Kansas City Chiefs Report Card Vs Denver Broncos
Sep 14, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) catches a touchdown pass during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
THE DEFENSE
Eric Berry – GRADE: C- (left game early but, couldn’t contain Julius Thomas when playing)
Marcus Cooper – GRADE: C+
Tamba Hali – GRADE: B
Justin Houston – GRADE: D
OVERALL DEFENSIVE GRADE: C-
The Chiefs defense opened the game horribly. After giving up a 48 yard bomb to Emmanuel Sanders on the very first play from scrimmage, you were left feeling helpless as the route was on for the Broncos.
Manning threw at Marcus Cooper early and often, beating him on most occasions. However, Cooper stood his ground and came up with two big pass deflections that stopped two drives from the Broncos offense. So while yes, he did struggle, he did some nice things in this game that earned him a C+ grade.
Eric Berry, however, struggled to cover Julius Thomas much like the two games last season. Berry had one-on-one coverage with Thomas on the opening drive and failed to keep up with him on a fade route in the endzone. He later allowed some big plays up the middle. Not sure if the ankle was bothering him all game or not but his time spent on the field wasn’t great which is why I gave him a C-.
Tamba Hali played pretty well, blowing up Montee Ball for his lone sack and also finishing with two tackles for a loss. The Broncos offense is designed to take away the Chiefs pass rush so Hali making an impact was great to see.
His partner in crime though, Justin Houston, was virtually no where to be found. You barely heard his name called and didn’t make an impact in this game. He was coming off a nice week one performance but couldn’t build on it in week two. I look for him to bounce back next week in Miami.
All-in-all, the defense didn’t play great in the first half, allowing Peyton Manning to throw 3 touchdowns and 191 yards. They did stiffen up in the second half though, only giving up a field goal and coming up with some big stops that helped keep them in the game.
Though it wasn’t pretty, I gave the Chiefs defense a C- for their efforts against this elite offense.