DENVER – It’s a game of flinches.
With the Kansas City Chiefs positioned at the 1-yard line in the final seconds at Empower Field on Sunday, poised to score a touchdown that would cap a furious drive and break the Denver Broncos hearts, Jaylon Moore flinched ever so slightly.
False start.
“I saw him flinch,” Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper told USA TODAY Sports after Denverpulled off a dramatic 28-24 come-from-behind victory thanks in part to Patrick Mahomes' throw to a crossing Rashee Rice in the middle of the end zone being called back as a result of the penalty.
Was it something you said?
“Nah,” added Cooper, who was aligned directly across from Moore. “Maybe it was a little bit of intimidation, but I can’t call it.”
Although the replay from
an overhead angle confirmed that the Chiefs’ right tackle moved before the snap, it was close enough for debate.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, for one, was hardly convinced.
“I didn’t see it, so that’s one man’s opinion,” Reid said during his postgame press conference. “I saw him move his head, but I didn’t see the false start.”
In any event, the Chiefs had to snap it over from the 6-yard line. And there was no debate. Cooper barreled off the edge with a furious rush, forcing Mahomes to step up into the pocket, where he was met by defensive tackle Malcolm Roach for a game-sealing sack.
It goes into the books as not only a triumph that lifts the Broncos (6-2) into first place in the AFC West for the first time this season, but as another testament to their resilience. Denver, looking like such a mess on offense that it rained boos (again), went into the fourth quarter trailing 24-13. Yet somehow the Broncos pulled it off (again), scoring 15 unanswered points that included two short fourth-down TD passes from Bo Nix and a two-point conversion throw.
Sure, the Chiefs (5-3) aided in the effort, with the flag on Moore marking the 11th penalty (for 105 yards) and Reid inexplicably deciding to try a 54-yard field goal from struggling kicker Harrison Butker rather than opting for a punt that could have pinned Denver deep into its own territory. Butker missed, allowing a short field that set up the go-ahead touchdown.
When the defense held up at the end, it marked Denver’s 15th consecutive victory in a one-score game – the type the Chiefs used to win all the time.
No, the Broncos didn’t flinch. With so many cases of pulling out dramatic comeback wins, dating to last season, imagine their confidence in crunch time.
“You can say that, but you’re still nervous,” Roach admitted as he held court with reporters at his locker. “Pat Mahomes with the ball on the 1?
“I’m like, ‘Oh, Lord, here we go.’ ”
The outcome, with or without divine intervention, revives Denver’s opportunity to repeat as AFC West champions. There is half the season to go, so nothing is close to being won at this point. Yet a loss on Sunday would have given the Chiefs a virtual three-game lead in the race and reduced Denver’s chances of repeating to less than 15%.
Roach said he wasn’t aware of the specific equation, but listening to him it was evident that the mission was even more basic amid the rough and tumble environment of the NFL.
Beyond winning for the purposes reflected in the standings, there was a lot of pride at stake for the Broncos. That mattered, especially when considering a season-opening loss at Kansas City when Kenneth Walker III ran over a Denver defense that missed 28 tackles that night. And the Broncos offense was stymied in a 31-10 rout.
“Obviously, we got our (butt) kicked that first game,” linebacker Nik Bonitto said.
Bonitto and his teammates had an in-your-face reminder of that before they took the field on Sunday. It was the grease board at one end of the locker room, where Broncos coach Sean Payton wrote and circled a large “48” to get across a message.
It had been 48 days since the Chiefs destroyed the Broncos in the Monday night opener.
It wasn’t so much that the Broncos lost that opener at Arrowhead. “It was how we lost it,” Payton told USA TODAY Sports after the locker room emptied.
Leave it to Payton, who won his milestone 200th NFL game on Sunday, to try pushing buttons in creative ways. In the past, he’s taken a page from the book of his mentor, Bill Parcells, and put out mousetraps to make a point about not falling into a “trap” game. Now, it’s the emphasis on 48, which several players referred to in the aftermath.
