AFC West

Russell Wilson's debut for the Denver Broncos against his former Seattle Seahawks team on Monday drew a ton of intrigue and attention.

In fact, ESPN revealed in a press release that it was the most-watched Monday Night Football game since the 2009 season and third-best since the broadcast moved to ESPN in 2006 with a total of 19,845,000 viewers.

Monday night's game also marked the ESPN debut of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman as the lead broadcasting duo. This year's season opener was set a new record for a Week 1 Monday Night Football audience, surpassing last season's record-setting viewership by 16 percent.

Wilson's debut also did wonders for ESPN's alternate telecast, as Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli garnered 1,502,000 viewers, an 86-percent jump from the Manning brothers' season debut last year.

Unfortunately for Wilson, his first game in a Broncos uniform didn't go as he'd hoped. Denver lost to Seattle 17-16 in a game that featured some questionable decision-making and clock management.

When the Broncos were marching down the field late in the fourth quarter, first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett neglected to take a timeout until substantial time ran off the clock. He then opted to kick a 64-yard field goal on 4th-and-5 instead of giving Wilson the chance to convert a first down. Brandon McManus missed the long attempt, ensuring the Week 1 loss for Denver.

Wilson threw for 340 yards and a touchdown on 29-of-42 passing. His counterpart Geno Smith, who replaced him as Seattle's starter, impressed by throwing for 195 yards and two scores in a steady performance.

Next week will feature a doubleheader on Monday night, as the Tennessee Titans will take on the Buffalo Bills on ESPN and the Minnesota Vikings will face the Philadelphia Eagles on ABC and ESPN+.

Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett is having regrets.

"Looking back at it, we definitely should've gone for it," he told reporters when discussing the decision to kick a 64-yard field goal instead of going for 4th-and-5 near the end of Monday's 17-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Denver was probably the better team in Monday's contest, but the chaos at the end of the contest served as a fitting metaphor for how it unfolded.

The AFC West team simply couldn't get out of its own way with Melvin Gordon III and Javontae Williams each fumbling on goal-to-go situations from the Seattle 1-yard line in the second half. Settling for a field goal after a false start helped derail another goal-to-go situation on the next possession felt like a massive improvement.

Even after all that, the Broncos had the ball in the final minutes with a chance to win.

Russell Wilson impressed for much of the game while throwing for 340 yards, and he led the visitors to the Seahawks' 46-yard line with approximately one minute remaining. They faced the 4th-and-5 with all three timeouts and a golden chance to move the ball and eventually ice the win with a shorter field goal.

Instead, the offense huddled and took its time all while the play and game clocks were ticking. The Broncos then had to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty and help settle some of the confusion. Hackett decided to trot kicker Brandon McManus out there for a 64-yard field goal upon the return to play.

He missed it, and Wilson lost his return trip to Seattle.

Wilson told reporters he was fine with kicking it after the game, but Hackett wishes he could have another chance to make the decision upon further reflection.

The Kansas City Chiefs lost cornerback Trent McDuffie (hamstring) and kicker Harrison Butker (ankle) to injuries during Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals, and head coach Andy Reid pointed to the turf at Arizona's State Farm Stadium as the problem.

"They re-sodded it, which is a good thing because they practice in there," he said, per Adam Teicher of ESPN. "But it was a little bit loose. That's what happens sometimes when you re-sod is it's loose.

"It was part of the Butker injury and McDuffie injury. ... The turf picked up, and I would tell you that that did have something to do with it. If it didn't, I would tell you that, too. So it's not an excuse by any means, but I mean, you all can see it. Watch the tape."

Teicher noted McDuffie will miss at least four games, including Thursday's against the Los Angeles Chargers, after going on injured reserve with the setback.

Butker may also miss the game against the Chargers, and Kansas City responded by signing kicker Matt Ammendola to its practice squad. Ammendola appeared in 11 games for the New York Jets last season and made 13 of his 19 field goals (68.4 percent) and 14 of his 15 extra points (93.3 percent).

The Chiefs had to scramble during Sunday's game after Butker suffered the injury and turned to safety Justin Reid.

