The Broncos got the kind of win that can define a season, but it came with a price in the secondary. Denver’s 28-24 comeback over the Chiefs on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High was overshadowed by another injury blow, as starting safety Brandon Jones was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Jones was taken off the field at halftime, according to the Associated Press, and that left Denver without both of its starting safeties for the rest of the game. He had already been managing the hamstring issue before kickoff, after being added to Thursday’s injury report as a limited participant.
He stayed limited on Friday, was listed as questionable, and still got the green light to play. His day, though, ended early.
The timing made the loss even tougher for Denver. Fellow starting safety Talanoa Hufanga had already been ruled out with an ankle injury and missed his third straight game. That forced the Broncos to lean on depth against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s passing game.
The hits kept coming for Denver’s secondary in the second quarter, when cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine went down with an ankle injury as well.
Even with all of that working against them, the Broncos’ defense came through in the biggest moments. Kansas City pushed deep inside the Broncos’ 5-yard line in the final minute, trying to steal the game back. Denver answered by stopping Kenneth Walker III on third-and-goal, then watched Malcolm Roach sack Mahomes on the final play to seal the win.
Jones’ injury matters because of how central he is to what Denver does on defense. The Broncos are now 6-2 and sitting alone in first place in the AFC West, but they’ll be watching the injury report closely this week.
Denver heads to Carolina next Sunday, and Jones will have time to recover before that trip. For now, his status is still up in the air, with no recovery timetable announced.
In Other News...
Chiefs Meltdown Added Even More To Denvers First-Place Win
The Broncos Week 8 win over Kansas City already carried plenty of weight, but the ripple effects made it feel even bigger in Denver. A 28-24 victory pushed the Broncos to 6-2 and dropped the Chiefs to 5-2, flipping the AFC West standings and giving Denver a first-place spot it had been chasing.
Kansas Citys frustration spilled well beyond the field after the game, with Brittany Mahomes taking to Instagram Stories to criticize a late penalty that wiped out a potential turning point. For the Broncos, it was the kind of divisional win that does more than add a mark in the standings, because it also leaves the rival most likely to challenge them dealing with the fallout. [Read more 🡒]
Mahomes Postgame Drama Briefly Took Attention From Denvers Biggest Win
The Broncos biggest win of the season came with some extra postgame noise after Kansas Citys second straight loss turned into a heated finish. The Chiefs fell to 5-2 after a late false start penalty wiped out their chance to win, and Patrick Mahomes spent much of his postgame availability venting about the officiating after throwing for 321 yards and three touchdowns on 30 completions.
A viral clip then briefly shifted attention to a supposed handshake snub involving Mahomes and Bo Nix, but the moment did not match what actually happened on the field. CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson clarified that the quarterbacks had a long conversation after the game and showed each other respect, a small but telling detail after a night that had already delivered plenty of drama for Denver to enjoy. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Win Over Chiefs Raised A Bigger J.K. Dobbins Question
The Broncos Week 8 win over the Chiefs gave the offense a jolt, and Jonah Coleman was a big part of it with 104 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. It was the kind of performance that can change the tone around a backfield, especially in a game with that much weight attached to it, because Denver found production when it mattered most and showed it has more than one option to lean on.
J.K. Dobbins, meanwhile, was left with a much smaller footprint in the game plan, which only sharpened the questions about how the Broncos want to divide the work going forward. With the backfield hierarchy already worth watching, the possibility of Denver exploring another move at the position adds another layer to a situation that suddenly feels less settled than it did before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]