Broncos snap 16-game losing streak to Chiefs behind 3 TDs from Russell Wilson

DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 29: Ja'Quan McMillian #29 of the Denver Broncos celebrates a interception during the second quarter of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field At Mile High on October 29, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
By Nate Taylor and Nick Kosmider
Oct 29, 2023

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The Denver Broncos upset the Kansas City Chiefs 24-9 on Sunday in Denver. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson completed 12 of 19 passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns as Denver snapped a 16-game losing streak against Kansas City.
  • Jerry Jeudy had two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, while Javonte Williams rushed for 85 yards and added a receiving score. Courtland Sutton also scored on a six-yard pass in the fourth quarter to extend Denver’s lead.
  • Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who played despite being on the team’s injury report with an illness ahead of the matchup, went 24-of-38 passing for 241 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions.

What ending the streak means for the Broncos

Justin Simmons entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Broncos in 2016, two months after Denver won Super Bowl 50.

Simmons earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition, intercepted more passes than any other safety since he entered the league and became multiple-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. What he had never done was beat the Chiefs.

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Same for Garett Bolles, who was drafted by the Broncos in the first round in 2017. And for Sutton, a second-round pick in 2018. No homegrown player on Denver’s roster had ever taken down Mahomes, who had never lost an AFC West road game.

“It would mean everything,” Simmons said when asked this week what it would mean to finally put an end to the misery against the Chiefs.

The Broncos are still just 3-5 as they strut into their bye week. Their playoff odds remain long. But Sean Payton now has his first marquee victory as the Broncos’ head coach — and with it should come the belief that the Broncos are beginning to move in the right direction. That’s what a win like this does. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos staff writer

Denver’s masterful keep-away plan

Every team would like to keep the ball away from Mahomes as much as possible. The Broncos executed the strategy to near perfection Sunday.

Before Kansas City received a kickoff with 10 minutes, 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter, it had possessed the ball for only 3 minutes, 41 seconds in the second half. The Broncos forced a punt on the Chiefs’ only possession in the third quarter. Then, after the Broncos elected to punt from the Kansas City 34-yard line early in the fourth quarter, protecting a 14-9 lead, Mecole Hardman muffed the punt and rookie linebacker Drew Sanders recovered for the Broncos. Two plays later, Wilson hit Sutton for a touchdown that gave the Broncos a 21-9 lead.

The Broncos have become a more run-centric team over the past three weeks, and Denver’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage after halftime. Throw in a few key third-down conversions, a hawking defense that forced four of Kansas City’s five turnovers, and you had a perfectly executed keep-away plan.

When Simmons intercepted Mahomes’ last-gasp pass in the fourth quarter, a delirious, orange-towel-waving crowd erupted and bounced in front of their seats.

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At long last, the streak is over. — Kosmider

Receivers continue to be an issue for Kansas City

Near the midway point of the season, the Chiefs’ receivers continue to be an adventure for Mahomes, which appears to be the biggest variable in the team’s offensive production. The Broncos wisely devoted much of their coverage to tight end Travis Kelce, who finished with six receptions for 58 yards. In the second half, though, two of the Chiefs’ young receivers, rookie Rashee Rice and second-year player Skyy Moore, each dropped a pivotal pass that could’ve helped the team score a touchdown. In the middle of the fourth quarter, Moore dropped a pass on fourth-and-3 in the end zone, a catch that would’ve been a 27-yard touchdown to trim the Broncos’ lead to five points. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs staff writer

Chiefs did this to themselves

At some point, the streaks were going to end. The Chiefs defeated themselves — and snapped their league-leading 16-game winning streak over the Broncos — just as much as the Broncos won Sunday’s game. With four turnovers and terrible execution inside the red zone, the Chiefs never led.

Mahomes, who played for the first time in his seven-year career with the flu, also struggled, throwing two interceptions and staying in the pocket too long at times, including a snap in the red zone that led to him fumbling the ball on a strip-sack. Entering Sunday, Mahomes had never lost to the Broncos and had never lost a road divisional game. He left the field Sunday with his head bowed after three giveaways and being sacked three times. — Taylor

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Sick feeling: How the Chiefs' worst offensive effort of the season cost them in Denver

Highlights of the game

Required reading

(Photo: Justin Tafoya / Getty Images)

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