The Kansas City Chiefs officially earned a bid to the 2020 NFL postseason tournament after they knocked off the rival Denver Broncos, 22-16, on Sunday night to advance to 11-1 on the season. The Chiefs have not missed the playoffs since 2014.
The game began as a defensive contest as Denver was able to keep Kansas City’s high-powered offense out of the end zone for the entire first half. The Chiefs settled for four goals and were prevented from scoring a touchdown on six consecutive offensive drives.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 25 of 40 for 318 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill were his top two targets that were used to move the ball down the field.
Kelce caught 8 of 13 targets for 136 yards and a TD, while Hill finished with 6 grabs for 58 yards.
On Denver’s sideline, former Mizzou QB Drew Lock completed 15 of 28 for 151 yards, two TDs, and two interceptions. Lock’s top target was wide receiver Tim Patrick, who caught 4 passes for 44 yards and both of Denver’s touchdowns.
Kansas City’s main point of emphasis as the postseason approaches has been trying to shore up the defense’s inability to stop the run. However, that didn’t stop Broncos running back Melvin Gordon from carving up the Chiefs defense for 131 yards, on 15 carries, and averaged over 8 yards per rushing attempt. Kansas City has struggled to stop opposing rushing threats all season and they continued on Sunday night.
In the first quarter, Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Drew Lock on the first drive of the game. However, that was the only highlight for Kansas City in the first half.
The Chiefs were prevented from reaching the end zone on all five of the offensive drives in the first half. They settled for four field goals and punted once.
Early in the second quarter, Drew Lock led the Broncos offense down the field, 94 yards in seven plays to the K.C. 5-yard line, where he found WR Tim Patrick in the end zone for the five-yard score to take a 10-3 lead. The largest play of the drive was a 65-yard run by Melvin Gordon on third-and-three to the Chief 18-yard line.
Before the first half was officially in the record books, Kansas City converted their final two offensive possessions into field goals to go into the locker room with a 10-9 deficit at half-time.
At the start of the second half, the Chiefs were determined to reach the end zone and take the lead for the first time in the game. Kansas City traveled 65 yards in 10 plays to reach the red zone. However, they were forced to try for another field goal after linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu was able to get to Patrick Mahomes for a 5-yard sack on third-and-goal.
Although the Chiefs were still able to take a 12-10 lead, thanks to a 31-yard field goal by Harrison Butker, Denver had successfully held Kansas City out of the end zone for six consecutive offensive possessions, which has not happened to K.C. since 2016.
Denver retook the lead on the following possession as Drew Lock guided the Bronco offense 68 yards up the field in 11 plays to find WR Tim Patrick for the 10-yard touchdown.
Denver’s 16-12 lead lasted about 2 minutes and 44 seconds, however, as Patrick Mahomes finally led Kansas City on a scoring drive of their own. The Chiefs raced up the field 75 yards in just seven plays to reach the goal line. From his own 25-yard line, Mahomes started the drive off with a 30-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill, followed by a 15-yard strike to Travis Kelce to the Bronco 31-yard line.
Four plays later, on second-down and ten to go, from the Bronco 20-yard line, Mahomes stepped up in the pocket and quickly fired a pass to Kelce, who caught it at the five-yard line before driving into the end zone for the score.
Kansas City’s defense forced Denver to punt on their next two possessions going into the fourth quarter. With 6:07 left in the game, the Chiefs went on a 10-play, 60-yard drive that was capped off by a 48-yard field goal by Harrison Butker to extend Kansas City’s lead to 6 points, forcing Denver to try for the touchdown.
Four plays into Denver’s final offensive possession, Drew Lock lobbed a pass intended for receiver K.J. Hamler into the arms of safety Tyrann Mathieu for his second interception of the night to seal the 22-16 victory for Kansas City.
The Chiefs advance to 11-1 on the season for just the second time in franchise history and will make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Kansas City will head back on the road to take on the Miami Dolphins in Week 14.
