Nearly stumbling heading into the playoffs, Nick Bolton and the Kansas City Chiefs gathered themselves just in time to thunder into the postseason with an AFC-best 12 wins.
They’ll learn Sunday if that’s enough to get them a first-round bye.
“We’re ready to go wherever and against whomever,” Patrick Mahomes said after the Chiefs rallied for a 28-24 win Saturday over the Denver Broncos, a victory powered by Bolton’s 86-yard fumble return midway through the fourth quarter.
To secure the pole position in the AFC playoffs, the Chiefs (12-5) need Houston to upset the Tennessee on Sunday. If not, Kansas City hosts a wild-card game next weekend in its quest to reach a third consecutive Super Bowl.
The Broncos were ahead 21-20 and driving for another score when Melvin Ingram III blitzed, speeding past tight end Noah Fant untouched and blowing up the play just as Drew Lock handed the ball to Melvin Gordon on second-and-2 from the 9.
Bolton, a rookie linebacker who checks in at 237 pounds, scooped up the loose ball and rumbled down the Chiefs’ euphoric sideline, nearly falling down at midfield before regaining his balance and outracing Lock, whom he played with at Missouri, to the end zone.
“I was hoping that he wouldn’t stumble,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after his 250th NFL coaching victory, including playoffs. “Those guys don’t get much of a chance to run that far that fast very often and he ran like a stallion. He took off and looked like a running back there.”
Like many of the other victories in the Chiefs’ 13-game winning streak against Denver, this one was no cakewalk. The Broncos (7-10) led for much of the afternoon despite having nothing to play for but pride.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
((AP Photo/David Zalubowski))
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Source : foxnews