Never mind that in the days leading up to Sunday, Payton – who often talks of the desire for bigger games later in the season – publicly downplayed the stakes of the game’s enormity.
“In my opinion, it’s the biggest game that we played for the sole fact of what they did to us,” cornerback Riley Moss said. “And that’s because we’re competitors. We weren’t going to allow that to happen to us again, you know, 48 days since that day.”
It’s worth noting that Walker, who ran for a career-high 173 yards in Week 1, was held to 69 yards on 21 carries (3.3 yards average) on Sunday. He was stopped at the 1-yard line on that next-to-last play with a stiff, sure tackle by safety JL Skinner.
Payton had another prop he planned to use during his pregame speech – a folding chair that he positioned near the grease board. He thought to tap his inner Bobby Knight and hurl the chair across the floor.
He changed his mind when he discovered the weight of the chair.
“These folding chairs are heavier than the Bob Knight chairs,” he said.
For all of those details, a timely flinch turned out to be so crucial.
Other impressions from Week 8 in the NFL:
What I learned
There’s some kind of code to crack the blitz-heavy defense designed by Vikings coordinator Brian Flores that has wreaked havoc on the NFL this season. Run the ball. Get physical. Play smashmouth football. Unleash a speedball of a weapon in the form of Jahmyr Gibbs.
In knocking the Vikings (6-1) from the undefeated ranks and snapping their NFL-longest 11-game regular-season winning streak, the Lions neutralized the Minnesota blitz packages by rushing for 230 yards in a gritty, 19-15 triumph.
Sure, the Vikings blitzed Detroit quarterback Jared Goff relentlessly, bringing extra rushers on 26 of 29 dropbacks, according to NextGen Stats (NGS) for a higher rate (89.7%) than they had a week earlier with a 85.2% clip against the Colts. Another week, another blitz record. And Goff was sacked four times while finishing with season lows for passing yards (176) and pass efficiency rating (88.1). But Goff only had 25 pass attempts while the Lions (5-2), led by Gibbs, logged a season-high 39 carries and posted nearly 36 minutes of possession in winning a third consecutive game.
That’s quite the formula for slowing down the rush – if a team can match up accordingly. And Detroit’s physical style, coupled with extensive use of heavy, multiple-tight end packages, wore on the Minnesota defense just enough. Can they do it again? The rematch comes at Minnesota in primetime in Week 15.
Studs of the Week
- Jahmyr Gibbs: The star running back ran for 153 yards on 23 carries, with a scintillating 30-yard TD and 6.7 average rush to help his Lions find answers for the most dominant defense in the league this season. Gibbs forced 12 missed tackles – his NFL-high fourth game this season with double-digit forced missed tackles – which resulted in a career-high 99 yards after the misses. It was also Gibbs’ third consecutive 100-yard game and more evidence for why he’s rightfully the NFL’s highest-paid running back.
- Gardner Minshew and Tyler Allgeier: How in the world did the Cardinals rally from a 14-point deficit to stun the Cowboys? Well, Minshew replaced an ineffective Jacoby Brissett with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter and on his second snap handed the football to Allgeier, who ran 63 yards for a touchdown (and finished with 191 yards from scrimmage and two TDs). Minshew Magic threw for 188 yards and three TDs – in the fourth quarter as the Cards improved to 5-0 at JerryWorld.
- Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell: The Bucs set a franchise record with 324 rushing yards against Atlanta and became the first team since Buffalo in 1974 to win a game in the NFL without completing a pass. In a driving rainstorm, the backs did the heavy lifting (and sliding and skating) as Irving rushed for a career-high 170 yards and Gainwell ran for a career-high 140. The 1-2 punch is further connected by being part of the first time in NFL history that six running backs across the league rushed for at least 140 yards.
- Patrick Queen: Defense was the ticket for the Steelers in smashing the Browns. They sacked Deshaun Watson eight times. Here’s the stat line for the savvy inside linebacker: 12 tackles, three solos, 1 ½ sacks, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, one pass defense, one forced fumble. No, he hasn’t perfect. Queen had zero picks. But he was plenty good enough.
