DENVER – It took another comeback and a goal-line stand, but the Denver Broncos are still in the race for the AFC West title.
The Broncos sacked Patrick Mahomes on fourth down as time expired on Sunday, Nov. 1, at Empower Field top seal a huge rally and defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24.
Denver (6-2) avenged a Week 1 loss at Kansas City (5-2) to climb atop the division again.
For much of the game, that seemed so improbable as Kansas City used three TD passes from Mahomes to head into the fourth quarter with a 24-13 lead.
The big rally marks Denver coach Sean Payton’s 200th regular-season win.
Winners and losers:
WINNERS
Malcolm Roach
Denver’s defensive tackle corralled Patrick Mahomes for the sack that ended the game – and sealed the improbable comeback on the game’s
final play.
Jonah Coleman
Call it a breakout game for Denver’s fourth-round rookie running back. With J.K. Dobbins struggling and RJ Harvey placed on IR, Coleman stepped up to play a major role – and provide the clutch plays in crunch time to help put the Broncos over the top. Coleman went 51 yards on the short dump-off from quarterback Bo Nix to set up his go-ahead 5-yard TD run.
Emmett Johnson
Kansas City’s rookie running back scored his first NFL touchdown in a big way – a 73-yard catch and run – in the second quarter to burn a Broncos blitz. Mahomes, under heavy pressure, managed to float a short, soft pass to Johnson in the flat in the nick of time. Then Johnson did the rest, streaking down the sideline with no defenders in sight. On the Chiefs’ next possession, the fifth-round pick from Nebraska caught a pass in the right flat, broke a tackle attempt by Justin Strnad, then raced for a 38-yard catch and run that set up Harrison Butker’s 45-yard field goal, 19 seconds before halftime. At the break, Johnson had three receptions for 119 yards as KC’s most lethal weapon. He also had the most impressive run from scrimmage, a twisting, spinning effort for 15 yards in the third quarter.
Sean Payton
The Broncos coach won his 200th regular-season game in his 300th game overall. It’s a milestone that he’s unlikely to forget, given the ending. And it should also be noted that only five other coaches in NFL history reached 200 at a faster pace.
LOSERS
Bo Nix
The much-maligned Broncos quarterback had six passes deflected at the line of scrimmage. And that was just one of the issues during another dismal display of offense. Nix, who entered the game with the lowest average air yards-per-attempt (5.7), improved that mark with completions to Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle and Adam Troutman, but the big plays were so far and few between. Then again, he won again at the end.
Denver’s short-yardage game
Four snaps from the 1-yard line and the Broncos seemed lucky to survive with Nix’s TD toss to Jaylen Waddle after three consecutive runs netted nothing in the second quarter. Interestingly, the Broncos went with rookie running back Coleman rather that vet Dobbins, but to no avail. Coleman ran wide and into a wall. He was stuffed diving over the top. In between, Nix was cut down while rolling right. Wonder how effective this package would be with Jonathan Taylor as lead back? Then again, Coleman’s 5-yard game-winning TD came at the right time.
Denver’s third-down game
Apparently, it’s deeper than the play-calling. The Broncos converted just 2 of 11 third downs on Sunday, continuing a disturbing pattern that wasn’t fixed when Sean Payton took over the play-calling from offensive coordinator Davis Webb. In four games since Payton took over the call sheet, Denver has converted 7 of 48 third downs. Atrocious.
J.K. Dobbins
Technically, Dobbins is still the starting running back. In reality, he’s struggling to make significant impact as Coleman plays a bigger role. Dobbins finished with 13 yards on sever carries. In the days leading up to the game, Dobbins maintained that his limited time last week at Arizona was a reflection of load-management efforts that would help preserve him for the stretch run. That’s plausible, given an injury history that has seen Dobbins play in just 11 regular-season games after Dec. 1 in his seven-year NFL career.
Harrison Butker
With a chance to give the Chiefs a six-point lead in the final three minutes, Butker pushed a 54-yard field goal try wide right. This, after the two misses last week at Seattle left Butker with the lowest field goal rate of his career (68.8%, entering the game). And with Justin Tucker now in the wings – the Chiefs signed the former Ravens kicker to their practice squad last week – Butker is under more pressure than ever to save his job. Since the start of the 2025 campaign, Butker has missed 16 kicks.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Broncos overcome Bo Nix, bad offense and Chiefs in wondrous win: Winners and losers
