KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 14: Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos warms up prior to the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on September 14, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)Photo: David Eulitt / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Broncos lost the coin toss. The Chiefs deferred to the 2nd half so the Broncos offense would start with the ball at their own 35 after the touchback.
Bo Nix was sacked on the very first snap and then on his first pass attempt by rookie CB Mansoor Delane, setting KC up at the Denver 46 yard line. Less than ideal.
Kenneth Walker went to work with the ground game including converting a 4th and 2. Mahomes only had to complete one pass to Xavier Worthy, everything else was accomplished on the ground including Mahomes scrambling from 15 yards out for the first score of the game. Chiefs take advantage of the Nix miscue, lead 7-0 with 8:11 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Broncos offense went back to work for their second drive at their own 32 yard line. RJ Harvey had a nice 7 yard run to start the drive and an offside gave Denver their initial 1st down of the game. Pat Bryant was sensational, coming up with catches of 13, 8 and 11 yards as the Broncos worked into the KC Red Zone. On 1st down from the 19, Nix hit Evan Engram along the right sideline for the Broncos first touchdown of the season! Game tied at 7 with 3:48 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Chiefs 2nd drive started from their own 34 yard line. The Broncos defense was much more effective this time forcing a quick 3 and out as Ja'Quan McMillian had an outstanding PBU on 3rd and 7.
Broncos offense started their 3rd drive of the night from their own 8 yard line and quickly got a 1st down after a completion to Engram and a run by RJ Harvey. A phantom holding call against Pat Bryant by Clay Martin (who is 7-0 calling Chiefs games and 1-6 in Broncos games) backed Denver up to 1st and 20 as we came to the end of the 1st quarter. On 3rd and 16, RJ Harvey on a screen gained 9 so the Broncos were forced to punt it back to KC. Chiefs started from their own 29 yard line with 13:28 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Kenneth Walker gained 9 yards on 1st down to start the drive and on 3rd down he gained 4 to give KC their initial 1st down of the drive. Facing a 3rd and 5 at their own 47, Mahomes pass attempt fell incomplete. After the punt, Broncos offense would go back to work from their own 12 yard line with 11:04 remaining in the 1st half.
Adam Trautman caught a 6 yard pass to start the drive. Facing a 3rd and 4, Jaylen Waddle caught a quick out route for 2 yards and the Broncos were once again forced to punt. Chiefs took over at their 25 yard line with 9:21 remaining in the 2nd.
Facing a 3rd and 8, Mahomes scrambled up the middle for just enough to get the initial first down of the drive. On 3rd and 3, Riley Moss fired in front of Xavier Worthy to knock the ball away and force a punt. Broncos took over at their 23 with 6:22 remaining in the 1st half.
Troy Franklin on the jet sweep gained 5 yards on 1st down. Facing a 3rd and 1, Bo Nix was in shot gun throwing the ball and it fell incomplete...forcing another punt. After the punt, Chiefs back to work at their own 20.
Facing a 3rd and 10, Mahomes hit Walker down the left sideline for exactly 10 yards to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Kenneth Walker burst through the line for 28 yards and KC was marching into Denver territory. Coming out of the 2 minute warning, Chiefs were at the Denver 26 yard line and worked all the way down to the 13 yard line. Mahomes connected with Rashee Rice on the right side and a couple of missed tackles lead to the Chiefs going back in front 14-7 with 1:39 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Broncos starting from their own 34 yard line and R Mason Thomas sacked Bo Nix on the 1st down drop back. Nix hit Bryant for 10 but his 1st attempt at hitting Sutton on the left sideline fell incomplete. After the punt, Chiefs didn't attempt to advance the ball very much taking a 14-7 lead into the half.
Mahomes and the Chiefs started with the ball at their own 35 yard line. Facing a 4th and 1, Kenneth Walker went around the left side and after breaking a couple of tackles, took it 60 yards to the house to give the Chiefs a 21-7 lead 12:43 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
JK Dobbins burst around the left side for 17 yards to start the drive and get the Broncos into KC territory. A delay of game penalty on 3rd and 2 backed them up to 3rd and 7 and Waddle dropped the slant pass that would've given them an easy 1st down.
Jeremy Crawshaw pinned KC inside the 5 at their own 2 (great play by Pat Bryant too) with 9:47 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Denver needed a stop and they got better than that. Patrick Mahomes threw it straight to Brandon Jones and he returned it to the KC 5 yard line. A holding call against Pat Bryant would back the Broncos up and they couldn't recover. Nix had a near fumble but Sneed touched it out of bounds, keeping it with Denver. They would settle for a 31 yard FG and cut the Chiefs lead 21-10.
On 3rd and 6, Broncos blitzed and Mahomes hit Kelce who broke a tackle and took it all the way down to the Broncos 5 yard line with a 59 yard gain. On 3rd down, Que Robinson came up with the 1st sack of the game on Mahomes and Butker would sink at 28 yard field goal to go back in front by 2 TDs, 24-10 with 3:17 remaining in the 3rd.
Broncos get their initial 1st down of the drive on a quick hit to Engram on the left side. Troy Franklin was called for OPI on a stop route along the left side backing up the Broncos to 2nd and 16. Facing a 3rd and 16, Bo Nix tried to climb the pocket but the ball was punched out. Chris Jones recovered it at the Denver 34 in the waning moments of the 3rd quarter.
At the start of the 4th quarter, the Chiefs were facing a 3rd and 5. Mahomes hit Emmett Johnson along the left side and he took it up field inside the 5 yard line for a 25 yard gain. On the next play, Kenneth Walker took a Mahomes pass for a walk in TD. Chiefs extend their lead 31-10 with 14:39 remaining in the 4th quarter.
Broncos offense went 3 and out, quickly. Chiefs would start their next drive at their own 5 yard line after a penalty on the punt but Kenneth Walker quickly got them out of the shadow of their end zone, with 18 quick yards. Zach Allen would get a sack to end the drive.
Chiefs would go on to finish the game, dominating the Broncos 31-10.
The next broadcast will be on Sunday, September 20th as the Broncos host the Jacksonville Jaguars. Coverage starts at 8am on KOA.
Below are postgame interviews with Bo Nix