3 takeaways from Chiefs 28-24 loss to Broncos

The Kansas City Chiefs lose 28-24 to the Denver Broncos. They drop to 5-2 on the NFL season. I'm Pete Sweeney in Denver for the Kansas City Star with three things that stood out. Let's start with a point that we had in the game preview. I told you that the Chiefs really needed to get pressure on Bo Nix because when Bo Nix is pressured, he is the worst quarterback in the NFL in terms of passer rating. Well, In short, the Chiefs didn't pressure Nix. ESPN stats and research came through with this stat after the game. The Chiefs got pressure on Nix just on two of 34 dropbacks or 6%, which is not good enough, and this is after they pressured Nix on almost 50% of his dropbacks in that week one blowout victory. The bat downs are great. I think George Karlaftis, since his sack is great, but if you let Bo Nix and the Broncos hang around long enough, they'll have enough time for that fourth quarter 11-point comeback. Number two point, I thought the offense did see a breath of fresh air with Rashee Rice. You see how important Rice is as an outlet for Patrick Mahomes. Seven catches on the night. The ever reliable Travis Kelce with five catches. Emmitt Johnson has his 140 scrimmage yard breakout with a 73 yard touchdown. I think very quietly here the Chiefs might have the best one-two running back combo in the league. But when you look at some of the miscues, the lost targets with Xavier Worthy, you do wonder that the Chiefs need to go out and add another wide receiver at the trade deadline next week. I think wide receiver is a need. Potentially pass rush juice is a need. Even some offensive line depth. You saw the benching with... Kingsley Suamataia today as well. They could use some offensive linemen potentially in the back end of that room, so the trade deadline is something to watch next week. Another thing I'm watching is Harrison Butker had another missed kick tonight. He did have three extra points and a field goal, but he does miss a kick late that would have given the Chiefs a six-point lead. That mattered in this game. Does that mean Justin Tucker could be called up from the practice squad? There's a lot of questions to be answered in the coming week. The last thing I want to talk about is something Patrick Mahomes said at the podium. He was honest. Last week, we didn't have the fight in this game. We had the fight, and you saw that even after giving up the lead in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs got all the way to the goal line. It just wasn't good enough. They'll need to carry that into next week against the New York Jets. I know it's a worse team, but now that you've lost this game, you've invited the Denver Broncos back into the AFC West conversation, and so every game is going to matter for this team. These have been three things that stood out here as the Chiefs lose 28-24. For the Kansas City Star in Denver, I'm Pete Sweeney.