Kansas City Chiefs just gained a bit of an advantage against the Denver Broncos in the worst way for Week 8
The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Denver Broncos in Week 8, and they could be without Jaylen Waddle.
The Kansas City Chiefs now have the advantage over the Denver Broncos heading into Week 8. But it’s not coming in a good way. In fact, it’s coming in one of the worst ways possible. Broncos WR Jaylen Waddle could miss Sunday’s game.
According to Ian Rapoport, Waddle aggravated his previous chest injury, and sources say his status for Sunday vs. the Chiefs will be determined later. Waddle’s availability will depend on how Denver practices this week. But it seems likely he won’t play. And that helps the Chiefs. He’s elite with his speed and deep ball ability.
But the Broncos have struggled lately with the deep ball. Now, yes, that is an advantage, but it’s not the way you want to gain one. If you’re the Chiefs, you want to beat teams at their best. The way you just lost isn’t how anyone expected you to lose.
And it showed they are still a ways from competing for a Super Bowl this season. So, you want to beat other great teams at their best. And you hate to see great players get injured.
Chiefs defense has less to worry about down the field
The Broncos do not throw the ball well downfield. They don’t do that well with Waddle. Add in that Waddle may be out, and this could be huge for the Chiefs.
Next Gen Stats show that quarterback Bo Nix was highly effective on short passes, connecting on 11 of 13 attempts under 10 air yards for 114 yards and a touchdown. However, he completed only four of 12 deeper throws for 108 yards. Notably, 66.2% of Nix’s passing yards came after the catch, bringing his season total to 64.4%, the second-highest mark in the league behind Jalon Daniels of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Denver is 31st in air yards with just 489, which measures the yardage the ball travels on completions, excluding yards after the catch. The Broncos also rank 30th in Intended Air Yards at 1,230, indicating they rarely attempt long passes. Their Average Depth of Target is only 6.4 yards, the lowest in the league.
These factors make the Broncos’ offense much easier to defend. While the offensive line hasn’t matched last year’s efficiency, it’s still solid, ranking 11th in fewest pressures allowed and eighth in average time to throw at 2.96 seconds. Although these metrics don’t capture everything, they indicate Denver’s deep passing game should be performing at a higher level.
