The Kansas City Chiefs’ closely contested 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday dropped the team’s record to 5-5, keeping the team outside of the AFC playoff picture and giving Denver firm control
of the AFC West.
For the Chiefs’ fans, this was a bitter loss that washed away a decade’s worth of dominance over the Broncos — and put Kansas City behind the eight ball in the AFC West for the first time in a long time.
The game was tied at three different points — and was eventually defined by each team’s final offensive possession.
The Chiefs’ last possession
Kansas City got the ball back with over four minutes remaining in the game; the offense appeared to be in position for a vintage late-game drive captained by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Running back Kareem Hunt had turned in a productive day — averaging 4.5 yards per carry with a touchdown — but the Broncos had no fear of the run due to Hunt’s light usage: just 13 carries. That made play-action designs much less effective — so when the Chiefs tried it on first down, it didn’t materialize.
Here, we see Mahomes attempt to fit a throw into tight end Travis Kelce’s hands, but the ball is behind him — and nearly leads to an interception. This stops the clock and brings up second-and-10.
The Chiefs needed to create forward momentum and get their playmakers involved. The next play-call did anything but that.
Even though veteran tight end Robert Tonyan had played only seven snaps in the game, Kansas City here attempts to sneak a pass to him out of 13 personnel: one running back and three tight ends.
There is nothing wrong with the heavier personnel, but the Chiefs use Kelce (and tight end Noah Gray) as shallow decoys; Tonyan works a deeper route behind them. Even more questionable: running back Kareem Hunt aligns wide, while wideout Rashee Rice starts from the backfield. Neither player has any impact on the play; Rice is just a decoy.
Tonyan is open briefly, but it will take a perfect pass to get the ball past the linebackers. So Mahomes scrambles — nearly completing a miraculous throw to Kelce — but the pass is ruled incomplete.
That brought up a critical third down and an obvious passing situation.
Here, Kansas City uses a form of big-on-big protection to counter Denver showing six at the line of scrimmage; the five linemen are picking up the most dangerous rushers.
On the snap, one of the two linebackers who is threatening to blitz drops — along with a defensive tackle. Center Creed Humphrey initially steps right to take the blitzer to that side, but he redirects when that linebacker drops — possibly indicating that Humphrey intends to leave the one on his left for Hunt in the backfield.
So when edge rusher Nick Bonitto loops inside — grabbing the attention of left tackle Josh Simmons — there is a free rusher coming from the slot that Hunt is out of position to stop.
With nothing open downfield, Mahomes eats the play and takes a sack, ending the Chiefs’ final drive.
The Broncos’ last possession
Denver got the ball back with 2:59 left. The Broncos started with a simple first-down run-pass option play.
The play creates momentum, keeping the clock moving before a holding penalty on second down leads to third-and-15.
Unlike the Broncos on third down, Kansas City brings only three pass rushers — while linebacker Leo Chenal hangs around the line of scrimmage to spy Nix. Defensive tackle Chris Jones draws immediate attention from the Broncos’ interior offensive line — but even so, George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu cannot get home with their rushes.
Initially, the Chiefs’ coverage is fine — but because Nix has so much time, wideout Courtland Sutton slips away from cornerback Jaylen Watson, where Nix finds him for a first down.
The Chiefs would force the Broncos into a third down once more.
By this point, Denver is killing the clock as it approaches field goal range. A built-in checkdown to Sutton gives him just enough for a first down.
On second down with only 54 seconds to play, Nix fires a 34-yard bullet to Troy Franklin that moves them firmly into field-goal range — and leads to the game-winning kick.
The bottom line
During the Chiefs’ dominant run against the Broncos with Mahomes and Reid, the formula has been simple: get the ball into Mahomes’ hands last, which will allow the Chiefs to win the game.
On Sunday, they had that chance — in a situation they have been in dozens of times before, with a chance to re-enter the AFC West race — but this time, they failed.
Kansas City appeared to be off its game — while Denver looked like a veteran, calm, cool and collected team. This was never more apparent than it was during the game’s final two possessions.
Head-scratching offensive play calls, poor situational football, a lack of pass rush and predictable looks all contributed to the Chiefs’ loss — but the hardest thing to swallow is that the sense of invincibility the team has enjoyed since Mahomes arrived has now been shattered.