Reid kicked off and also made one of the two extra points he attempted.

Need me to do kickoff too? Bet. pic.twitter.com/wUUl4B9pCF

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 12, 2022

"This guy does have a lot of talent; it's real," Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub told reporters when discussing Reid's performance. "It's real and he did it. It's unbelievable, but it's impressive, as well."

Still, having a safety handling kicking duties probably isn't the best recipe for long-term success on special teams. Kansas City didn't have to worry too much about it during its Week 1 win over the Cardinals because the game was never in doubt as it built a 37-7 lead through three quarters.

Patrick Mahomes went 30-of-39 passing for 360 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The Kansas City Chiefs have placed rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, it announced Tuesday.

McDuffie, who suffered the injury in Sunday's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, will be sidelined for at least the next four games.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that McDuffie was "going to struggle to make it to the game [on Thursday]," when Kansas City hosts the Los Angeles Chargers.

He also blamed the injuries to McDuffie and kicker Harrison Butker, who is dealing with an ankle ailment, on the condition of the field at Arizona's State Farm Stadium, via ESPN's Adam Teicher:

"They re-sodded it, which is a good thing because they practice in there. But it was a little bit loose. That's what happens sometimes when you re-sod is it's loose.

"It was part of the Butker injury and McDuffie injury. ... The turf picked up and I would tell you that that did have something to do with it. If it didn't, I would tell you that, too. So it's not an excuse by any means, but I mean, you all can see it. Watch the tape."

McDuffie suffered the injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game and was helped to the medical tent before being carted off the field and into the Kansas City locker room.

The Chiefs selected McDuffie in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Washington. He spent three seasons with the Huskies and posted 35 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one sack and six pass breakups in 2021.

McDuffie will be eligible to return on Oct. 16 against the Buffalo Bills. He'll miss games against the Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Las Vegas Raiders.

With McDuffie sidelined, Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson should see more playing time. The Chiefs selected Williams in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Fayetteville State and in the seventh round out of Washington State.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson suggested that he wasn't hurt by the chilly reception he received from Seahawks fans during his first game back in Seattle on Monday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St0Gc-DT2ug

Wilson told reporters: "It didn't bother me. It's a hostile environment. I did not expect a round of applause. I gave everything I had here every day."

Russ showing nothing but love for Seattle after the Week 1 loss. pic.twitter.com/DL6STBTtdO

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 13, 2022

Wilson, who Seattle traded to Denver during the offseason after he spent the first 10 years of his career with the Seahawks, came out on the losing end Monday in a 17-16 defeat.

Somewhat surprisingly, Wilson was roundly booed by the pro-Seahawks crowd when he took to Lumen Field for the first time as a visitor.

The 33-year-old veteran was a third-round pick of the Seahawks in 2012. He won the starting job as a rookie and spent the next decade as Seattle's starting signal-caller.

Wilson established himself as the greatest quarterback in franchise history by a significant margin, earning nine Pro Bowl selections and leading the Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances.

His time in Seattle was highlighted by a win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, marking the first and only championship in franchise history.

Wilson posted a losing record just once in his 10 seasons with the Seahawks, going 104-53-1 overall in 158 regular-season starts. He also ranks first in franchise history in passing yardage with 37,059 and passing touchdowns with 292.

The assumption is that Wilson wanted out of Seattle, although he said in March that he wasn't the one who initiated conversations and claimed it was a "mutual" decision between him and the Seahawks.

About one year earlier, Wilson's agent told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Wilson hadn't requested a trade despite reports to the contrary, although he did concede that Wilson would accept a trade to the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears or Las Vegas Raiders.

ESPN's Brady Henderson reported last week that the Seahawks offered Wilson to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, but Cleveland declined, suggesting Seattle tried to move on from Wilson first.

Regardless of the circumstances, Wilson helped bring a decade of great football to Seattle as the Seahawks found their greatest level of success in franchise history.

The return to Seattle didn't go according to plan for Wilson, as Broncos kicker Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal in the waning seconds after head coach Nathaniel Hackett controversially decided to try the long kick rather than go for it on 4th-and-5.

