Give credit to the Kansas City Chiefs defense, and to tight end Travis Kelce—they both came to play, and as a result the Chiefs were nearly able to pull off an improbable upset against the Denver Broncos, but the Chiefs’ offensive limitations ultimately resulted in a 20-13 loss.
This game was defined by four long Denver drives, one in each quarter. The first two came up short to produce a pair of Wil Lutz field goals, with gave the Chiefs a chance to hang around and counter with a touchdown on a short drive after a Bo Nix interception to make the score 7-6 at halftime.
The TD came on a 4-yard pass to running back Brashard Smith, and it was the first career touchdown bass for the Chiefs third-string quarterback, Chris Oladokun.
The Chiefs actually scored first in the third quarter after a pass interference penalty on Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II in Denver territory led to a 53-yard field goal by Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker that made it 10-6.
The Broncos proceeded to drive the field again, and this time Nix was able to finish by running the ball in from nine yards out for Denver’s first touchdown of the night. That gave the Broncos the lead, 13-10, but the Chiefs were able to counter with yet another Butker field goal from 47 yards after a 44-yard punt return by Smith.
Denver’s final drive of the game was the fourth one to last for at least 14 plays, and Nix finished the 65-yard effort with a one-yard touchdown pass to running back RJ Harvey. The key play in the drive was a defensive offside penalty by Chiefs tackle Chris Jones that gave Denver a critical red-zone first down that led to the score.
It’s remarkable that the Chiefs were even able to give themselves a chance in this one. Oladokun passed for just 66 yards on the night as he went 13-for-22, although he did remain turnover-free. The running game had some moments as the Chiefs were able to pick up some occasional first downs, but Kansas City was simply outgunned in this one due to their quarterback injury issues.
The highlight of the night for the Chiefs was the final drive, which featured some receiving highlights from Kelce, who put Kansas City on his back and nearly win the game single-handed. Kelce was eventually double-teamed, though, and a final pass to receiver Hollywood Brown in the end zone wound up being an overthrow tight as Denver survived.
The Broncos will move on to play the Los Angeles Chargers for the AFC West title next week, assuming the Chargers can beat the Houston Texans on Saturday. That will officially end the Chiefs’ run of division titles at nine, while the Chiefs will close out their broken season against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18.