In ugly Christmas night win, it was evident what the Broncos need to fix

The Broncos escaped on Christmas night. They managed to win a game against a depleted Chiefs team, up their record to 13-3 and set up a winner-take-all matchup with the Chargers, assuming Los Angeles beats Houston on Saturday, next weekend for the AFC West and the No. 1 seed.

At the end of the day, that’s all that matters, something their head coach knows. But it’s not the end of the story.

The doom-and-gloom crowd will lament the fact that Denver only won 20-13. After all, they were favored by nearly two touchdowns heading into a game against Chris Oladokun, Kansas City’s third-string quarterback.

And they have a point. It’s hard to feel good about a game that was tied at the two-minute warning against an opponent that was already thinking about January trips to Cancun.

But anyone who watched the game, or can read a boxscore, knows that it wasn’t a close game. The Broncos dominated in every way; the Chiefs simply benefited from a short field after a wacky Bo Nix interception and got some beneficial flags to somehow put 13 points on the scoreboard.

Denver had 22 first downs. K.C. had 10.

The Broncos had 303 yards of total offense. The Chiefs put up 139.

Sean Payton’s team had the ball for 39:28 of the game. Andy Reid’s crew had it for 20:32.

One team dominated. The other tried to shorten the game and hope for a good bounce, or call, to go their way.

In the end, the better team won. And that’s all that matters.

But that doesn’t mean all is rosy. The Broncos still can come up with some important takeaways from the game. There’s data they can use to prepare for the huge showdown that is looming on the first weekend in January.

Offensively, the Broncos moved the ball up and down the field and they largely stuffed an anemic Chiefs offense. But they still had two fatal flaws.

One, Denver had to settle for too many field goals. Their opening drive went for 56 yards on 14 plays, burning 8:02 of game clock, but only ended in three points on a 27-yard boot. The Broncos other scoring march in the first half was 16 plays for 79 yards, over 8:04 of elapsed time, but also netted another Wil Lutz chip shot from 30 yards out.

It’s hard to win playoff games kicking field goals. More specifically, it’s hard to get a victory in the postseason when long drives end in three-point attempts. When a team gets in the red zone, they have to put seven on the board; field goals need to reserved for drives that stall around the 35-yard line.

Second, the Broncos need to rediscover their pass rush. They came into the game with a league-leading 63 sacks, which is 13 ahead of their nearest competitor. But they hardly touched a quarterback making his first start, allowing him to make enough plays off schedule to keep things interesting. They only had one sack on the night.

More specifically, Denver needs to start getting something out of their three best pass rushers. In the team’s last three games, Nik Bonitto has zero sacks. In double that amount of time, Jonathon Cooper has just 0.5. Ditto for Zach Allen, who also has just a half sack in the last six contests. That’s a total of one sack in 15 combined games for the Broncos three premium pass rushers.

Denver is going to have to win in the postseason by relying on their defense. That’s the strength of the team. Their offense needs to be opportunistic and avoid mistakes. The other side of the ball needs to carry them.

But that’s not going to happen without a pass rush. And with Allen, Bonitto and Cooper suddenly MIA, it’s going to be a challenge for Vance Joseph to figure out how to make the opposing quarterback uncomfortable.

Does the Broncos defense coordinator need to dial up some blitzes? Does he need to have Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman on the field more, as they’ve been the more effective tandem of edge rushers in December, combing for three sacks in the last three games?

He has 10 days to figure it out. So does Payton when it comes to his team’s red-zone woes.

If they do, Denver can capture the No. 1 seed and become a Super Bowl favorite. If they don’t, they have the makings of a one-and-done postseason disappointment.

The final score didn’t matter on Christmas night. The Broncos simply needed to find a way to win, which they did.

But the game did point out what needs to be the focus of the team’s preparation during their mini-bye and tune up for the season finale. Long drives can’t end in short field goals. The other team’s quarterback can’t be comfy in the pocket and able to escape for off-schedule, chain-moving plays.

Solve those riddles and Denver is onto something. Let them remain mysteries and the season will end quickly.

Christmas night was a warning. The Broncos need to heed the message.

Related

Sean Payton shares thoughts on Drew Brees and Bo Nix comparisonsJaylen Waddle makes highlight-reel play at Broncos training campSean Payton has an idea of who will coach Broncos the day he misses practicePat Surtain II snubbed by Madden rating, Bonitto regardedDo the Broncos have to choose between Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian?The Broncos’ one-score magic has an expiration date