Final score: Chiefs struggle past Broncos with 19-8 win

The Kansas City Chiefs collected their 16th consecutive win over the Denver Broncos — and extended their 2023 record to 5-1 — with a 19-8 win on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in the Week 6 edition of “Thursday Night Football.”

First quarter

The Chiefs won the opening coin toss, deferring their decision for the ball to the second half. They kicked off to Denver to start the contest, booting it into the endzone for a touchback.

Denver pounded the rock on their first drive, gaining 22 rushing yards between the running backs as they marched past midfield. The Chiefs’ defense forced third and short, but a missed tackle by linebacker Nick Bolton kept the drive alive. Then, Kansas City got the third-down stop, setting up Denver to go for it on fourth down.

The front swarmed Broncos’ quarterback Russell Wilson, and safety Justin Reid eventually sacked Wilson to give the Chiefs the ball near the 50-yard line.

Kansas City looked to answer with its own effective ground game, leaning on running back Isiah Pacheco to get things going. Tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Rashee Rice combined to catch passes and enter the red zone, but the Chiefs eventually stalled. The field goal attempt they settled for was good, giving the home team an early 3-0 lead.

After a big run made Denver’s second drive look promising, a pass over the middle was intercepted by Nick Bolton. He sunk under the route, and gave the Chiefs possession near midfield.

The Chiefs looked to be taking advantage of the turnover, getting a huge gain through the air from tight end Travis Kelce right off the bat. A few plays after the 40-yard play, the offense stalled — but didn’t settle for a field goal. Instead, a desperate Mahomes threw a ball up for grabs, and safety Justin Simmons finished the interception.

The Broncos looked like they gave the ball right back to Kansas City with a quick fumble, but the call was overturned on the field. That led into the end of the first quarter.

Second quarter

In a third-down situation to start the second period, the Broncos’ fullback dive failed when Chiefs’ defensive lineman Malik Herring shot through the line for a tackle for loss. Denver had to punt away.

Kansas City put together a methodical drive that looked to put more points on the board. Pacheco and Kelce were once again featured as the offense advanced deep into the red zone, but it turned into another field-goal attempt. Except, the Chiefs tried to catch Denver off guard with a sneak with the field-goal team — and it was ruled short of the line to gain.

The Chiefs’ defense picked up the offense, getting a quick stop and forcing a punt from deep in Denver territory. Kansas City had possession at their own 38-yard line.

Kelce continued to find gaping holes in Denver’s coverage, making two catches of 13 or more yards to help Kansas City get inside the 10-yard line. Two plays after they got there, Mahomes found wide receiver Kadarius Toney running to the front pylon, giving Kansas City a 10-0 lead with three minutes to go in the first half.

The Chiefs’ defense got a three and out quickly, giving possession back to the offense at the two-minute warning. The defensive stop was highlighted by linebacker Drue Tranquill sacking Wilson.

Kansas City’s attempt to score before halftime went disastrously: multiple penalties pushed the Chiefs back to their own 30-yard line when they settled for a punt.

With 47 seconds to go in the second quarter, the Broncos neared midfield with a successful screen pass. A few plays later, they faced third down with 27 seconds on the clock. Chiefs’ star pass rusher Chris Jones stopped the drive there, with the help of George Karlaftis to sack Wilson.

The Chiefs did get possession with 15 seconds left in the quarter, and they were able to get in position for a 60-yard field goal. Butker made it look like an extra point. It gave Kansas City a 13-0 lead.

Third quarter

Out of intermission, the Chiefs’ offense did more of the same: get the ball to Isiah Pacheco and Travis Kelce. The duo made it an easy drive down the field, but the red-zone offense stalled for the fourth time on the night. Mahomes couldn’t find an open receiver on third down, and the Chiefs settled for a field goal. It made the score 16-0.

Kansas City left the door open for Denver here, but the Broncos did their best to close it on themselves with another turnover. A Wilson pass was batted up by linebacker Willie Gay, and intercepted by safety Justin Reid.

From their own 36-yard line, Kansas City faced a third down quickly — but it was picked up by a scrambling Mahomes; he was aided downfield by a block from Jerick McKinnon. However, the Chiefs stalled on a drive for just the latest time this game, with a direct snap to Toney ending up in a tackle for loss. The Chiefs punted from their own territory.

After a tackle for loss by linebacker Leo Chenal, Denver escaped from being backed up in their own territory with a scramble by Russell Wilson. That took the game to the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter

To start the final period, Denver ran into another punt — following three straight incompletions. The Chiefs took the ball back at their own 22-yard line, with just under 14 minutes remaining.

Kansas City’s offense looked for a big play to break their lead open, but a deep pass to an open Justin Watson fell incomplete. A few plays later, the Chiefs were punting back to the Broncos.

Denver quickly worked into scoring position, but Kansas City’s defense looked to have forced a stop in the red zone when Mike Edwards blitzed and caused an incompletion. However, he was called for roughing the passer; a few plays later, Wilson found wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the end zone, narrowing the score to 16-8 after a two-point conversion.

With just over six minutes to go, Kansas City looked for a way to finish the game strong. They had to overcome a third down right off the bat, doing so with a 28-yard gain on the catch and run by Rashee Rice. A few plays later, Mahomes found Skyy Moore past the first-down marker to continue into Broncos’ territory.

Looking to play with ball security, the Chiefs played conservatively — but that ended up in an 11-yard sack on third and long. That’s when the two-minute warning hit.

Out of the break, Harrison Butker made a 52-yard field goal — giving the Chiefs a multi-score lead with less than 120 seconds to go.

Denver’s attempt to comeback in the last minute quickly ended, when running back Semaje Perine fumbled and gave the Chiefs the ball back. After that, Kansas City kneeled it out in the victory formation, cementing the 19-8 win.

Injuries

Wide receiver Justin Watson stayed down after going for a pass in the fourth quarter. He appeared to land hard and awkwardly on his left arm.

Special Teams

Kicker Harrison Butker made his only point-after attempt of the evening. He made field goals of 25 yards, 35 yards, 52 yards, and a 60-yard kick just before halftime that he had plenty of extra leg on.

Punter Tommy Townsend had three punts in the game, with the longest traveling 62 yards. One punt did land inside the 20-yard line, landing at the five-yard line.

Punt returner Montrell Washington totaled 10 yards on the three punt returns he had in the game.

Statistics