Life after Wilson started off well for the Seahawks and their fans, but the expectation remains that Denver will be in the thick of the AFC playoff race, while Seattle will go through growing pains amid a partial rebuild.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson said he doesn't blame head coach Nathaniel Hackett for trying a 64-yard field goal with kicker Brandon McManus late in Monday night's 17-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Wilson described McManus as "the best field-goal kicker maybe in the game" and said that distance was the range he provided the offense before the final drive:

"I don't think it was the wrong decision." @DangeRussWilson speaks on whether or not the Broncos should have taken the risk on a 64-yard field goal 👀 pic.twitter.com/WI2bwN9fSA

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 13, 2022

The biggest surprise wasn't that the Broncos tried the 64-yard kick, which came on 4th-and-5 with 20 seconds left. It was the lack of urgency throughout the drive.

Denver started with the ball on its own 22 with 4:02 left in the fourth quarter, and the team also had all three of its timeouts. That's more than enough time to move the ball down the field for a touchdown, let alone a field goal.

Wilson and Co. frequently used almost the entire 40-second play clock before running a play, including after their final third-down play. They initially lined up like they were going to go for it on fourth down before calling a timeout to try the long kick.

McManus missed wide left as the Seahawks held on for the victory in Wilson's return to Seattle following the blockbuster offseason trade that landed him in Denver.

"We were right on the line [of McManus' range],'' Hackett told reporters. "Brandon gave it his best shot. ... Obviously, I wish we would have gotten a lot closer, it put us in that weird spot because we were in that field-goal range. ... We just made that decision and take our shot there.''

It's a tough pill to swallow for the Broncos because the margin for error in the AFC West, which features four legitimate contenders, will be small by season's end. Letting a winnable game slip through their grasp on opening night is a lost opportunity.

Denver will look to pick up its first win of the year Sunday when it returns home to Empower Field at Mile High for a clash with the Houston Texans.

Well, Nathaniel Hackett is surely going to want to forget his first game as a head coach.

Hackett somehow managed to steal the spotlight from Russell Wilson in the quarterback's return to Seattle, and not in the way he would have hoped. Just when it seemed as if Wilson was going to lead a game-winning drive, the Denver Broncos coach turned in an abysmal display of clock management, and his team lost a 17-16 stunner to the Seattle Seahawks.

There was approximately one minute remaining when the Broncos—with all three timeouts—faced a 4th-and-5 from the Seattle 46-yard line. Rather than go for it with the future Hall of Fame quarterback, Hackett let the play clock and game clock tick nearly all the way down before calling a timeout and sending Brandon McManus out for a 64-yard field goal.

McManus missed it, and Hackett became the story of what was already an unbelievable game with plenty of twists and turns.

The head coach explained his decision-making process to reporters after the game:

WATCH: Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett explains his decision to try the 64-yard field goal instead of going for it on 4th down to @Rod9sports ⬇️#9sports #BroncosCountry

GAME STORY: https://t.co/79x61iYgii pic.twitter.com/P7FvxxXoEr

— 9NEWS Sports Denver (@9NEWSSports) September 13, 2022

Hackett on decision to kick the field goal. Said Williams got to the spot on the third-down play they were looking for to be in range.

Said he didn’t reconsider the call after McManus missed the first one (Seattle TO).

— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) September 13, 2022

Even Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who is as familiar with what Wilson can do as anyone in the league, told reporters, "I was surprised they took Russ out there at the end."

It was just another missed scoring opportunity for the Broncos, who were the better team for much of Monday's game but came up short because they were unable to capitalize.

Melvin Gordon III fumbled on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line on the first possession of the second half. And then it was Javonte Williams' turn, as he fumbled on 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line on Denver's next possession.

The Broncos also settled for a field goal on another goal-to-go situation with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter. They couldn't get over the hump despite 340 passing yards from Wilson.

Yet the clock management at the end of the game stood out most and could haunt the Broncos as they compete in the loaded AFC West against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers and Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Next up is a home game against the Houston Texans as Hackett and Co. look to put this start to the season behind them.

Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid pleaded guilty to felony driving while intoxicated in connection to the 2021 crash that left a 5-year-old girl with serious injuries.

According to the Associated Press' Margaret Stafford, Reid will face up to four years in prison as part of his deal with prosecutors.

Tom Porto, an attorney representing the Young family, several of whom were injured in the crash, criticized the plea deal.

"The five victims of this crime are outraged the prosecuting attorney is not seeking the maximum sentence allowable by law," he said in a statement. "The defendant is a prior offender whose actions caused a 5-year-old girl to be in a coma and seriously injured three others."

Driving a Dodge Ram, Reid collided with two cars that were stopped on the side of an entrance ramp to Interstate 435. He was traveling almost 84 mph in a 65 mph zone moments before hitting the vehicles, and prosecutors said his blood alcohol concentration was 0.113 around two hours after the crash.

Reid told police at the scene he had consumed two to three drinks prior to getting behind the wheel and had also taken some of his prescription Adderall.

Ariel Young was among those injured in the collision. Porto said in April 2021 she was "functioning like a baby" and will "endure a traumatic brain injury for the rest of her life."

In November 2021, the Chiefs reached an agreement with Young's family to pay for her treatment and medical expenses. Questions initially arose as to the Chiefs' culpability for the crash because the I-435 onramp is located close to the team's practice facility.

The organization initially placed Reid, who's the son of head coach Andy Reid, on administrative leave and declined to renew his contract following the 2021 season.

Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert continues to impress in his third NFL season.

"Herbert might be the best quarterback in the league," a veteran coach said, per Mike Sando of The Athletic.

The coach was especially impressed with Herbert's third-quarter touchdown pass to Gerald Everett:

everything about this >>>>@lightningstrk12 | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/MX4hBQ1voO

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 11, 2022

"He scrambled to his left," the coach explained. "The tight end was running a flat route, and he turned up the sideline, and Herbert is running full speed to his left. What you normally do is throw it over the top and see if the guy can go get it. But the defender had good coverage. So he throws it to his back shoulder. He is on a dead run to his left and it is a total improvisation, and he just hits him. It is unbelievable. The guy is so natural."

It was one of three touchdown passes for Herbert in Sunday's 24-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium.

The 24-year-old already has a Pro Bowl selection and an Offensive Rookie of the Year award in his first two NFL seasons, tallying 9,350 passing yards and 69 touchdowns against 25 interceptions in this span. With his continued production to start 2022, he has a serious argument as the best quarterback in football.

Los Angeles Chargers star receiver Keenan Allen suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

While Los Angeles is surely hoping Allen won't miss significant time, any potential absence for the 30-year-old will impact the team's passing attack. But what would it mean from a fantasy football perspective? Let's take a look.

Fantasy football managers can expect a bump in production from Chargers receiver Mike Williams, who proved himself as a dependable option on the outside with a breakout season in 2021. He finished with career highs of 76 catches and 1,146 yards while adding nine touchdowns.

Williams undoubtedly benefitted from the attention Allen drew on the opposite side, but he shouldn't have much trouble moving into the No. 1 role. The Clemson alum is the favorite big-play receiver of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, as he averaged 15.1 yards per catch last season. He should be considered a must-start if Allen misses any time.

Sixth-year wideout DeAndre Carter, who is in his first year in Los Angeles, could also benefit from Allen's absence. He has never recorded over 300 receiving yards in a single season, but he has the opportunity to change that in the Chargers' aggressive passing game. He already caught his first touchdown of the year on Sunday against the Raiders.

If Carter is in line for more playing time, he should be a popular waiver-wire add for fantasy managers this week. He has already proved himself capable of making plays, and he can be a streaming option for those in need of WR3 or flex players.

Next week, the Chargers will face the Kansas City Chiefs, whose starting cornerbacks are third-year pro L'Jarius Sneed and rookie Trent McDuffie. Los Angeles receivers could be set for some big fantasy numbers in Week 2.