Horse Tracks: Fangio, Eagles highlight the blueprint for beating Mahomes

But Denver already knew it because the Broncos have been beating up on Mahomes for a long time.

When the Broncos traveled to Arrowhead last season, they showed the NFL how to beat the Chiefs.

Pressure, pressure, pressure.

Denver would come up short thanks to a fluky blocked field goal, but everyone saw the Broncos’ defense sack Patrick Mahomes four times, hit him nine times, knock down two passes and hold No. 15 to just 19 yards rushing.

Denver would also hold Kansas City to its lowest offensive point total of the season (actually second lowest when counting Denver’s shutout in Week 18 to the Chief’s JV squad which isn’t quite as impressive but still noteworthy).

And despite Mahomes’ HOF-worthy success in the NFL since getting his first pro start December 2017 against Denver, the Broncos have always been a thorn in his side.

Over the past two seasons with Vance Joseph calling the defense, Mahomes has been sacked a total of nine times and thrown five interceptions. The Chiefs managed to win three of the four matchups — always in part due to help from the refs — but the wins have not come easy.

Vic Fangio undoubtedly watched film from that Nov. 10 game and took great notes because he dialed up relentless pressure Sunday night — even without blitzing.

As The New York Post put it, “The Chiefs allowed their superhuman quarterback to take 11 hits and be sacked six times, and a suddenly pedestrian Mahomes responded by throwing two critical interceptions in the decisive first half” that eventually evolved into a 40-22 beatdown that every Broncos fan (and even some former players) could appreciate.

So let’s dwell for just a moment on truly how bad Mahomes’ performance was in the Super Bowl:

His final stat line (21-of-32 for 257 yards with 3 TDs and 2 INTs) doesn’t do it justice. The Chiefs’ offense didn’t even cross midfield until the third quarter and didn’t put any points on the board until the final minute of the quarter when the Eagles were leading 34-0.

With the Eagles leading 24-0 at halfime, the Chiefs had just 23 yards of offense to show for its efforts. And Mahomes’ 11.3 QBR was the lowest of his career since October 2021.

Yep. Epically bad.

And now with the Broncos’ defensive blueprint — confirmed by Fangio and the Eagles — along with a promising franchise QB of its own, Broncos Country can really celebrate the dawn of a new era in the AFC West.

Broncos/NFL News

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