KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All good things must come to an end — and so it was Sunday for the Kansas City Chiefs’ long win streaks against the Denver Broncos and within the AFC West.
The Chiefs had won 16 straight games against the Broncos and 13 in a row in the division before a 24-9 loss Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.
It was Denver’s first win against Kansas City since September 2015, a span of 2,964 days that dated back to the Obama administration.
It also was the Chiefs’ first loss to an AFC foe since September 2021 and quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first-ever loss in a road division game.
The shocking loss — which featured five turnovers, including three by Mahomes — also snapped a six-game win streak, dropping Kansas City to 6-2 on the season with a matchup against Miami in Germany awaiting next week.
“They beat us," Mahomes said. "They were the better football team today, and I give them their props."
Mahomes fumbled in the red zone and threw two interceptions, including Broncos safety Justin Simmons’ fifth career pick against the two-time and reigning NFL MVP.
Denver turned the first turnover, a second-quarter fumble by wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling at midfield, into a touchdown.
Mahomes’ first interception didn’t lead to points nor did his fumble, both coming in the second quarter, but wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr.’s muffed punt early in the fourth quarter was the dagger.
Linebacker Leo Chenal, who stepped in with Willie Gay Jr. injured, knocked Denver out of field-goal range to force the punt in a 14-9 game, but Hardman gave the ball right back without Mahomes ever seeing the field.
"Listen, it’s not just Mecole," Andy Reid said. "We all had a piece of this thing.”
Two plays after Hardman’s gaffe, Russell Wilson found Courtland Sutton all alone in the back corner of the end zone for one of his three touchdown passes and a 21-9 lead.
Kansas City, which trailed 14-9 at halftime, had only had one possession to that point.
The Broncos engineered a 13-play drive that took nearly 8 1/2 minutes to open the third quarter but came up empty when Will Lutz’s field goal was blocked.
Mahomes, who was added to the injury report Sunday morning with the flu, was unable to connect with Justin Watson on a deep try on third-and-5 on the ensuing drive, and the Chiefs had to punt.
Denver played keepaway for another 6 1/2 minutes on the next drive before the muffed punt helped ice the game.
“It’s a good reality check for us,” Justin Reid said. “The reason that you play the games in the NFL is because there are no guaranteed wins, especially in the division.”
Still, the Chiefs had their chances.
Skyy Moore dropped a possible touchdown on fourth-and-2 as Kansas City tried to mount a comeback.
George Karlaftis, who finished with a career-high 2 1/2 sacks, sacked Wilson on third down for a three-and-out, but Mahomes was picked off again on the ensuing drive, which led to a Lutz field goal.
“We take this one on the chin and get better from it,” Justin Reid said. “We don’t sulk on it for too long. We’re going to watch the film and get better from it.”
The Chiefs have to with a battle for AFC supremacy looming next Sunday in Germany against Miami.
NO ‘FLU GAME’ HEROICS: Reports before the game prompted obvious comparisons to Michael Jordan’s famed “flu game” in the NBA Finals, but Mahomes’ experience was different.
He finished 24 of 38 for 241 yards with three turnovers in a touchdown-free performance by the Chiefs’ offense.
Mahomes and Kansas City, which beat Denver 19-8 on Oct. 12 at home, have sputtered mightily on offense in two games against Vance Joseph’s defense.
Adding injury to insult, Mahomes also cut his left hand when it got stepped on in the fourth quarter.
“He scratched that thing up pretty good, but he’ll get that worked on," Andy Reid said.
Combined, the Chiefs are 7 for 23 on third down and scored only one touchdown on eight red-zone possessions.
Kansas City was 3 for 10 on third down Sunday and failed to find the end zone on three trips inside Denver’s 20-yard line.
Mahomes is now 29-4 all-time against the AFC West, which is still pretty darn good.
THE BUTKER DID IT (AGAIN!): Kicker Harrison Butker remained perfect on the season with three first-half field goals.
