Alex Singleton says the Broncos are pointing more fingers at themselves than anybody

The Denver Broncos came into their “Monday Night Football” opener at Arrowhead Stadium as the AFC’s reigning top seed. They left looking nothing like it.

Kansas City dismantled Denver 31-10 in a lopsided Week 1 affair that got away from the Broncos early in the second half and never came back. Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III gashed the Denver defense for 173 rushing yards, and Patrick Mahomes, just nine months removed from a torn ACL and LCL, looked plenty comfortable, accounting for three total touchdowns.

Bo Nix’s return from his own broken ankle started about as poorly as it could have. He was sacked on the game’s opening play and threw an interception two snaps later, setting up a Mahomes rushing touchdown that put Kansas City ahead 7-0 before most fans had settled into their seats. Nix bounced back briefly with a 19-yard touchdown strike to Evan Engram to tie the game, but the offense stalled from there, managing just a field goal the rest of the night.

The defense, meanwhile, couldn’t get off the field. Missed tackles plagued Denver all evening, and Walker repeatedly broke through arm attempts on his way to chunk gains, including a 60-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-one that put the game out of reach in the third quarter.

Inside linebacker and team captain Alex Singleton was among those left to answer tough questions afterward. He led Denver with 15 tackles but didn’t sugarcoat what happened.

“The expectations we have on ourselves are higher than everybody else,” Singleton told reporters. “You know, we expect to go 17-0 just like you guys.”

The eighth-year veteran acknowledged the need for mental resilience when things spiral the way they did Monday.

“When one play happens, we can’t get down on it. We can’t let it carry over to the next play.”

Singleton made clear the locker room won’t be waiting for outside criticism to drive the correction.

“We’re gonna point more fingers at ourselves than anybody outside of here can. We have to get better, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

It was a jarring start for a team that went 14-3 a year ago and reached the AFC Championship Game. The talk all offseason centered on taking the next step, not stumbling backward at the gate. Sean Payton preached starting fast and playing physical from the outset, and neither happened Monday night against a Chiefs squad that went 6-11 last season.

Denver drops to 0-1 and will look to regroup quickly. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who opened their season with a win over Cleveland, come to town on Sunday.

One ugly loss doesn’t define a season. But for a Broncos team that entered the year with Super Bowl expectations, the margin for error just got a little thinner.

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