KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It seemed only fitting that after the Kansas City Chiefs had committed a slew of penalties all afternoon, a false start on right tackle Jaylon Moore wiped out a would-be winning touchdown pass against Denver on Sunday.
Forced to do the play over, Patrick Mahomes was sacked by the Broncos, allowing them to preserve a 28-24 victory, avenge a lopsided loss at Arrowhead Stadium to open the season and give them first place in the AFC
West midway through the season.
The Chiefs wound up getting flagged 11 times for 105 yards in the defeat.
“There are going to be calls you don't agree with. That's part of it. But it is what it is,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “I don't like penalties. Do they upset me? They upset me. You have to make sure you're not taking things away from yourself. The games are too close and too hard. We literally score a touchdown and it's a different story. But you learn from this.”
The good news is penalties can rectified. The bad news is they've been a problem for a while. The Chiefs have been penalized for 164 yards more than their opponent this season, the worst differential in the NFL, and their minus-1,100 yard differential since Mahomes took over as the starting QB in 2018 is the third-worst in the NFL.
“I’ve been frustrated with myself on how long I’ve been in the league and the procedural stuff that’s happened the past three games, really — really since the bye — and it’s frustrating," said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who was called for a pre-snap penalty Sunday. "You just can’t (expletive) do it. And — excuse my language — I’ve got to be better for my teammates, and that sets the tone for a lot of people in this room. I think we showed some fight, a lot of fight, and I can take that out of this.”
There were other reasons the Chiefs lost Sunday, of course.
Harrison Butker missed yet another field-goal attempt that would have meant Kansas City needed only a field goal on the final play of the game, rather than a touchdown. Tackling suddenly seemed like an optional affair for the defense in the fourth quarter. Defensive back Monsoor Delane, a first-round draft pick, missed another game because of injury, leaving the secondary to fill in the gap again.
All of those are easily fixable, too. So as much as the divisional loss stung, the Chiefs (5-2) can take solace in the fact they're still doing a lot of things right, and they are still very much in the mix for a prime playoff spot after missing out entirely last season.
“Obviously, you want to get the win in the division against a team that’s, obviously, got a lot of wins on their resume as well. We just made too many mistakes throughout the game to win against a quality football team,” Mahomes said. “We did a lot of good, but when you make mistakes, you’re going to lose when you play good football teams.”
If there was any concern over Mahomes' surgically repaired knee, or whether he was back after what had been a subpar season even before he got hurt, the two-time NFL MVP has erased any doubt. He threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns against Denver, once again benefiting from a ground game that is forcing opposing defenses to finally respect the run against him.
The Chiefs had missed only 20 tackles through the first five weeks of the season, one of the lowest rates in the NFL. But they have struggled mightily with missed tackles in consecutive losses in Seattle and Denver.
Rookie RB Emmett Johnson did a bit of everything Sunday: He caught five passes for 128 yards and a score, ran once for 15 yards, had a long kickoff return that gave the Chiefs a chance for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter and even made a tackle on special teams. The fifth-round pick out of Nebraska is looking like a draft-day steal.
WR Xavier Worthy had three catches for 13 yards in Denver, and he has just 27 catches for 230 yards on the season. That's not nearly enough production from a former first-round pick, especially with WR Tyquan Thornton currently on injured reserve.
The Chiefs hope to have Delane (shoulder) back this week. DL Peter Woods had a stinger but is expected to be OK going forward.
16 — The number of kicks that Butker has missed since the start of last season, the most in the NFL over that span.
The Chiefs return home to play the New York Jets on Sunday.
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