Numbers don’t lie.There are two from the Denver Broncos 27-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night that tell the
story.Thirty-seven.Twenty-two.The first is the number of pass plays called by
Broncos offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. The second is the running plays
called by Musgrave. For those in Broncos Country
Garett Bolles Jersey , the question pinging around from the fourth quarter until this morning — why?The Chiefs defense could not stop Denver from rushing
the ball if they tried. Kansas City could have had 22 guys on the field, and it
still couldn’t stop the Broncos from running the ball. That is a slight
exaggeration, but you get the point.As a team, Denver averaged over seven yards
per attempt, led by the dynamic rookie duo of Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay.
They became just the fourth pair of rookie running backs in NFL history to rush
for at least 65 yards and a touchdown for their team in the same game. That is
remarkable. But when you look at the 37 passes to 22 rushes, you would think
Denver was trailing most of the game. But that’s not the case. At all. The
Broncos actually had a 23-13 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. It’s even
more egregious when you see Freeman had only eight carries and was on the field
less than Devontae Booker (33 percent for Booker, as opposed to 27 percent for
Freeman). In that situation and with how he was running, Freeman should have
gotten the carries to help eat time and give the defense a breather.So,
again
Authentic Jake Butt Jersey , as Adam Malnati and I asked on the MHR Radio Podcast, why?As I noted in the winners and losers story after the game, if
Musgrave calls 30 or more runs in that game, Denver may have won. And if you
look at the second-to-last drive, it seems he abandoned the run after first
down. Lindsay was stopped for a 1-yard gain and Musgrave proceeded to call two
pass plays that resulted in a killer three-and-out. Over the course of the game,
it seemed Musgrave abandoned the run no matter how many yards were gained on
first down. Why? As noted earlier, why wasn’t Freeman in the game in that
crucial drive in the fourth quarter?One is left to wonder if Musgrave was in
some sort of competition with Andy Reid and the Chiefs offense. Did he want to
show how much of an offensive genius he was, rather than stick with what was
working for his unit? It just made no damn sense to me.It was obvious from the
second offensive play that the Broncos would control the line of scrimmage and
dominate with their run game. As the game wore on, that became more apparent to
everyone ... save for the guy who matters most.But wait
Youth Connor McGovern Jersey , it gets better (or worse). Musgrave moved to the coaches box for this game. The thought was that, if he could see the
whole field, it would help with his play calling. No, seriously. You can’t make
this shit up.Musgrave’s incompetence cost his team a win in a game it should
have won, and it takes away from the performance of Freeman and Lindsay. In
fact, had Musgrave done what any capable offensive coordinator would have,
Freeman and Lindsay would have finished with better nights (namely Freeman, who
had only eight freaking carries) and the Broncos would have won.Numbers don’t
lie.The MHR Radio Podcast is now on iTunes, Google Play
http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-courtland-sutton-jersey , Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn. Please subscribe to the one that fits your fancy,
and also rate and review what you hear. Anyone who has watched football this
year knows the Chiefs can stretch the field.But according to one opponent, they
stretched it beyond a half-marathon.Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr.
told?Lindsay Jones of
The Athletic that his Fitbit tracker he wears on game days showed he ran nearly 15 miles when he played against the Chiefs. He
said he couldn’t remember a time when the tracker showed him at more than 11
miles.??n that game, that was the worst I??e ever felt,??Harris said. ??ust
physically, I was drained. I had no burst, I was just done.??hile it’s
reasonable to wonder about the accuracy of Harris’ GPS unit (15 miles is 26,400
yards
Royce Freeman Jersey , and not even Patrick Mahomes can throw that far), it’s not taking it too far to say the Chiefs make people run more than others.
They’re tied for first in the league at 6.9 yards per play.After playing the
Chiefs, the Broncos played at the Jets and were blown out (allowing 512 yards),
and Harris couldn’t help seeing a correlation.?? think there was,” Harris said.
“We came out so flat and just didn?? play good. But then, we also played Monday
night and had to travel east.”Four of the six teams the Chiefs played gave up
more than their average yardage the following week, so there appears to be
something to the hangover that comes after chasing the Chiefs around.
