Broncos Used the Same Play to Beat the Chiefs Repeatedly on 3rd-and-Long
The Broncos beat the Chiefs with a last-second field goal in what was arguably the biggest win of the Sean Payton era, and it solidified Denver’s hold on the AFC West division race.
Bo Nix also played one of his best games of the season, completing 24 of 37 passes for 295 yards. His biggest impact came in key moments, though. He was particularly effective on 3rd-and-long, completing 6 of 8 passes for 107 yards. More importantly, the Broncos converted 4 of 8 third-and-long opportunities, each of which occurred on scoring drives.
The Broncos don’t win without those conversions.
Interestingly enough, Sean Payton didn’t go into his bag of tricks to help the Broncos win in those 3rd-and-long situations. Instead, 3 of the 4 conversions came on the exact same play.
This first one was a 3rd-and-11 on Denver’s opening drive. You can see the play concept illustrated below. To the left, the Broncos had two in-breakers or double-digs. To the back side, they had the X-receiver running a go-route:
