The Broncos lost their 16th straight game to the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football 19-8. Below is the recap and postgame interviews:
Broncos lose the coin toss, Chiefs defer so Denver started with the ball on offense.
Jaleel McLaughlin started at running back and ripped off a 9 yard run to help spark the Broncos offense right off the bat. Leaning heavier on the run, Denver moved efficiently down the field into Kansas City territory. The Broncos opted to go for it on 4th down from the Chiefs 38 yard line but Russell Wilson's scramble came up short and Denver turned the ball over on downs.
So, the Chiefs lead by Patrick Mahomes began their first drive from their own 41 yard line and quickly moved into Broncos territory with passes to Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. The drive stalled at the Broncos 17 yard line and Harrison Butker converted a 35-yard Field Goal to give Kansas City an early 3-0 lead.
Now it was time for the Broncos offense to go back to work and, after a great run by Javonte Williams for 18 yards, Russell Wilson didn't see Nick Bolton lurking underneath a pass to Jerry Jeudy and he was intercepted, setting the Chiefs up at their own 43 yard line.
Mahomes quickly went to work, hitting Travis Kelce for a big gain of 40 yards down the right sideline. The Chiefs, now back in the Red Zone, looked to build on their early lead but Patrick Mahomes threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Justin Simmons at the goal line, setting the Broncos offense up at their own 7 yard line.
The Broncos defense did it's job to get the ball back into the offense's hands, went to work on the ground with Jaleel McLaughlin and Javonte Williams. The drive, unfortunately, stalled at their own 26 yard line after 6 plays and Denver was forced to punt the ball away.
Riley Dixon punted the ball to former Broncos WR Montrell Washington who returned the ball to the Chiefs 43 yard line. Once again, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce went to work and had no problem carving up the Broncos defense with passes over the middle driving the ball all the way down to the Denver 6 yard line. The Chiefs ran a fake field goal but came up short of the line to gain so, after 11 plays, Kansas City gave the ball right back to the Broncos.
Buried deep in their own territory, Russell Wilson and the offense weren't able to find much breathing room so, after a 3 and out, punted the ball back to Kansas City who would start their next drive at their own 38 yard line with 6:28 remaining in the 1st half.
Even with their worst starting field position of the game, it didn't slow down the Chiefs offense as they quickly moved into Broncos territory with, you guessed it, completions to Travis Kelce who went over 100 yards receiving on this drive. From the 3 yard line, Patrick Mahomes found Kadarius Toney in the flat for the first touchdown of the night, extending the Chiefs lead 10-0 with 3:06 remaining in the first half.
So, the Broncos offense went back to work trying to get SOME kind of momentum before halftime but another 3 and out and the Broncos punted the ball back to Kansas City who started their drive their own 19 yard line. The Broncos defense continued to play hard and Jonathon Cooper was able to force Patrick Mahomes into an intentional grounding penalty on 3rd down, getting the ball back to the offense with 47 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Once again, the Broncos offense came up short with Russell Wilson getting sacked on 3rd down, giving Mahomes and the Chiefs offense a sliver of time to tack on more points and they took advantage. After a 13 yard scramble by Mahomes, Harrison Butker converted a 60-yard field goal at the buzzer to increase the lead to 13-0.
Kansas City got the ball to start the 2nd half and went quickly down the field into Denver territory with Patrick Mahomes carving up the Broncos defense with passes to Kelce and his WRs. The Denver defense, once again, denied the Chiefs offense a chance to punch it in for a touchdown and they were forced to settle for another Harrison Butker field goal, extending the lead 16-0.
The Broncos offense, now trailing by by 16, got their first chance of the 2nd half to try and get the team back into the game. A promising drive that featured some tough running by McLaughlin and Williams mixed with a 13 yard completion to Jerry Jeudy on a Texas route was ended by a deflected interception at the Chiefs 28 yard line.
Kansas City, leading by two scores, took over with a chance to put the game out of reach but the Broncos defense came up with some big plays including a Jonathon Cooper sack and a TFL on 3rd down and 1. Kansas City punted the ball back to Denver with 1:27 remaining in the 3rd quarter, pinning them at their own 5 yard line.
Russell Wilson did some work early in the drive with his legs, rushing for 12 yards to get a first down and then again for 8 to give the Broncos some breathing room as the 3rd quarter would wind to a close. The drive stalled and, once again, the Broncos punted the ball from their own 27 yard line.
After a holding penalty, the Chiefs began their next drive at their 12 yard line but penalties sink any chance for Kansas City to put the game away and they punted the ball back to Denver.
Russell Wilson and the Broncos offense FINALLY got something going on offense and moved the ball into the Red Zone for the first time in the game and eventually connected on an acrobatic touchdown to Courtland Sutton on a fade route. Javonte Williams converted the 2 point conversion and suddenly the Broncos were within a score with 6:07 remaining in the game.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, that would be as close as it got as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense moved swiftly down the field and converted a 52-yard field goal to extend the Chiefs lead 19-8 with 2 minutes remaining.
Samaje Perine fumbled a final drive opportunity but it likely wouldn't have mattered unless they had scored quickly.
Kansas City had 40 plays in Denver's territory, the Broncos had 11.
The next broadcast will be on Sunday, October 22nd as the Broncos host the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. Coverage begins on KOA at 8am MTN.
Below are postgame interviews with Voice of the Broncos Dave Logan with Sean Payton and Russell Wilson.