Quick slants
- There’s at least one category where the Dallas Cowboys (3-5) can claim the NFL lead: embarrassing losses. The fourth-quarter meltdown against the Cardinals was even worse than the setback in Week 5 to a Bucs team playing an undrafted rookie quarterback and another level from the last-minute bungling against the Ravens in Week 3. Heading into the game, Dallas was 69-0 in home games where they led by at least 14 points in the fourth quarter. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t throw coach Brian Schottenheimer under the bus after the latest debacle, but in the words of an ex-Cowboys coach nicknamed The Tuna, “You are what your record says you are.”
- With Lamar Jackson headed for IR and needing surgery for a right thumb injury and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley slated for an MRI on Monday because of a turf toe injury, the Ravens could have no choice but to start Joe Fagnano on a short week. And the assignment for Thursday night seems even tougher when considering how the Jaguars defense manhandled the Colts to pace a 42-7 rout (which matched the franchise’s largest margin of victory). Of the 14 drives the defense faced, 11 went for four plays or less and the Jaguars didn’t yield a single “explosive” play (20+ yards). They also collected three turnovers and four sacks.
- Harrison Butker missed his NFL-high sixth field goal attempt this season late in the fourth quarter at Denver, six days after two misses at Seattle. With Justin Tucker signed to the Chiefs practice squad last week the ground is rather shaky for Butker. Since the start of the 2025 season, he’s missed 16 kicks, including PATs.
- Joe Burrow threw three picks – all snagged by Titans safety Amani Hooker. Yet for the third consecutive week, the Bengals quarterback fired at least four TD passes. This time, he threw for five TDs to help get past Tennessee in overtime. And he left a footprint by becoming just the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for 450 yards and five TDs, while adding a rushing TD, matching the distinction achieved by Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin in 1951.
- In two games since Baker Mayfield returned from his thumb injury, the Bucs have rushed for 582 yards on 105 carries…with the winning quarterback attempting all of 14 passes.
- Jared Verse did not walk the talk. After calling his opponents “dirty” following Cleveland’s win against Pittsburgh in Week 4 and last week taking a verbal jab at Cam Heyward, the Browns edge rusher finished on Sunday with one assisted tackle.
What I’m hearing
Steve Wilks may be officially enlisted as a defensive consultant for Dan Quinn’s staff with the Washington Commanders, but he’s also positioned to become interim head coach if ownership makes a switch during the season.
Wilks has had that task before, going 6-6 with the Panthers in 2022 after Matt Rhule was dumped. Interestingly, Wilks has already had his role expand during his short time with the Commanders. The team initially maintained that Wilks would not have a function on game days, yet they’ve adjusted that stance as Wilks was involved in the game day mix on Sunday. So, they’ve already moved off the spot regarding his role.
Did you notice?
Aaron Donald has played six games since coming out of retirement to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams…and the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is still looking for his first sack. Get well soon, Myles Garrett.
Carolina Heat
Now that Ejiro Evero has been handed his walking papers as Panthers defensive coordinator, replaced by interim Todd Wash, the plot undoubtedly thickens for head coach Dave Canales.
The move on Evero wasn’t a total shock. The Panthers invested heavily in getting personnel for his 3-4 scheme – they guaranteed over $100 million in landing their biggest offseason free agent signings, Jaelen Phillips and Devin Lloyd – and the unit has been historically bad. Defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooper (whose secondary has been without its top two cornerbacks, Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson) was relieved, too.
Yet even though the Panthers have been torched for more than 40 points in two home games this season – during the franchise’s first 31 years that happened just three times – it’s not like Canales’ offense hasn’t had its share of significant issues, which includes protecting Bryce Young with an injury-battered O-line. Young was sacked a season-high six times at Green Bay on Thursday night and over the past two seasons has been pressured on 50% of his dropbacks.
