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The Denver Broncos made history on October 29 after beating the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Week 8 victory ended Denver’s 16-game losing streak to the Chiefs dating back to the 2015 season. After the Broncos won 24-9, Denver decided to troll Kansas City and played Taylor Swift’s hit song, “Shake it Off” after the game, since she’s dating Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce.
Kelce and Swift have been the biggest storyline not only in the sports this season, but also the biggest story in the pop culture world.
On October 2, Forbes reported that Kelce and the NFL have benefitted from Swift.
Per Forbes, Kelce added more than 383,000 new followers on his Instagram account, Kelce’s jersey sales have increased by 400%, and his podcast with his brother is ranked No. 1 on Apple’s charts.
The first game Swift attended for Kelce was also the most watched program with females including Women 18-49 in which it was reported by Roku TV of a ratings growth of 63%.
According to Today.com, before Kelce’s game against the Broncos, the Chiefs never lost a game in which Swift was attending and Kelce averaged 108 yards per game. With Swift not in attendance, Kelce is averaging just 46.5 yards per game.
Kelce Has Always Dominated Denver, Except for Last Game
After appearing in just one game as a rookie, Kelce got more playing time in 2014 which has led to him becoming not only one of the most dominant tight ends in today’s NFL, but in NFL history.
During his 11-year career, Kelce has dominated the Broncos in nearly every game he’s played because Denver has struggled to cover him with their linebackers, and at times, safeties.
In 19 games against the Broncos, Kelce owns a 15-4 overall record, averages 77.5 receiving yards per game, and has scored six touchdowns. Those receiving yards and touchdowns are the third most against any team Kelce has faced of at least five times in his career.
Of those 19 games, Kelce has had six 100-yard games against the Broncos and has gone over the 70 mark 10 different times.
Surprisingly enough, Kelce has not scored a touchdown in his last four meetings with Denver.
In Week 8, the Broncos held Kelce to 6 catches for just 58 yards and some might say, it was because his girlfriend was not in attendance.
Denver’s Defense has Stepped Up
In 2022, the Broncos finished with the 14th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL after they were ranked at the top for most of the season.
In the offseason, Denver hired their former head coach Vance Joseph to come back and be their defensive coordinator. After putting their bad history in the past, Joseph and the Broncos were ready for a fresh start, but things didn’t start off too hot.
During the first three games of the season, Joseph’s defense was giving up an average of 40.6 points per game including a game in which the Miami Dolphins dropped 70 on his defense.
Since the Miami loss, Joseph’s defense has turned things around, over the past five games, the Broncos are allowing just 19 points per game.
The Broncos have also found a way to force turnovers.
In their first three games, Joseph’s defense only forced one turnover and that came on opening day against the Las Vegas Raiders. After their horrific loss to Miami, the Broncos have forced 11 turnovers to make it 12 total on the season which ranks as the fifth-most in the NFL overall.
Half of those turnovers have also come from their two games against the Chiefs while holding Kansas City to just 14 points per game.
If the Broncos don’t decide to make any moves at the trade deadline and keep their defensive starters, Joseph and his defense are going to need to continue to keep opposing offenses out of the endzone to help their offense that is averaging just 21 points per game.
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