The Kansas City Chiefs’ 43-16 win over the Denver Broncos marked the club’s tenth consecutive victory over their AFC West division rival. Despite only 200 passing yards from Patrick Mahomes on a snowy afternoon in the Mile High City, the Week 7 contest was never much in doubt.
However, not everyone looking at the box scores from the past five seasons is drawing the same conclusion. Denver’s starting LT Garett Bolles, for example, had a particularly delusional outlook on the team’s track records when asked by reporters after Sunday’s blowout loss to Kansas City.
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The fourth-year starter has drastically improved his game in his age 28 season, however, it wasn’t enough to slow down Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive unit, which posted 3.0 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions of QB Drew Lock, including a 50-yard pick-six by S Daniel Sorensen.
Broncos’ Justin Simmons Echoes Teammates’ Comments
Whether his comments can be deemed rational or not, it seems Bolles isn’t alone in his feelings towards the Chiefs either. One of Denver’s defensive leaders, S Justin Simmons, doubled down on the idea that the gap between the 6-1 Chiefs and 2-4 Broncos isn’t all that wide.
To add insult to injury, only one player on the Broncos’ active roster, K Brandon McManus, has a win under their belt against the Chiefs since Denver’s last win against the Super Bowl champions in Week 2 of the 2015 regular season, as The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones pointed out after the game.
‘Young Patrick’ Mahomes Finding Different Ways to Win
Fans just tuning in in Week 7 might be surprised to hear that despite a 16:1 touchdown to interception ratio and a 6-1 record, the Chiefs’ superstar quarterback has only eclipsed 250 passing yards in three games this season. However, Sunday’s win was yet another example of Kansas City’s evolution from a high-flying offense to an all-around threat in all three phases of the game.
After the game, Mahomes, who was unable to convert a single third-down attempt (0-8) on Sunday, highlighted his more conservative play style as a positive development for both himself and the offense.
“We obviously didn’t play the way we wanted to offensively, but we continued to work and press on and got a touchdown there at the end,” said Mahomes. “It’s something that I’ve learned in my career so far — I was talking to Tyrann [Mathieu] about it after the game actually — I was like, ‘Young Patrick probably would have tried to force it and thrown a bad ball and maybe an interception.’ Whereas now, seeing the way that the defense is playing and knowing that it’s not there and maybe taking the sack or not completing the pass and throwing it away to where it’s not intercepted. You have to learn ways to win in this league, it’s not always going to be 400 passing yards or 200 rushing yards, it’s going to be finding ways to win and I think this team is doing a great job of doing that.”
With the 0-7 New York Jets coming to town next week, Mahomes may be in line for another subdued stat line should the contest get out of hand early. On Monday, the defending Super Bowl champions opened the week as 20-point favorites over the winless Jets — the widest margin given to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl era dating back to the early 1960s. widest margin given to the Chiefs
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Broncos Starters Make Absurd Comparison to Chiefs After 43-16 Loss