When Denver Broncos kicker Will Lutz jogged onto the field for another 35-yarder against the Kansas City Chiefs, he already knew the storyline. One year after the Chiefs blocked his 35-yard game-winner, Lutz drilled this one as time expired to give Denver a 22-19 win, their eighth straight victory and a two-game AFC West lead.
Lutz admitted that the ghost of last seasonâs Arrowhead heartbreak was in his mind as he lined up the kick.
âSaw it the whole way out to the field,â Lutz said. âWhen youâre part of a loss like that, you donât just forget about it. When I looked down and saw that we were on the line again, making a 35-yard field goal, I was kind of like, shoot, here we are.â
âIâve Been Waiting for a Game Like Thatâ
Lutz didnât just hit the walk-off. He was the Broncosâ offense for long stretches, going 5-for-5 on field goals, including a clutch 54-yarder late in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
âIâve been waiting for a game like that,â he said. âWe havenât kicked a ton of field goals this year, which is not always a bad thing. Itâs hard to get in a rhythm because we kick one or two field goals a game. Iâve been waiting for a game like that. It was nice to play a big part in it.â
He also pointed back to that blocked attempt in 2024 as a real pivot point for the locker room.
âI agree it was a turning point last year,â Lutz said. âI think we knew before that game last year that we had the right guys. It was never a question if we had the right guys in the locker room, it was just how are we going to respond.â
This season, Lutz has answered with multiple walk-offs â including a game-winner against the Houston Texans earlier this month â and called Sundayâs finish his third walk-off of the season, noting the âsame length, similar situationâ as the one that went wrong last year.
âSpecial Teams Changed That Gameâ
Even after his own redemption moment, Lutz made it clear he saw this as a special teams win, not just a kicker win.
âOur special teams, weâve accepted that challenge,â Lutz said. âWe know we havenât played up to par as a unit. Weâve been really good here and there, but weâve made mistakes here and there as well.â
He said the first thing he did was find special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.
âThe first thing I said to Rizzi as soon as I got in was special teams changed that game. Marv had a big return. Needed it. Kickoff coverage. Crawshaw flips the field when we needed it most.â
Marvin Mims Jr. jump-started Denver with a huge punt return, while rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw repeatedly flipped field position in a tight, penalty-filled game.
Lutz also shouted out the big man who swung the margin in Denverâs favor: offensive lineman Frank Crum, who blocked a Chiefs extra point after a Travis Kelce touchdown.
âWeâve got O-linemen blocking PATs,â Lutz said. âFrank Crum blocks a PAT that changes the game.â
That block kept the deficit at three instead of four, setting up Lutz to tie the game from 54 and then win it at the horn.
Bye Week âa Little Sweeterâ After Broncosâ AFC West Statement
Lutz also contrasted Sundayâs calm strike with last weekâs windy struggle, when he admitted he âdidnât put a good kick on itâ in brutal conditions. This time, he said, the fourth-quarter direction âset up nice,â with enough help from the wind to let him swing freely.
âIt wasnât a calm night by any means, but there was some help going that way,â Lutz said. âI was just grateful to play a larger part in a game. I think our field goal unit, the O-line blocking up front would agree with that.â
With the victory, the Broncos sit at 9-2, riding an eight-game win streak and sitting two games clear in the AFC West heading into their bye. Lutz summed up what that means in the locker room: âIt makes the bye week a little sweeter.â
Denver will come out of the break with a prime-time road matchup against the Washington Commanders on November 30, carrying both the division lead and the confidence that their kicker has finally buried last yearâs Chiefs nightmare.
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