For the first ten weeks of the 2025 season, the special teams unit of the Denver Broncos has been its Achilles heel. For at least one week, it was their biggest strength, and it showed up when they needed it the most. The Broncos' special teams were incredible on Sunday against the Chiefs, and turned in their best performance of the season.
For the Broncos and coordinator Darren Rizzi, the production came from all angles: major returns from Marvin Mims, a perfect game from Wil Lutz, a much-improved punting performance from Jeremy Crawshaw, and a strong game of coverage on returns. After shaking up their special teams unit by cutting Trent Sherfield this past week, the Broncos admitted a need for change. Not only was the change obvious this past week, but it might have won the Broncos their matchup against the Chiefs.
Starting with JL Skinner's block of AJ Cole last week against the Raiders, the vibes have been incredibly different around Denver's special teams. A returning Mims obviously makes a world of difference, but there is more to it than just one man. For the entire unit, the tides could be finally changing and moving towards a strong Broncos unit, which could be make or break come playoff time.
The Broncos turned in their best special teams performance of the year at the perfect time.
Rizzi's unit has been one of the worst in football for the duration of this season, leading to speculation over whether or not he would last the entire season. It's only his first year in Denver, but every aspect aside from Lutz's kicking has been of major concern at some point this season. For the first time all season, all four aspects of the special teams game came together at once for Rizzi and Sean Payton.
Namely, the Broncos' kick-returning unit flipped their game with the Chiefs on its head. Mims' major return in the first half went for 68 yards, showing just how much he was missed while he was out with a concussion. His absence in the return game was only amplified by the poor punting of Crawshaw against the Raiders, which was a far cry from his dominating performance today.
As was pointed out by Lutz in his postgame availability, the Broncos' return coverage was significantly better today than in weeks prior. Very few returns, if any, had a serious chance of breaking, and only one made it past the 30-yard line. As for Lutz, it was another day at the office: perfect on field goals and nailing a game winner, his third of the season and third since Week 9.