Melvin Gordon took the role of underdog to heart Sunday in his best performance yet in a Broncos uniform.
“When you’ve got the whole world telling you that you’re going to lose, you should listen to that and do something about it,” Gordon said. “Don’t go out there and just settle for what everyone thinks it’s going to be. I believed we could win this game, and we believed we could win this game. We came out here with a chip on our shoulder and we tried to do what we could.”
Gordon did more than his fair share in the 22-16 loss to the Chiefs, rushing for a season-high 131 yards on 15 carries, including 105 in the first half as the Broncos took a surprising one-point lead into the locker room. It was the first time Gordon rushed for at least 100 yards in the first half of a game since Week 8 of 2017, and he finished with the third-most yards in a single game in his career.
Kansas City was able to slow Denver’s ground game in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium, but not before Gordon played up to the standards of the two-year, $16 million deal he signed in the offseason.
“I made a promise to myself that I would do whatever I can to put this team in this position to win, and to make a run (the last five games),” Gordon said. “It’s about putting everything on the line, really, and giving it my all regardless of our record.”
Despite the solid statistical output, Gordon felt like he left more yardage on the table by losing his footing on a few different plays, especially some stumbles that occurred in the second half.
“If I don’t slip on some of those runs, we probably end up in a different position,” Gordon said. “I’m pretty sure three of those slips were 30-, 40-yard gains (waiting to happen) that could’ve put us in field goal position and made the outcome of the game different.”
Despite those coulda-woulda-shouldas, wideout Tim Patrick (who posted his first career multi-touchdown game) gave a nod to Gordon jump-starting the Broncos as they limited early opportunities for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the high-powered Kansas City offense.
“We knew we needed to run the ball to keep the ball away from Patrick Mahomes in this game, and he did exactly that,” Patrick said. “(Gordon) ran hard, he got the tough yards, got the big runs. He did a little bit of everything.”
Quarterback Drew Lock called Melvin “a baller” following the loss, noting that Gordon has faced high expectations from teammates and fans alike since he arrived in Denver from Los Angeles.
Gordon’s 131 yards trailed two 132-yard games he had across 2017 and ’18, as well as his career-high of 196 on Nov. 6, 2016, against the Titans. His other 100-yard game this year came in Denver’s win over the Jets in Week 4.
There’s a possibility Gordon’s time on the field in 2020 will soon be limited. The running back was arrested for a DUI in Denver on Oct. 13, and his arraignment was Nov. 13. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, DUI arrests call for a three-game suspension, with the league generally refraining from doling out punishment until the legal process is completed.
Last year, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was arrested for a DUI in September in Denver and plead guilty to one count of driving while ability impaired in December. He was subsequently suspended for the final two games of the 2019 season.
