Sean Payton and Vance Joseph Out-Coached Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo
Sean Payton and Vance Joseph out-coached Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo, which is a big deal considering the Chiefs coaches are regarded as the league's best.
The Denver Broncos have become true Super Bowl contenders over the last three years, thanks to Sean Payton and Vance Joseph, who out-coached Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo on Sunday in the Mile High City.
Andy Reid has been the best coach in the NFL for so long, it's simply accepted by everyone at this point.
And yet, Payton and Joseph just got the better of him in the Broncos 22-19 win.
Payton and Joseph out-coached Reid and Spagnuolo
Coming into the Broncos-Chiefs colossal clash at Mile High last Sunday, the talking points were all the same ones we've grown to expect.
"The Chiefs are better than the Broncos" was one. "Andy Reid is 22-4 coming off the bye" was another. And "Patrick Mahomes can win any game himself" was a third.
And yet, the Broncos won with grit and determination.
Plus, they out-coached the Chiefs.
Think about how big a statement that is.
Reid—the 3-time Super Bowl winning coach and 4th-winningest coach in NFL history—just got out-coached. There's no doubt why his teams had an amazing .846 winning percentage after the bye going into Sunday; giving the man an extra week to prepare allows him to find all your issues and exploit them.
The same goes for "Spags." He's widely considered the best or second-best defensive coordinator in the NFL. Consider how the Chiefs were the best offense in the league from 2018-2022, but the defense has carried them since. Even to Super Bowl LIX last year, despite getting blown out in the game.
However, maybe Payton and Joseph out-coaching Reid and Spags shouldn't be that big of a surprise.
In the four Broncos-Chiefs games that K.C. has played their starters since 2023, the teams have split 2-2. And in all five games since Payton took over the Broncos, the Chiefs have yet to score 20 points in any game.
And in my preview, I noted that Vance Joseph seems to have Mahomes' number a bit. Mahomes' numbers in those three most-recent games against Denver before Sunday were:
82-120, 68.3%, averaging 271 yards, 0.66 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 4 rushes for 23.3 yards.
Rich Kurtzman
In the loss on Sunday he went:
29-45, 64.4%, 276 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 1 rush for 3 yards.
Those aren't superstar numbers. They're fine, sure. But Mahomes isn't being allowed to take over and beat the Broncos.
Mina Kimes and Dominique Foxworth agree the Broncos out-coached the Chiefs
On her outstanding podcast, Mina Kimes talked this morning with former Broncos cornerback Dominique Foxworth about how Denver out-coached K.C.
Kimes explained:
"Comparing them to Kansas City, there's two things that stuck out to me. One is the discrepancy on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. This is simply a team with much better offensive line and defensive line play than the Chiefs. But also, they out-coached them. Payton and Vance Joseph vs. Reid and Spags, I came out of this and felt like both Payton and Joseph were much better, their side looked much better prepared for what the Chiefs brought to the table. And that's crazy to say. How long have we been like "Oh Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo, the great edge"? I didn't feel like that watching this."
As a longtime Broncos observer, I agree with Mina. I had a feeling Reid would have some special plays in his pocket and find a way to win late. He always seems to do that in big games. But not on Sunday.
Foxworth replied:
"You nailed it. And what jumped out to me was, I know I brought this up to you a bunch of times...one of the things I love about Spagnuolo is he always feels like he saves a pressure for an important moment. And then you see this big sack come in a blitz he hadn't used all game, that he knows will beat the coverage. And he's not trying to win the game in the first quarter. What jumped out to me was Vance Joseph, big down, McMillian coming off the edge, got a sack on Patrick Mahomes. I was like, 'No! That's supposed to be Spags' move.'"
McMillian's sack of Mahomes wasn't just the play of the game. It was one of the best plays of the year for the Broncos. 3rd and 10, and Joseph sends a corner blitz at Mahomes, and it lands. That blitz forced a 3-and-out of the Chiefs with the game tied, and 3:10 to play.
Vance Joseph turned up the heat, and @Island2_1 timed the blitz perfectly 💨
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) November 19, 2025
#NFLTurningPoint on ESPN+ | @LRiddickESPN pic.twitter.com/vvqDti23tB
"Totally, and Mahomes was completely taken aback by it," Kimes added.
Denver's Pass D was Superb
The Broncos are the best pass rushing team in the NFL.
They lead the league in sacks (49), pressures (126), and QB knockdowns (45). But they didn't just win the game by blitzing.
"What was shocking in the rewatch was how effective their defense was but not reliant on their pass rush," Foxworth said. "So, I think the points you are making are good ones; this feels like a big moment because they beat the Chiefs in a way that didn't feel fluky."
