ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A cheetah can hit top speed in three seconds and that top speed can reach 70 mph. File that away because the Denver Broncos get their first look of the season at “cheetah speed” Monday night when they face the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill has described his best work as “cheetah speed,” and he has been a standout against the Broncos during his career.
The Chiefs closed out the NFL’s third week as the top-scoring offense in the league (39.3 points per game) with an array of playmakers that includes Hill, tight end Travis Kelce, running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Sammy Watkins. But when Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. made his choice about the one to worry about the most, he made that pick without hesitation, quickly referencing Hill’s jersey number.
“[No.] 10, easy,” Harris said. “He’s the fastest person I’ve ever seen on a football field.”
Hill leads the Chiefs with four touchdowns — three receiving and one on a punt return — as his 22.1 yards per catch average is the third highest in the league. His 25.0 yards per punt return is second in the league.
Harris was asked what a defender can do if he knows the player he’s being asked to cover just might be faster than he is in the open field.
“Just play great technique,” Harris said. “You can’t be scared. If you’re scared, go to church. You’ve got to be ready to challenge everybody.”
Hill has scored four touchdowns in three games against the Broncos, with three of those coming during Week 12 of Hill’s rookie year of 2016 when he had a touchdown receiving, a touchdown rushing and a kickoff return touchdown.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid likes to move Hill all over the field. Hill has run with the ball, caught the ball, returned punts and thrown a pass against the Broncos.
While that pass — an interception during the Week 8 game last season — did no damage, it is Hill’s unpredictability and dangerous ability that makes him difficult to defend.
After the Chiefs’ Week 1 over the Los Angeles Chargers, when Hill scored three times, opposing quarterback Philip Rivers called Hill “unbelievable to watch” and added “what a dynamic player … I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody better, the things he can do speed-wise, in all my time playing.”
For the Broncos to stop him, they need to do as much as possible on first and second down. Though Hill’s speed and skill set would seem to make him a bigger threat on longer distance third-down situations, a look at the game video shows otherwise.
In his time with the Chiefs, Hill has touched the ball on first down the most. This season, 61 percent of receiving plays have come on first down, including incompletions. Though the Chiefs haven’t been forced to run third-down plays that often because of their efficiency, only four of Hill’s receiving plays have been on third down this season.
Last season, 45 percent of his receiving plays came on first down with 29.4 percent on second down. In short, the Chiefs are looking early and often to Hill as they move through their drives.
And Reid is usually moving Hill around the formation pre-snap.
“One motion he might jog across the ball and next motion he’s flying across, so you never know,” Harris said. “He’s always the motion guy, we’ve got to be ready for that.”
On Christmas night in 2016 — a 33-10 Chiefs rout of the Broncos — Denver held Hill without a reception, but Hill rushed for 95 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown.
“You have to be aggressive,” linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “And you can’t double everybody, so eventually you have to win those one-on-one matchups.”
“Tyreek Hill, he’s a weapon. … You watch the Chargers game, in the first quarter, he’s got a punt return for 91 yards and a slant for 65,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “In all three phases, it’s going to be a challenge. But again, we’re looking forward to it.”
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