Canales, who retained Evero from Frank Reich’s staff, said the decision to move on from the coordinator was his decision, although he consulted with team owner David Tepper. Wash, the defensive line coach, coordinated the defense that helped the Jaguars reach the 2017 AFC title game, so he has some experience. But if doesn’t work for the Panthers, the heat undoubtedly will intensify on Canales – if it hasn’t already been turned up a few notches in Tepper’s eyes.
Book report: Just Give Me a Chance to Fail
In a long overdue biography of Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Mills, Paul Domowitch, former Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer columnist, produced a gem in capturing the essence of the man who had one of the most inspirational journeys ever to Canton (Navigator Books, $36).
Mills, who passed away in 2005 at 45, was repeatedly discounted because of his size (5 feet, 9 inches) but wound up as the glue to one of the best groups of linebackers in NFL history with the Saints and their “Dome Patrol” unit and left such an indelible mark in helping the expansion Panthers quickly become competitive that there’s a statue of him outside Bank of America Stadium.
Keep pounding? That Panthers slogan came from Mills, taken from a speech to the team before the franchise’s first playoff win, when he was a member of the coaching staff battling cancer. Mills went to Division III Montclair State as a walk-on and left as the school’s all-time leading tackler. Undrafted, he was cut by the Browns as a rookie free agent, then cut again the next year by the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.
He had serious reservations about attending a tryout camp for the Philadelphia Stars when the new USFL was being formed. He wound up getting his NFL shot when his Stars coach, Jim Mora, landed in New Orleans. And even Mora wasn’t convinced that Mills had the size to cut it in the NFL. Major props to Domowitch (a former Stars beat writer) for connecting with Mills’ family and for conducting dozens of interviews with former teammates, coaches and NFL figures who contributed insight. And the foreword by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio – who broke into the pro coaching ranks with the Stars and coached Mills for 15 years – is also rich. What a great read with so many layers illuminating the player and the person.
What intrigues me about Monday Night Football
Seeing Jeffrey Simmons in a new uniform after the Chicago Bears gave up two first-round picks to land the All-Pro defensive tackle in the blockbuster trade on Thursday. For all that Simmons has achieved in becoming one of the NFL’s premier D-linemen, his resume is even more impressive when considering that he balled out while toiling for the Titans – a team that is 7-35 since the start of the 2024 season and is on pace for a fifth consecutive losing season. Now Simmons is in the thick of a legitimate Super Bowl hunt as the wrecking ball in the middle of coordinator Dennis Allen’s unit. Imagine the boost to his psyche, knowing his talent won’t be wasted amid a rebuilding project. And it’s fitting that for all the high expectations, Simmons makes his Bears debut against the defending Super Bowl champions at a place, Seattle, where they know big-time defense when they see it.
What I’m looking forward to in Week 9
Packers at Patriots. The last time this rare intra-conference matchup of iconic franchises met in Foxborough, Mass., it pitted marquee quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in Nov. 2018. TB12’s team won.
Now comes a faceoff featuring a pair of 5-3 teams led by two of the NFL’s most dynamic young quarterbacks in Green Bay’s Jordan Love and New England’s Drake Maye. Interestingly, both teams sputtered to 1-2 starts this season. And in winning four of their past five games, they’ve settled a bit.
The quarterbacks are hot. Maye has produced four consecutive games with passer ratings of 110 or better, the longest streak for a Patriot since Brady’s roll in 2016. His five straight games with three TDs is longest by a Patriot since Brady’s streak of 10 consecutive games in 2007. Love, meanwhile, has passed for at least two TDs in each game this season and joins Rodgers and Brett Favre as the only Packers QBs with at least 270 yards and two TDs in five of the team’s first eight games. The stage is set. Can we see a shootout?
Say what?
On his popular “Night Cap” podcast last week, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe separated the on-the-field comeback for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson from the tarnished image that lingers from off-the-field issues wrapped with allegations of sexual misconduct from more than two dozen massage therapists. Said Sharpe: “He’s playing quarterback. He ain’t trying to the be the Walter Payton Man of the Year.”
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From Chiefs' flinch to Minshew stunning Cowboys, what stood out in NFL Week 8 | Monday Morning JB
