BY TRISTAN SASSE
In an essentially meaningless game, the Kansas City Chiefs survived a late comeback by the Denver Broncos to hold on for a 27-24 victory. Sunday afternoon marked the fifth straight win for Kansas City over Denver. Additionally, rookie quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, threw for nearly 300 yards in his first career NFL start.
Game Recap
Mahomes guided the Chiefs offense down the field on the first drive of his NFL career. Mahomes found Demetrius Harris for a 51-yard completion on the third play of the game. Two plays later, Kareem Hunt finished the drive with a 35-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing drive, Mahomes threw his first career interception to Darian Stewart, deep in Denver territory. The Broncos capitalized off the turnover with a 36-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.
In the second quarter, De’Angelo Henderson scored a 29-yard touchdown on a pass from Paxton Lynch to give Denver a 10-7 lead. The drive covered 80 yards in 10 plays. Nearing the end of the half, Kansas City marched down the field and Anthony Sherman scored his first career rushing touchdown from a yard out. Right before halftime, Lynch threw an interception to Terrance Smith. On the final play of the half, Dustin Colquitt had a 77-yard punt and the Chiefs went into the locker room with a 14-10 lead.
Denver had more total yards in the first half (209-200), first downs (12-10) and led time of possession, but the late turnover proved to be the difference. Mahomes completed 8-of-15 attempts for 135 yards in the first half, and Albert Wilson led all players with 69 receiving yards.
At the start of the second half, Kansas City forced a Denver punt. The Chiefs answered with an 18 play, 90-yard drive, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. A few plays later, Kansas City found the end zone. Chris Jones forced a strip sack and Ramik Wilson returned it to the house to give the Chiefs a 24-10 lead heading into the final quarter.
Midway through the final quarter, Lynch threw an interception to Terrance Mitchell in Chiefs territory. On the next play, Tyler Bray fumbled on his first snap of the season and Zaire Anderson returned it 38 yards for a Bronco touchdown. After forcing a Chiefs punt, Denver drove down the field and Lynch connected with Demaryius Thomas for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth down. With under three minutes remaining, the game was tied at 24.
Mahomes re-entered the contest with one final chance to end the game in regulation. Mahomes led the Chiefs 67 yards down the field and Butker drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired. Although Kansas City gave up 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points, they held on for a 27-24 victory.
By the Numbers
Kansas City totaled 379 yards of offense, had 23 first downs, and forced three turnovers. Denver accumulated 336 total yards.
For the Chiefs, Mahomes completed 22-of-35 attempts for 284 yards. Additionally, Wilson led all players with 10 receptions for 147 yards. Also, while seeing limited playing time, Hunt claimed the NFL rushing title. He was the sixth rookie in NFL history to win the award.
Kansas City also became just the second team in NFL history with a 4,000-yard passer (Alex Smith), over 1,000 yards from a running back (Hunt), over 1,000 yards from a wide receiver (Tyreek Hill), and over 1,000 yards from a tight end (Travis Kelce).
For Denver, C.J. Anderson finished at over 1,000 yards rushing (1,007) for the first time in his career.
Looking Ahead
As a No. 4 seed in the AFC, Kansas City (10-6) will host the No. 5 seed Tennesse Titans (9-7) in the Wild Card Round. Kansas City hasn’t won a home playoff game since the 1994 Wild Card Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, this postseason will be the Titans’ first playoff appearance since 2008.