Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs got the ball to start the game and the Denver Broncos defense came out and forced an immediate three-and-out.
J.K. Dobbins got the start and the first carry for two yards, but Jonah Coleman came in on the second down play to take a swing pass outside for a 9-yard gain and a first down. Troy Franklin then got involved drawing a defensive pass interference on a pass to the Broncos 45 yard line.
Bo Nix then hit Adam Prentice to the other side of the field for
a big first down gain where a helmet-to-helmet penalty added another 15-yards to put Denver solidly into field goal range. The drive stalled there to bring Wil Lutz out for the 39-yard field to put Denver on the board first.
Broncos 3, Chiefs 0.
Denver’s drive was aided by two very big penalties by the Chiefs, which Denver’s defense then returned the favor to Kansas City on their second drive. They would find themselves inside the red zone very quickly. Rashee Rice with Alex Singleton in coverage beat him pretty bad on a crossing route for the easy pitch and catch touchdown to put the Chiefs in the lead.
Chiefs 7, Broncos 3.
In fairness, Singleton shouldn’t be put in one-on-one coverage on a guy like Rashee Rice. That was a failure by Vance Joseph there.
The Broncos next drive began with a short pass to Franklin, then an end around to Marvin Mims for five to bring up third and two. Nix, from the shotgun, was hit as he threw to Evan Engram for the incomplete pass and the quick three-and-out to give the ball right back to Kansas City.
The crowd came alive on the Chiefs third drive of the game and Kansas City found themselves in a 2nd and 14 when Pat Surtain made a big hit stick on Travis Kelce after a short screen pass to bring up a third and 11. Patrick Mahomes was pressured by Nik Bonitto and got the ball out, but the receiver was tackled well short to force another three-and-out on the Chiefs offense.
Bo Nix and the Broncos were in danger of going three-and-out again facing a third and four, but Bo took office and made it to the sideline for the first down to keep the drive alive as the first quarter wound down. The quarter would end with a circus catch by Courtland Sutton to get the Broncos back down into field goal range at the Chiefs 33-yard line.
