Denver’s 31-10 loss to Kansas City was ugly in just about every way. The Broncos managed only 176 total yards, converted two of 12 third downs, and watched the Chiefs control the ball for nearly 34 minutes.

But the number that should bother Denver the most isn’t 31.

It’s 28.

That’s how many tackles the Broncos missed Monday night. Those misses gave Kansas City 247 extra yards, the most any defense has allowed in a single game since Next Gen Stats began tracking the stat in 2018. Denver’s 29.8% missed-tackle rate was the third-worst over that span.

The Broncos even missed tackles at a higher rate than they did when Miami scored 70 points against them in 2023.

Giving up 31 points at Arrowhead is ugly, but it happens. What’s harder to explain is how often Denver had Kenneth Walker in their sights and still couldn’t get him on the ground.

This Wasn’t One Defender Having A Bad Night

Eight different Broncos missed multiple tackles. That’s not one guy having a rough night or one matchup going sideways. The linebackers missed them. The defensive linemen missed them. The defensive backs missed them. Pretty much everybody got in on it.

Alex Singleton led Denver with 15 tackles, but he also had five misses. Justin Strnad added four more. Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto were the only two front-line defenders who didn’t miss one.

And the misses showed up all over the field.

Patrick Mahomes shook off two defenders on his 15-yard touchdown run. Rashee Rice caught a pass at the line of scrimmage, ran through two tackle attempts, and turned it into a 13-yard score. Then, on fourth-and-1, Riley Moss couldn’t set the edge against Kenneth Walker III. A play that should’ve ended near the line of scrimmage turned into a 60-yard touchdown.

Kansas City didn’t need Mahomes to carve up one of the league’s best secondaries. He completed just 15 of 27 passes for 184 yards. The Chiefs kept handing the ball to Walker, then waited for somebody in orange to fall off.

Walker finished with a career-high 173 rushing yards, including an absurd 144 after contact. He forced 14 missed tackles, while the Chiefs ran for 220 yards on 38 carries. Even rookie Emmett Johnson got in on the fun late, stiff-arming his way through another tackle attempt for a 25-yard gain.

That’s why this felt like more than a few random mistakes. Denver’s defenders were actually usually in the right spot. They just couldn’t finish the play.

Denver’s Entire Defense Depends On Finishing Those Plays

This defense isn’t built to give up five or six yards at a time and just hope the next play goes better. Vance Joseph wants negative plays and enough time for his pass rush to make quarterbacks miserable.

That plan worked really well last season. Denver led the NFL with 68 sacks and allowed only 4.46 yards per play. The Broncos ranked second in rushing yards allowed, second on third down, and third in scoring defense. Allen, Bonitto, Pat Surtain II, and Talanoa Hufanga gave them elite-level talent at all three levels.

But none of that matters much if the first defender can’t finish the play.

Kansas City converted nine of 17 third downs and two of three fourth downs because Denver kept letting opportunities slip away. Instead of putting Bonitto and Allen in position to chase Mahomes on obvious passing downs, the Broncos spent the night cleaning up after Walker ran through or around somebody.

And this didn’t come out of nowhere. Denver gave up 183 rushing yards to Buffalo in last season’s divisional round and another 141 to New England in the AFC Championship Game. Then Kansas City added 220 more.

At this point, opponents have every reason to test the middle and edges of this defense before they even think about throwing at Surtain and the secondary.

That doesn’t mean Denver’s defense is suddenly broken. Tackling is one of the more fixable problems in football, and Allen said as much afterward. The Broncos were fundamentally sound for most of the last two seasons, so they’ve earned some patience after one bad game.

But “fixable” doesn’t mean harmless.

The 31 points will get most of the attention because that’s the number everyone sees first. The bigger warning was how Kansas City got there. Simple screens turned into touchdowns. Fourth-and-1 turned into a 60-yard run. Routine plays kept becoming big plays because a defense full of proven players couldn’t finish the most basic part of the job.

If Denver cleans that up right away, Monday becomes a bizarre Week 1 collapse against a motivated division rival.

If they don't, the Broncos will have a much bigger problem than one ugly final score.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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