The Kansas City Chiefs know how important their matchup against the Denver Broncos on Sunday is.
They beat Denver handily 31-10 in Week 1, but aren’t getting caught up in that. The Broncos have gone 5-1 since then, and have won each of their last three games. With the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers both having losing records, the AFC West will likely come down to the Chiefs and Denver.
Kansas City Chiefs Focused on Limiting Broncos QB Bo Nix’s Rushing Ability
One struggle the Chiefs’ defense has had this season is containing quarterbacks from pulling the ball down and running. Last week Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold, who isn’t very mobile, ran for two first downs against them.
Nix is one of the best running QBs in the NFL. He has 110 rushing yards so far this season, and 896 total throughout his three-year career. Last week Nix ripped a 62-yard touchdown run against the Arizona Cardinals. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said he is refocusing his unit to be aware of Nix’s scrambling abilities.
“When we play these athletic quarterbacks, and I put Bo in that [category], we do some things differently up front,” Spagnuolo said. “We didn’t do it as much against Sam Darnold, and that wasn’t a lack of respect, we just thought we could do it a different way. The plan (for Nix) will change a little bit. I thought we did a good job containing him in the first game.”
“When we play these elite athletic quarterbacks, and I’d put Bo in that group, we do some things differently up front … I thought we did a good job containing him in the first game. Hopefully, we can do the
Nick Bolton, Peter Woods Focused on Containing Nix
Several key Chiefs defenders are also locked in on Nix’s rushing ability. Linebacker Nick Bolton will play a big role in that, and believes the defense can take some lessons from how they contained Nix earlier this season.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Bolton said. “Mix up disguises, try to confuse him a little bit. Try to mix up a couple of different looks. In the first game of the year we did that really well. We’ll try to replicate that this week.”
Rookie defensive tackle Peter Woods also has a lot of respect for Nix, and believes the defense will be prepared to handle him.
“Bo Nix is a tremendous quarterback,” Woods said. “Very athletic, got a lot of tools. We have to be coordinator as a d-line and rush together. That comes with reps and repetition, especially for new players. That’s something I think we’re grinding at and getting better at on the daily. I thought we did a really good job of that in our first game, playing that same quarterback.”
Chiefs Make Main Objective Against Broncos Crystal Clear