He converted from 23 and 34 yards before banging through a 56-yard field goal as the first half expired to trim Denver’s halftime lead to 14-9.
BIG LEG BUTKER. pic.twitter.com/CMa8XIaxBD
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 29, 2023
For the season, Butker improved to 18 for 18 on field-goal tries, including three from beyond 50 yards. He also hasn’t missed on 19 extra-point attempts.
He set a new Chiefs record for most consecutive field goals made to start a season, breaking a tie with Morten Andersen in 2002 (15), and is tied with Nick Lowery for the club record for most consecutive games without a field-goal miss to start a season (eight).
DEFENSIVE TRANQILL-ITY: Drue Tranquill started at middle linebacker for the fourth time this season with Nick Bolton sidelined by injury.
Tranquill, a free-agent signing from the Chargers in the offseason, finished with a game-high 11 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.
Denver took a 14-3 lead with a touchdown after Valdes-Scantling’s fumble at midfield and threatened to blow the game open after Mahomes threw an interception on the next drive.
Tranquill snuffed out the Broncos’ next drive, tackling Wilson for no gain on a fourth-and-2 play-action bootleg to the right.
The Chiefs weren’t fooled by the play fake and Tranquill ran down Wilson, who fumbled out of bounds for a turnover on downs.
Kansas City netted a field goal on the ensuing drive.
Tranquill was credited with a sack on the play, giving him 3 1/2 on the season.
SACK ATTACK: It took some time for the Chiefs’ pass rush to get rolling, but, eventually, it made an impact to help limit the damage during a sloppy first half.
Kansas City’s defense ended Denver’s last three drives in the second quarter with sacks.
Late in the first half, Tranquill ended a drive with a fourth-down sack.
Mike Danna corralled Wilson for another sack on third down to force a punt on the ensuing drive, while George Karlaftis had a relentless sack and forced a fumble to end the Broncos’ last drive.
Willie Gay Jr. fell on the loose ball for his third fumble recovery of the season, which set up Butker’s 56-yard field goal as the half ended.
Karlaftis added 1 1/2 more sacks, including a split sack with Charles Omenihu on Denver’s opening drive of the second half.
Karlaftis took over the team lead with six sacks, a half-sack more than Chris Jones and Danna.
REJECTED BY REID: Safety Justin Reid timed the snap perfectly as Denver lined up for a field-goal try on the opening possession of the second half, cutting under the edge block and accelerating toward Will Lutz.
With a full layout, Reid blocked the 38-yard attempt, keeping the score 14-9.
REJECTED. pic.twitter.com/eH0Bm9gbFE
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 29, 2023
WELCOME BACK J-WAT: With the Chiefs needing a spark down by a touchdown midway through the opening quarter, Mahomes scrambled right and let one fly for Justin Watson.
Only seventeen days ago, Watson suffered a dislocated elbow in a previous meeting with the Broncos, but he returned earlier than expected from the injury and had an immediate impact.
Watson was expected to miss “a few weeks,” but he returned Sunday and made a 27-yard catch on third-and-13 to ignite Kansas City’s first scoring drive, a 12-play — 71-yard march capped by Harrison Butker’s 23-yard field goal.
Watson finished with two catches for 42 yards.
MITCH’S MILESTONE: Long-time Chiefs play-by-play broadcaster Mitch Holthus celebrated a milestone at Mile High, calling his 500th game for the franchise.
“The Voice of the Chiefs” has called Kansas City games for three decades.
UP NEXT: The Chiefs travel to Frankfurt, Germany, for a showdown for the top spot in the AFC midway through the season against the Miami Dolphins.
Kansas City (6-2) and Miami (6-2), which beat up New England on Sunday, are currently tied with Jacksonville and Baltimore atop the conference standings.
Former Chiefs star Tyreek Hill already has more than 1,000 yards receiving, becoming the first player in NFL history to reach that milestone in only eight games.
The Chiefs and Dolphins kick off at 8:30 a.m. CT next Sunday. The game can be seen locally on KSHB 41.
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