Broncos

A pair of Broncos special teamers had critical errors in Sunday’s 29-28 loss to the Colts. Starting K Wil Lutz missed a field goal that would have put Denver up by five and forced the Colts to drive for a touchdown instead of a field goal. After the defense stood Indianapolis up and forced a 60-yard attempt, OLB Dondrea Tillman was called for a leverage penalty on the miss, giving the Colts a do-over that they aced. But after the game, teammates were staunchly defending both players against accusations that they were the reason for the loss.

“I think that’s (BS),” Broncos RT Mike McGlinchey said via USA Today’s Jon Heath. “One play doesn’t define a football game. I’m sure all 22 guys that start on this team would want a play back in this game. It doesn’t excuse not converting third downs. It doesn’t excuse not putting the ball in the end zone when we can, or getting a stop when we need one.

“So, to have it boiled down to one play is nonsense to me, and that’s just not how football is played. You’ve got to pick our guys up, because I know – I’ve been in those moments where it feels like the whole world is on you, and it sucks. But they’ve got to trust themselves that they’ll come back from this and be the great players that they are.”

Broncos QB Bo Nix agreed with his teammate, pointing out he had plenty of chances to help Denver compile a bigger lead than just one point.

“[I]f this game came down to one play, we would just do that one play and all go home,” Nix said. “It would save a lot of guys a lot of grit and effort and a lot of pain from playing the full game. So obviously, we’re glad we don’t just play that one play, but it’s tough. You could take away – you could talk about my interception, you could talk about the field goal, you could talk about a missed opportunity on one of the drives we went three-and-out and couldn’t get points. It’s a whole game that comes down to a few key moments, and unfortunately, we had some negative key moments tonight.

“But we gave ourselves every chance to win the game, and then at the end we just shot ourselves in the foot. And good teams bounce back from that. Great teams don’t do that. They don’t beat themselves. So we’re growing and developing, we’re still holding as a team. We got a long season ahead of us and can’t let this loss turn into two.”

Chiefs

The pivotal play of the game between the Eagles and Chiefs in their Super Bowl rematch on Sunday was a drop from TE Travis Kelce that caromed into the arms of second-round S Andrew Mukuba, with the ensuing big return setting the Eagles up for a touchdown drive that put them up by 10 points in the fourth quarter. Had Kelce hung onto the ball, it would have been a go-ahead touchdown.

Instead Kansas City is 0-2 and teetering on the ropes already. Kelce didn’t speak after the game but other team leaders did, conveying the message that the season is far from over.

“When you deal with adversity, it’s about how you deal with it,” QB Patrick Mahomes said via the Athletic’s Jesse Newell. “Obviously, this isn’t how we wanted to start, but how are we going to respond? I’m excited for the next few weeks to see who wants to be challenged and how we can get back and really get after it.”

“We’ve got a group of guys that, I know, it’s not going to be the tale of this team,” Chiefs DE George Karlaftis added. “And we’re going to rally behind each other and just give it our all, and we’re going to be successful. We’re going to find a way to find a way.”

Raiders

Culture is one of the trendy buzzwords floating around the league these days as teams try to replicate the success of the Lions, Eagles and other top franchises. But it’s much more intangible than something like quality tackle play and harder to get a grip on. The Raiders are attempting to reset their organizational culture with HC Pete Carroll, one of the best in the business in that area. The other key part of the equation is the quarterback, and Raiders GM John Spytek said culture was a big reason they gravitated toward a reunion between Carroll and former Seahawks QB Geno Smith.

“Pete knew everything there was to know about him, and he had played his best football for Pete. And so when we talked about what we wanted … you listen to (Pete) talk (about Smith) and ‘he’s got this trait and this trait and this trait,’ and that’s all the stuff we’re looking for,” Spytek said via the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. “…Pete had a front-row seat to that. When I’ve manifested in my head what I’ve wanted in a quarterback … it was a lot of the same stuff that Pete could confirm that Geno had. And ultimately it just felt like he was the right guy for us right now, to be the kind of football team we want to be. People can say what they want about adversity, stuff like that. My journey has been that those guys who have been through it and know they’re gonna be OK — myself included — there’s so much value in that. They’ll inspire other people, too.”

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