Even with Pat Surtain out of the game, Denver's defensive backfield played exceptionally well. That's a testament not only to Joseph's play calling, but also to the preparation that went into the game.
It's yet another way the Broncos out-coached the Chiefs.
Foxworth: When they weren't blitzing, it was very clear they came into this game with the strategy of taking away the people that Mahomes likes. It's interesting because I think we often assume guys are reading coverages, but what we've pointed to about Mahomes and Kelce in particular is they make up routes on important downs. It's interesting because you call a coverage to take away a concept. If their concept adapts to the coverage then...we're going to double team guys.
Kimes: It wasn't like "OK cool we're going to bracket Rashee Rice on every play." It's like, "We know what you want to do here. Oh, it's Travis Kelce here." It just felt like they had such a beat on the Chiefs tendencies on offense.
Foxworth: And they would double multiple guys on plays. Like, "alright you're going to double Kelce I'll go to Rice now. Nope, you're doubling him too? Oh, you got the best pass rush in football?" Time's up!
Vance Joseph on Peter Schrager's Podcast
Joseph talked about how they stopped Mahomes on Sunday.
"I think that goes back to how we built it, Peter," Joseph said this week. "Sean's old school, myself I'm old school, George (Paton) is old school. You take a job in a division where this team has won it for what [9] straight years...You have to build your team to beat that team.
"Our focus in the draft, in free agency, and how we play on defense was strictly to beat the Chiefs...You have to build it that way because if not, how do you get to the next level?...How you rush Patrick is key."
Joseph's journey with the Broncos has come full-circle. He was the Broncos head coach in 2017-18, then fired and went to Arizona for four years as defensive coordinator. Payton brought him back as the DC in Denver in 2023 and he's been one of the best in the league since.
Now, Broncos Country is worried he's doing so well he'll get poached as a head coach in this next coaching cycle.
Denver's Offensive Coaching was Great, Too
There's been plenty to criticize this year when it comes to Sean Payton's offensive play calling.
Namely, he calls way too many screens and throws at or behind the line of scrimmage. That he calls runs on 2nd and long too often. And Payton doesn't go for it on 4th down enough.
Rich Kurtzman
On Sunday, though, Payton excelled and Bo Nix bounced back.
In Broncos Country, we're all riding the Bo-llercoaster, and he went back up last week after two straight down games against the Texans and Raiders.
No, he didn't throw or run in a touchdown, but he didn't turn the ball over either. That was huge.
Nix's 295 yards were the second-most of this season, and his yards per completion (12.3) were tied for second-most in his career. That was helped by finally hitting on some deep balls.
Nix went 4-7 on deep balls over 20 yards, and 6-11 when you include 10-plus-yard passes. Those are areas he's struggled in this year but he finally excelled in on Sunday.
"My big takeaway: I thought Bo really bounced back after a couple bad weeks," Kimes explained. "Made his plays when it counted. But generally, just this overwhelming feeling of a coaching discrepancy."
Again, kudos to Payton, who called a great game on the offensive side of the ball That hasn't been the case all year. He wasn't cute or too safe on Sunday. He attacked the Chiefs and Bo balled out.
Not only that, he prepped his unit for Spags' pressures.
Mina Kimes:
"On the other side, the Broncos picked up everything Spags sent. He blitzed Bo Nix 10 times and only got pressure twice. Every McDuffie blitz it felt like Harvey or Prentice not only were great in blitz protection, but it just kind of felt like they saw it coming."
Broncos fans can remember when their team was constantly getting out-coached. It happened many times under Joseph, Vic Fangio, and Nathaniel Hackett.
Now, with a great coaching staff in place, they're the ones out-coaching opponents. It hits even harder when Andy Reid is who Payton out-coached.
Once Again, This is what it's all about
Three weeks ago, I noticed people around the NFL were finally catching onto the Broncos as being a good-to-great team.
That's when I wrote this:
Rich Kurtzman
Now, Kimes talked about them at length on her podcast, and how they dominated the Chiefs.
Meanwhile, Colin Cowherd picked the Broncos to go to the Super Bowl this year against the Rams.
This is what it's all about.
It reminds me of the two previous heydays: 1996-98 and 2012-15. Everyone's talking about the Broncos. They're the hot team right now. They've earned the respect.
Enjoy it, Broncos Country. We all know how long it was between Super Bowl 50 and this current team.
I forgot I filmed the winning field goal on Sunday.
— Rich Kurtzman 🍃🦃🏈 (@sportsballitics.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T22:41:34.379Z
Make sure to check out Mina Kimes' entire podcast, linked here again.
"The Denver Broncos, ooh baby," she said excitedly. "Beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Almost certainly going to win the AFC West. Potentially going to win the entire AFC."
