Bo Nix and the Broncos faced a third-and-1 at their 32-yard line with five minutes left in the second quarter of a tie game. RJ Harvey was in the backfield as the Broncos got to the line of scrimmage, but he motioned outside, leaving Nix alone in the backfield. At the snap, pressure arrived quickly, and Nix couldn’t hit Jaylen Waddle in the flat, forcing a Broncos punt.
It was a head-scratching sequence for the Broncos and was a microcosm of a first half in which they rarely tested Kansas City’s run defense. While the Chiefs’ Kenneth Walker ran the ball 14 times for 89 yards, Broncos starting running back J.K. Dobbins had three carries for 5 yards. Harvey added two carries for 13 yards. That was all the work for Denver’s backs.
Nix was sharp on a touchdown drive in the first quarter, hitting Pat Bryant for three first downs before hitting an open Evan Engram for a 19-yard touchdown, but his footwork has betrayed him at times during a first half in which he was sacked twice and threw an interception on his first pass attempt. The Broncos need to get Nix settled down in this game, and finding traction in the run game would be a good place to start.