KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Maligned, ridiculed and oft-embarrassed, the Denver Broncos defense was at risk of suffering several shades of shame Thursday night in their matchup against their chief nemesis the Chiefs.
With Kansas City winning the last 15 meetings between the teams and the Broncos ranked last in the NFL in most defensive categories, this game at Arrowhead Stadium figured to be a mismatch.
And while tight end Travis Kelce was a problem as usual, the Denver D was superb when it got tight in the red zone, the only reason why the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs had to sweat a bit before beating the Broncos, 19-8 in the AFC West Divison game before a sold-out crowd that included Kelce girlfriend Taylor Swift on a nationally TV streamed, stand-alone game.
"I said this to (the team) 5 minutes ago, I'm not discouraged,'' Broncos' head coach Sean Payton told reporters after the game. "Man, I thought they played hard. Defense particularly did a great job. Red-zone defense was outstanding.
"Obviously, offensively we struggled throwing the ball. Our third-down numbers were poor. The turnovers, against a team like this -- it's going to be tough to win and yet, we were still in it going into the fourth quarter. ...
"Tonight was a game where we certainly played well enough defensively, but offensively the running game worked. I thought we blocked them well. But from a third-down perspective, keeping drives going, we struggled to get anything until late in the game."
However they do it, the Chiefs have now won 16 straight over 8 solid seasons against the Broncos, a streak that goes back to Denver's Super Bowl 50 year of 2015. So much has happened since -- most of it bad for the Broncos and very good for Andy Reid's Chiefs.
It was 16-0 Chiefs entering the fourth quarter but Broncos' quarterback Russell Wilson, who did not play well through the first three quarters, completed a 21-yard pass to receiver Courtland Sutton to start a late drive and connected again with Sutton for an 11-yard touchdown in the left side of the end zone with 6:07 remaining. Sutton made a nice contested, athletic catch on the play.
A 2-point conversion run by Javonte Williams made it interesting, 16-8.
But the Chiefs behind Mahomes drove down close enough for another Butker field goal, this one from 52 yards, at the 2-minute warning for a cinching 19-8 lead.
The Chiefs are 5-1 and seemingly on their way to their 8th consecutive AFC West Division title. The Broncos are 1-5 and again on their way to becoming sellers at the trade deadline in two weeks. Denver will likely miss the postseason for an 8th consecutive season and is off to a good start towards its seventh straight losing season.
Butker had four field goals -- including a 60 yarder as time expired in the first half and a clutch, 52-yarder with 2 minutes remaining in the game when a miss would have given the Broncos great field position and a chance to tie.
The Denver D stopped the Chiefs four of five times in the red zone, and while that was encouraging for Payton and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, it wasn't enough.
Entering the game, the Broncos only chance seemed to be if their much-improved quarterbackl Wilson could keep up with Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs’ fast-paced offense on the scoreboard.
But the game didn’t play out that way. Wilson didn't have it in one of his worst performances as a Bronco. He had only thrown for 17 yards with 1 minute remaining in the first half while also throwing an interception. He finished 13 of 22 for a paltry 95 yards with two interceptions and took 4 sacks. Wilson is now 5-16 in his two seasons as the Broncos' starting quarterback.
"To win in our league you've got to be better throwing the ball,'' Payton said.
"Obviously, the two turnovers by me are unacceptable, they can't happen,'' Wilson said.
Meanwhile, Mahomes was moving the ball at will between the 20s thanks to Kelce finding openings in the Broncos' zone time after time. Kelce had 7 catches for a whopping 109 yards at halftime and finished with 9 receptions for 124 yards. And to think he was questionable to play because of a sprained ankle.
In 18 career games against the Broncos, Kelce has 110 receptions for 1,414 yards (his best totals against any opponent) and 6 touchdowns.
"When you're in zone he's tough and then man-to-man he can be equally tough," Payton said.
But in the Chiefs’ first three trips to the red zone, the Denver D allowed only 3 points. The first possession ended with a 35-yard Butker field goal; the second ended when Mahomes inexplicably forced a throw to the end zone that Broncos’ safety Justin Simmons intercepted. It was Simmons’ first interception of the year and fourth all-time against Mahomes. No other player has more interceptions off Mahomes than Simmons.
The Chiefs’ third red-zone trip ended with a fourth-and-2 fake field goal, tush-push play that was stopped short at the Denver 5-yard line.
Finally, a Chiefs’ drive ended as expected with Mahomes throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kadarius Toney with 3:06 left in the first half, growing the lead to 10-0.
Mahomes wasn't his spectacular self but was still 30 of 40 for 306 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also ran six times for 31 yards.
The Broncos got a decent rushing attack from Javonte Williams (10 carries, 52 yards) and first-time starter Jaleel McLaughlin (7 carries, 30 yards). Wilson adjusted to his ineffective passing game by starting to run the ball in the second half and had 31 yards off four carries.
Sutton was the Broncos' top receiver with 46 yards off four catches but Jerry Jeudy only had three catches for 14 yards and No. 3 receiver Brandon Johnson had no catches.
"I told them afterwards, you can be disappointed but don't get discouraged,'' Payton said.
Tight end Greg Dulcich, who just returned for the game after missing the past four with a hamstring injury, again left with a hamstring injury.
The Broncos play two more games, both at home, against the Packers and Chiefs again before their bye week and the NFL trading deadline on Oct. 31. The team is expected to especially listen to trade offers for one of their top two receivers, Sutton or Jeudy.
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