Before head coach Sean Payton came to the Mile High City, the Denver Broncos had lost 16 consecutive games against Kansas City Chiefs. Although Denver has managed to split the divisional matchups in the past two years, the Chiefs have still won the division for nine consecutive seasons.
During an appearance on the “DNVR Broncos podcast,” former Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. was asked about defending Kansas City’s offense. The former All-Pro pleaded with Denver’s defense to send a message by landing hits on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Keep Mahomes in the pocket,” Harris said. “Don’t let this guy get out running, scrambling like he does late in games. And I dare one of those guys to hit him. Please. Somebody has to send a message in that game. You might get a penalty, right? You never know, but we used to kind of send those messages. … With [Tom] Brady, we hit this guy damn near 20 times.”
Former Broncos cornerback tells Broncos to hit Patrick Mahomes
During the 2015 AFC Championship Game, the Broncos defense recorded 20 quarterback hits on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the most quarterback hits in a single game that season.
The NFL has gotten much stricter about quarterback hits since then, but it’s still possible to play aggressively without game-altering penalties. Although it’s rare, defenses that have gotten pressure on Mahomes have forced him into making poor decisions and playing with poor fundamentals.
Harris, who joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent after the 2011 NFL Draft, emerged as one of the league’s premier cornerbacks. Although Denver had Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning at the helm, it was their suffocating defense that led them to a championship in Super Bowl 50. The Broncos allowed the fewest points and fewest passing yards to opposing offenses during the 2015 season.
From 2012 to 2015, the Broncos lost just three divisional games. Almost a decade has gone by since their reign over the AFC West came to an end. When Denver’s roster disintegrated, the Chiefs emerged to fill the power vacuum and have dominated the division ever since.
Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce suggested taking a similar approach against Mahomes last February. Pierce showed his team how the Detroit Pistons defended Michael Jordan in the late 1980s in an effort to implement his own version of the “Jordan rules” against Mahomes. The Raiders managed to defeat the Chiefs on Christmas Day in 2023, but they were swept by Kansas City in their divisional matchups last season. Las Vegas fired Pierce amid sweeping changes this offseason.
Ultimately, no amount of quarterback hits will matter if Denver’s offense can’t move the ball. After years of fielding a stagnant offensive unit, the Broncos improved under rookie quarterback Bo Nix last season and finished with the 10th-best scoring offense in the league. Now they’ll have to take another step forward this upcoming season to compete with Kansas City.