3 Chiefs Who Need More Playing Time to Crush Broncos in Week 8

2. Mecole Hardman

The Chiefs' largest problem against the Broncos was an extension of the offensive issues they've had so far: red zone efficiency.

Kansas City scored just one TD in five red zone trips. They kicked a field goal in two more, Mahomes threw an interception and then we had the ill-fated fake field goal resulting in a turnover on downs. After ranking among the league's best in red zone TD efficiency throughout Mahomes' career, this was obviously a problem.

Well, Hardman's biggest contributions to the offense come in the red zone. Kansas City scored three TDs in four trips and kicked a field goal in another against the Chargers. Hardman himself even had a critical third-down catch in the red zone to help score the clinching TD.

That play was a microcosm of the impact he has when the field shrinks.

He scored 18 touchdowns with the Chiefs over four seasons (adding another two on returns) and was obviously a trusted target for Mahomes. Hardman played only 16% of snaps but made a massive impact on the game.

Since he makes a clear impact in the area that the Chiefs struggled most in the Week 6 Broncos game, I'm hoping we see more snaps from the reliable red zone threat.

Finally, there's a defensive player making his debut in this rivalry that should SMOTHER Russell Wilson.