Chiefs defeat Broncos 19-8 in Week 6

In the NFL’s Week 6, the Kansas City Chiefs opened their AFC West schedule with a XX-XX win over the Denver Broncos on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — their 16th consecutive victory over their longtime rival.

The Broncos opened the game by driving into Kansas City territory — and then failed on a fourth-and-3 attempt at the 38-yard line. Kansas City drove into the red zone — but on a third-and-3 at the 17, Denver’s Mike Purcell batted down a Patrick Mahomes pass, forcing a 35-yard Harrison Butker field goal to give Kansas City a 3-0 lead.

On the second play of the next Broncos drive, Nick Bolton intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass at the Kansas City 43-yard line. The Chiefs immediately moved into the red zone with a 40-yard catch and run by Travis Kelce — and then Mahomes lofted a bad pass that was intercepted by Justin Simmons at the goal line and returned to the 7-yard line. But the Broncos could only manage 19 yards before Kansas City forced a punt as the second quarter began.

The Chiefs drove down to the 6-yard line, but a scrambling Mahomes was unable to connect with Skyy Moore in the end zone, bringing up a fourth-and-2. In field goal formation, Noah Gray shifted to take the snap. Two teammates tried to push him to a first down, but it wasn’t enough to convert. The Broncos took over but went three-and-out. This time, Kansas City drove all the way into the end zone, taking a 10-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kadarius Toney with just over three minutes left in the half.

Then the two teams ended the first half with four consecutive drives of four or fewer plays. The first three ended with punts — but the last one ended with a 60-yard Butker field goal to give the Chiefs a 13-0 halftime lead.

The Chiefs opened the third quarter with a crisp-looking drive that included a 23-yard pass to rookie Rashee Rice that gave them a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line — but once again, they had to settle for a field goal that made the score 16-0. Denver replied with a six-play drive that got into enemy territory with a pass interference flag on Jaylen Watson — but then Willie Gay Jr. tipped a pass that landed in Justin Reid’s hands. Kansas City’s successive six-play drive was even worse — but at least ended with a punt that pinned the Broncos at their 5-yard line as the third quarter was coming to a close.

The next Denver drive also ended with a punt — as did the following Chiefs drive. But then the Broncos’ next sequence — extended by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Mike Edwards — ended with a 11-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton (and a successful 2-point conversion) to make the score 16-8 with 6:07 left in the game. Kansas City used just over four minutes of the clock before a 11-yard sack of Mahomes forced a 52-yard field goal to make the score 19-8 at the two-minute warning. Then on the second play of the next drive, Trent McDuffie forced a fumble to end the game.