DENVER (KCTV) - A critical AFC West showdown Sunday afternoon in Denver didn’t go Kansas City’s way.
With control of the division on the line, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes marched into Mile High Stadium and put together a 321-yard, 3-touchdown performance for Kansas City.
Still, Denver overcame a 24-13 fourth quarter advantage for the Chiefs with a pair of touchdown drives for the Broncos and a game-sealing goal line stand in the game’s final seconds.
The loss for Kansas City gives Denver a half-game advantage in the AFC West standings with 10 games remaining on the Chiefs’ 2026 regular season schedule.
“I thought the guys battled like crazy,” head coach Andy Reid said following the loss. “When it really came down to it, too many penalties. We had over 100 yards of penalties, and that puts you in a bad position all the way down to the touchdown right at the end.”
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A false start by right tackle Jaylon Moore negated a potential game-winning touchdown for wide receiver Rashee Rice. On the next play, Mahomes was sacked on fourth and goal, unable to find any receivers for a game-winner.
Kansas City got its scoring going with 6:04 remaining in the first half as wide receiver Rashee Rice caught a crosser for an 11-yard touchdown reception. It was Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first touchdown pass in nearly a month and gave the Chiefs a 7-3 first-quarter lead.
By halftime, the Chiefs led, 17-13, with Harrison Butker knocking through a 45-yard field goal just before the break.
In the second half, Kansas City took a 24-13 lead with a 4-yard Noah Gray touchdown reception in the third quarter. That score gave Kansas City a two-score lead, which Denver erased with back-to-back scoring drives to end the game in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes had a 300-plus-yard passing, 3-touchdown performance with zero interceptions for the 20th time in his career. Sunday was the second time that stat line has resulted in a loss for Kansas City.
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Standout rookie
The star of the first half for the Chiefs was rookie running back Emmett Johnson. The Nebraska product didn’t have a rushing carry in the game’s opening 30 minutes but had three receptions for 119 yards instead, including a 73-yard touchdown reception for his first career score.
Just before halftime, Johnson’s 38-yard reception set the Chiefs up for a 45-yard field goal by Harrison Butker, which gave Kansas City a 17-13 advantage at halftime.
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Coaches’ decision
Kansas City’s opening possession of the game brought another curious coaching decision. The Chiefs opted again to bench left guard Kingsley Suamataia in favor of Mike Caliendo for what the Chiefs called a coaches decision.
It was the second time this season Kansas City has started Caliendo instead of Suamataia, with Reid telling reporters the benching in Week 4 against the Raiders was due to disciplinary reasons for something that would remain between Reid and the third-year offensive lineman.
Later in the game, Reid decided to punt on fourth and inches with the Chiefs leading 24-13 and just over 13 minutes remaining in the game. Four plays later, the Broncos had advanced to where Kansas City punted from and eight plays later they had scored a touchdown and 2-point conversion that cut the Chiefs lead to just 3.
“That’s all hindsight,” Reid said of whether he regretted punting, acknowledging that the original spot of the ball 2 yards short of the line of gain impacted the decision. “But it would have made for a good decision right there.”
Kicking conundrum
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was 3-for-3 on extra points and converted a 45-yard field goal in the second quarter. Still, Butker’s misses from 50+ yards continued with a 54-yard miss in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
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“Might have been one of my best weeks of practice,” Butker said after the loss, “but doesn’t matter -- you’ve got to make them in the game.”
Up next
The Chiefs return to Kansas City for an AFC matchup against the New York Jets (2-6) next Sunday at noon.
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