the energy, the effort, out there practicing in the snow, doing all this stuff and it’s hard, it’s difficult. Eventually, it’s going to go in our favor but right now, it hasn’t. The easy thing to do is give in and stop, say that it’s too hard. I feel like our locker room is going to respond better and consistently find ways to improve, find ways to keep going toe-to-toe with teams like this. One time, it’ll go our way,” Nix said.
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Marvin Mims Has an Expanded Role
In his second season, wide receiver Marvin Mims has not been asked to do much on offense. He’s barely been used on offense so far this year, and Mims had to be frustrated with such a small role. His speed makes him a danger anytime he touches the ball. Against the Chiefs, the plan was to give Mims an expanded role and he was ready for the work.
Mims lined up in the backfield and carried the ball like a back at times. Other teams do this with speedy receivers, and it was nice to see Payton try it out with Mims. He finished the game with three carries for 17 yards, and his speed meant the Chiefs had to adjust to something different.
He’s never had four receptions in a game during his career, but Mims hit the mark against the Chiefs. Mims had four catches for only 13 yards, but it was good to design plays where he could take short passes and potentially turn them into long gains. It didn’t lead to an explosive play, but those are coming for Mims. Payton knows they have to get him the ball more, and the coach was happy with the young receiver’s performance.
“Just trying to get him touches. There were a handful of plays with the RPOs where we actually put him at running back a few times. I thought we did well,” Payton said.
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Broncos Defense Prevents Chiefs Touchdowns
The Broncos defense was great in the red zone against the Chiefs. The team went into halftime with a 14-10 lead, but after the break the Chiefs moved the ball much better. It’s a bend-but-don’t-break defense, and when the Chiefs were close to the end zone they were not able to finish the second-half drives with a touchdown.
The Chiefs scored six points in the second half. Both field goals (one in the third quarter, one in the fourth quarter) were shorter because the Broncos defense stopped the Chiefs from scoring close touchdowns.
Payton believes in Vance Joseph’s defense, and once again that side of the ball was strong against Patrick Mahomes. The superstar quarterback was hit nine times, and the Broncos sacked him four times.
“One of the keys was going to be third downs and red zone efficiency. Man, we did it a year ago really well here if you recall. They moved the ball but held them to field goals and we were able to do that today,” Payton said.
