Arrowhead Pride
On Sunday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs lost 22-19 to the Denver Broncos, falling to 5-5 on the season.
From the jump, Kansas City’s pass offense was not in sync.
On the second play of the opening drive, quarterback Patrick Mahomes loaded up and launched a deep pass to wide receiver Xavier Worthy streaking away from coverage. The throw went too far for Worthy, falling in front of him as he headed toward the end zone.
Two plays later, looking to convert third-and-10, Mahomes let it rip down the right sideline to wide receiver Tyquan Thornton — only for the ball to fall to the turf in front of him.
The Chiefs’ passing offense only survived because of significant defensive pass interference penalties that provided two of the team’s biggest gains.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice missed opportunities to help get things rolling. Looking to get into field-goal range before halftime, Mahomes bought time and gave Rice a catchable pass on the sideline that he dropped. Right out of the intermission, Rice couldn’t hang onto a well-placed throw in tight coverage.
In the third quarter, Kansas City drove into the red zone with an efficient passing game. But the offense stalled — and an extended play by Mahomes ended with an interception. That negated a chance to kick a field goal to take the lead.
Late in the game, the Chiefs got their act together to score touchdowns on two consecutive drives, giving the team a three-point lead. However, Kansas City went three-and-out with a chance to secure the 19-16 advantage — and then again when the score was tied with under four minutes remaining. That gave the Broncos the opportunity to win the game.
It was a disheartening performance from the Chiefs’ pass offense as a whole — but specifically from Mahomes. Despite being sacked three times, he had plenty of opportunities to make throws from a clean pocket.
Following a week off, the Chiefs had far too many miscues — especially from the special teams unit.
Following Kansas City’s opening three-and-out, Denver punt returner Marvin Mims took the punt 70 yards to the Chiefs’ 21-yard line. Reserve cornerback Kevin Knowles added to the damage by drawing a flag for illegally blocking above the waist, setting up the Broncos at the 11-yard line with a 3-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, kicker Harrison Butker’s kickoff landed short of the landing zone, giving Denver possession at the 40-yard line when the Chiefs trailed 6-3.
On a first-half drive that ended in a field goal, left guard Kingsley Suamataia set the offense back with a 10-yard penalty for illegal use of hands. Later in the same possession, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was called for holding twice in three snaps — dooming a possession that had reached the Broncos’ 5-yard line.
In the third quarter, the point-after attempt following the...
