The Kansas City Chiefs won their fourth-straight game on Sunday, pounding the Denver Broncos 23-3 as snow accumulated on the field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Winners
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- Tight end Travis Kelce — a/k/a the league’s best tight end — had another huge game. Even as the snow fell, he was a reliable target for Mahomes all day. He had 11 catches on 13 targets for 142 yards — the third-most of his career. The Broncos simply had no answer for the Mahomes-to-Kelce connection.
- Safety Tyrann Mathieu was all over the place in the first half with a sack and a critical pass breakup in the end zone agianst businessman Cortland Sutton. He had another interception nullified with a penalty, too. He made play after play — leading this defense once again.
- Quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t allow snow nor pressure nor pain of hand keep him from his appointed rounds against Denver. He was efficient and confident — and his 41-yard strike to Tyreek Hill was just beautiful; he stepped into the throw and put it right there. The two point conversion to Sammy Watkins after Hill’s second touchdown was a classic scramble-to-buy-time play. Mahomes did it all on Sunday.
- Wide receiver Tyreek Hill had two touchdowns on the day. Playing in the snow can’t be fun for defensive backs. Playing in the snow against Tyreek Hill must be flat-out impossible.
- The Chiefs pass defense made Broncos quarterback Drew Lock look like a typical rookie quarterback instead of a second-round pick who had drawn attention across the league after winning his first two starts — one of them a dominating win against a good Houston Texans team. The former Missouri star went 18 for 40 for 208 yards — with no touchdowns and an interception. His 50.8 passer rating against the Chiefs marred his Kansas City homecoming — and after a couple of week of unbridled optimism, is likely to give Broncos fans some pause.
Losers
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- Left guard Andrew Wylie continued to struggle. as Shelby Harris had two sacks in the first half. Then he was injured late in the game. Stefen Wisniewski took his place at left guard.
- Defensive end Alex Okafor is an unusual addition to the losers list after getting a sack, but he left the game with another injury in the first quarter. If he misses more time, it’ll add up to a frustrating season for the Chiefs’ offseason acquisition. But there was a silver lining: Demone Harris stepped in nicely.
- Punter Dustin Colquitt had a rough moment on the first extra point of the game, bobbling the snap. There was no question about Harrison Butker getting off a kick; Colquitt had to get to his feet and try to get rid of the ball, throwing it out of bounds near Anthony Sherman. Such things can happen in bad-weather games, but it’s not like it hasn’t happened recently. On the plus side, Colquitt was steady on all three of Butker’s field goals — and even brought down a high snap cleanly.