ClutchPoints
Coming off their bye week, the Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to look refreshed, refined, and ready to reclaim control of the AFC West. Instead, they walked into Mile High and played like a team still stuck in neutral. The result was a crushing 22-19 road loss to the Denver Broncos. Wil Lutz sealed it with a 35-yard field goal as time expired.
The Chiefs’ second straight defeat dropped them to 5-5. It’s their worst record this late in a season since Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback. Kansas City’s offense sputtered for much of the afternoon. They were undone by penalties, a costly red-zone interception, and misfires on key third downs. The defense held up for most of the first half but faltered late. It allowed Bo Nix to drive Denver into field-goal range on the game’s final possession.
For a team chasing its tenth consecutive AFC West title, the loss was a gut punch. More than that, it was self-inflicted. The Chiefs just displayedof undisciplined play and questionable decision-making that made the Broncos’ job far too easy.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss the Kansas City Chiefs most to blame for their Week 11 loss to Denver Broncos.
Of course, Mahomes is the most gifted quarterback in football. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt countless times. Even the greats have bad days, though. This was one of Mahomes’ worst outings in recent memory.
From the opening series, Mahomes looked a step off. He overthrew deep routes to Marquise Brown and other receivers, missed on timing throws to Travis Kelce, and forced passes into double coverage that had no chance of success. The most damaging moment came in the third quarter. That’s when he threw an interception in the red zone that killed a promising drive and flipped the game’s momentum.
Denver’s defense deserves a lot of credit. They disguised coverages and forced Mahomes into uncomfortable decisions. However, his internal clock seemed off all afternoon. He took unnecessary sacks, hesitated on checkdowns, and couldn’t establish a rhythm against light pressure. The Broncos didn’t need to blitz often. They just baited Mahomes into mistakes.
It’s rare to criticize future Hall of Famer Andy Reid. He is known for offensive innovation. That said, when his team looks this undisciplined after a bye week, scrutiny is fair game. Reid’s game plan against Denver simply didn’t make sense.
The Broncos dared Kansas City to run the football. They showed light boxes and dropped linebackers into coverage. Yet Reid refused to adjust. Despite Kareem Hunt finding early success with runs between the tackles, the Chiefs abandoned the ground game at critical junctures. The result was a one-dimensional attack that let Denver sit back and anticipate passing routes.
Reid also mismanaged key downs late in the fourth quarter. Recall that the Chiefs were at third-and-two near midfield with just over two minutes left. He called a slow-developing...
