The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs last night on Christmas Day, 20-13, and while it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing how they won, the offensive formula is there for a deep playoff run.
Denver Broncos methodical approach key for playoff run
In their Christmas Day win against the Chiefs, the Broncos’ offense dominated the time of possession 39 minutes to Kansas City’s 20. Bo Nix and the Broncos offense faced a Steve Spagnuolo defense that is typically aggressive, but on a short week, he changed up the approach by dropping back into zone coverage and trying to allow four rushers to get home.
Nix did a great job of maneuvering against pressure whenever it happened, and we saw him create opportunities with his legs, especially with throwing on the run. Despite an early turnover off a deflected pass, Nix took what the defense gave him, which saw the Chiefs take away everything vertical from a route standpoint, and funnel everything inside.
“If we caught a shot for two high zone, you want to attack it,” Nix said. “Honestly, they were taking things away, so it was just finding completions underneath. This was one of those games where as you were playing it, you knew you weren’t going to throw for a lot of yards. You want to see how many completions you can hit in a row and get the ball to playmakers in space and get first down after first
down. You knew they were going to put a lid on it, but patience is key in a game like that. It is all about patience, one cut after another.”
Great callback to Dan Lanning.
In the first half, Nix pressed a bit, going 13-of-22 for 86 yards. When Denver came out of the half, Nix and the offense knew how to attack the Chiefs’ defense. Nix was decisive with where to go, going 13-of-16 passing in the second half, with a rushing and passing touchdown to RJ Harvey in the final minute.
Offensively, the formula is there for the Broncos to go on a run in the playoffs and it starts with ball control. In Thursday’s win, the Broncos had four offensive drives that featured 14, 16, 14, and 14 plays, resulting in two touchdowns and two field goals. Collectively, those drives accounted for 32 minutes of Denver’s 39 minutes overall time of possession.
“Here’s the thing,” Payton said. “It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be effective. I’ve said that before. That’s all that’s important.”
Denver’s offense was effective. And it featured some balance in the run and passing game, with Nix, Harvey, and Jaleel McLaughlin each rushing for over 40 yards.
What will matter the most come playoff time is whether or not the Broncos offense can continue to have long, effective drives the way they did on Thursday, but they need the defense to get stops, which has been a bit of a concerning trend since coming out of the bye week.
If the Broncos’ defense can get back to doing what they did in Weeks 1 through 11, and the offense can continue ascending, Denver is going to be the team that nobody wants to face in the postseason.