Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett | KCSN Daily 12.26
Plus Week 17 stat preview, KCSN podcasts, quotes and more Chiefs news.
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The Chiefs will play their final home game of the regular season in Week 17, but they’ll be presented with a unique challenge. The Denver Broncos will have an interim head coach this week as they’ve fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett after just 15 games with the team.
“The fact that there could be some changes that take place, offensively, defensively, special teams,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid told reporters on Monday. “I’m not sure who they’ve put in that position to determine what goes on and not, but there’s always that chance that there’s a sudden change that’s going to take place here. You’ve just got to be aware of anything and everything.”
While the Broncos have yet to name an interim head coach, there is plenty for the Chiefs to learn from their Week 14 performance in Denver as they head into the upcoming game.
“Listen, they played well against us last time,” Reid said. “The quarterback had some big runs and (Jerry) Jeudy had some big catches. Their defense played well against us after we had the 27-0 lead. We had the interceptions and their pass defense was tremendous, which it has been all year, but it just kind of tightened up on us at that time.”
The team was already honed in on improving certain things after their last game against the Broncos. That only intensifies with the new challenge that awaits following Hackett’s dismissal.
“We've got to make sure that we’re on our A-Game,” Reid said. “They already had our attention from our last game. Whatever they did do with (Nathaniel) Hackett or didn’t do with Hackett, they had our attention. We know we’ve got to be ready. That’s there.”
KCSN Live Postgame Show:
KCSN’s BJ Kissel, Kent Swanson, and more go live following the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Seattle Seahawks to break it all down.
Stats to know ahead of Week 17 vs. Broncos:
Series history: Kansas City leads the all-time series with Denver 70-55. The Broncos have lost the last 14 consecutive games they’ve played against the Chiefs. To put that number into perspective, the last time Denver got a win against Kansas City, Peyton Manning was still their quarterback.
Games against an interim head coach: Is the “boost” that teams get with an interim head coach real? You can be the judge. Since the 2010 NFL season, teams have had a 15-10 overall record in their first game with an interim head coach. This season alone, teams are 1-1 in their first game with an interim coach. The Panthers lost in their first under Steve Wilks, but the Colts won in their first under Jeff Saturday.
Broncos’ defense remains a challenge: Even following a game where Denver surrendered over 50 points to their opponent it’s important to remember just how challenging this Broncos’ defensive unit can be. Through 15 games they rank seventh in points allowed (304), fifth in yards allowed (4,714), and the third-fewest red zone touchdowns in the league (44.7%).
KCSN Update:
KCSN’s BJ Kissel sits down with ESPN's Matt Miller to get his stock-up and stock-down reports following the Kansas City Chiefs' comfortable win over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.
Quotable:
“Yeah, they did a pretty good job. After I looked at it after I realized that they dropped - like my last guy was JuJu (Smith-Schuster) was wide open in the endzone but we had a play where we kind of had a front side read where I either wanted to either throw a flat to a little hook route to (Travis) Kelce across the middle and they covered it well and I started running trying to find the edge and I was able to just get enough of the pylon. I grazed it and I knew it was close. I grazed it and I knew the rule that if you touch the pylon, you’re good so luckily enough I stayed out of bounds and was able to get in the endzone.” - Patrick Mahomes on his Week 16 rushing TD
“Yeah, we knew we were capable of it. It’s just about going out there and doing it, though – not just saying it (and) going out there and executing it. Really putting it all together and this is the time of year to piece it all together. This is when you want your good teams to start getting hot and get ready to make that big run in January.” - Justin Reid on the defensive performance
Quick Hits:
From Peter Schrager: Nick Bolton played lights out in Week 16 after being snubbed from the Pro Bowl. Do you think he should have made the cut?
From Deon Bush: Some members of the Chiefs’ secondary made holiday dreams come true ahead of Christmas. Bush, Chris Lammons, and Zayne Anderson took 20 kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City on a shopping spree.
From the Mahomes family: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes shared a very adorable Christmas photo of his family on Sunday.
Important dates ahead:
Sunday, Jan. 1 at Noon CT - Week 17: Chiefs vs. Broncos - GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, Missouri
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