The Kansas City Chiefs improve to 5-1 on the 2023 season as head coach Andy Reid secures his 48th victory over an AFC West divisional opponent on Thursday night. The Chiefs were projected to light up the scoreboard against Denver’s defense, which ranks at the bottom of the league. Instead, the early primetime matchup became a sloppy slugfest as both defensive units put on a clinic.
In the first quarter, Kansas City got an early 3-0 lead after Denver came up empty-handed on their opening drive. Denver attempted to convert on 4th and three, but Russell Wilson went down for a sack, credited to safety Justin Reid. After an 18-yard run by running back Javonte Williams on Denver’s second possession, Wilson dropped back to throw from his own 43-yard line and attempted a pass for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, but the pass was picked by linebacker Nick Bolton.
Four plays after the takeaway, Kansas City turned the ball back over to Denver as quarterback Patrick Mahomes felt his pocket collapsing around him and threw a pass deep for the sideline, but the throw was inaccurate and hung in the air long enough for Broncos defensive back Justin Simmons to get under it for the interception.
Entering the second quarter, Denver tried to turn their takeaway into points. Instead, they’re forced to punt after seven plays as fullback Michael Burton failed to gain a yard for the first down as defensive end Malik Herring was there to stuff the play for no gain and turn the ball over on downs. Kansas City’s next possession began on their 43-yard line, where they embarked on a 57-yard drive. On their 15th play, on 3rd and two at the six-yard line, Mahomes was flushed from the pocket and scrambled to his right before ripping a for Skyy Moore on the far side of the end zone, but the pass was too far in front and fell incomplete. On fourth down, Kansas City lined up for a field goal before tight end Noah Grey quickly lined up behind long snapper James Winchester and took the direct snap to execute a QB sneak. Unfortunately, Denver was prepared for the fake field goal, and the play failed, resulting in Kansas City turning the ball over of downs.
After forcing another Denver punt, Kansas City re-took possession at their own 38 with 6:28 left in the first half. Mahomes started by completing two passes to his tight ends – a 13-yarder to Travis Kelce, followed by a 6-yard connection to Grey – before handing the ball off to running back Isiah Pacheco, who rips off a 15-yard run on 2nd and 4 to Denver’s 28-yard line. With 4:35 remaining, Mahomes found Kelce again for 19 yards. Three plays later, On 3rd and three at the 3-yard line, Mahomes tosses a short pass to Kadarius Toney on a bootleg, and he takes it the rest of the way for the touchdown. After the next three possessions resulted in both sides punting, Kansas City turned their final drive of the first half into three points from a 60-yard field goal by Harrison Butker before going into halftime with a 13-0 lead.
Kansas City added three more points on their opening drive of the second half, while Denver turned the ball over as Wilson threw his second interception of the night. The Chiefs punted the ball away seven plays later to end the third quarter.
Both teams punted on their opening drives of the fourth quarter. Denver opened their second possession with a 21-yard completion to wide receiver Courtland Sutton to set Denver up in Chiefs territory on their 40-yard line. After four shot bursts up the field to get to the 27-yard line, a pass interference penalty on safety Mike Edwards helped Denver convert on 3rd and five and moved the Broncos 11 yards to the 11-yard line. On the next play, Denver finally got on the score when Wilson connected with Sutton in the end zone for the touchdown.
Following the touchdown, Kansas City responded with a ten-play drive to over four minutes off the clock and added three points to their lead with a 52-yard Butker field goal. Kansas City secured their 19-8 victory three plays later as Wilson handed the ball off to running back Samaje Perine, who fumbled the ball away to the Chiefs’ defense as linebacker Willie Gay scooped it up for the recovery for Mahomes and company to line up in victory formation and seal the game away.
