Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 19-8 victory over the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football” at Arrowhead Stadium. Here’s what you need to know:
- Mahomes tallied a season-high 306 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception. Thursday marked his 28th consecutive game with a touchdown pass, the longest active NFL streak.
- Travis Kelce — with Taylor Swift looking on — had a season-high 124 yards, the most receiving yards by a tight end in a game this year.
- Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made a season-high four field goals, including a 60-yard kick in the second quarter.
- Broncos QB Russell Wilson was 13-for-22 for 95 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The two picks matched his total from the first five weeks combined.
Major step back for Wilson
On the Broncos’ opening drive, Wilson rolled to his right on fourth-and-3 at the Chiefs’ 38-yard line. Unable to find a receiver, he fell into a sack for a turnover on downs. On Denver’s second drive, Wilson dropped back to pass and spotted wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, but he apparently didn’t see dropping linebacker Nick Bolton, who easily intercepted the throw.
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And so it went for Wilson, who turned in his worst performance of the season Thursday night. There had been moderate improvement from the veteran quarterback and Denver’s offense under coach Sean Payton through the first five games of the season. That’s not to say it had been a complete turnaround from the 2022 disaster that saw the Broncos score a league-worst 16.7 points per game. After all, it was just last week that Denver tallied minus-18 net yards on its first four drives of the second half in a loss to the Jets. But the Broncos had largely been more functional entering Thursday night’s game, with Wilson trending toward the baseline numbers he produced during the bulk of his career in Seattle.
But now it’s fair to question whether that progress has already stalled. The Broncos struggled to protect, had a hard time creating separation on routes and couldn’t avoid the turnovers that also haunted the team during its home loss to the Jets last week. Wilson, who is now 5-16 as a starter in Denver, looked unsure of himself as he navigated a relentless Kansas City pass rush, taking sacks in key moments or getting the ball batted at the line of scrimmage. He wasn’t to blame for all of the woes in an abysmal offensive outing, but he wasn’t able to lift the Broncos when they needed him to either.
It was the kind of performance that will only create more questions about whether the Payton-Wilson relationship is destined to last beyond this season. The Broncos are on pace to have a top-two pick in the NFL Draft. With that would likely come serious consideration about selecting a top quarterback prospect and charting a new path for the franchise. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos staff writer
GO DEEPER
Russell Wilson's worst game with Broncos renews questions about his future
Where do the Broncos go from here?
With the Oct. 31 trade deadline less than three weeks away, expect the Broncos to be sellers. The team already sent outside linebacker Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers for a late-round pick swap last week and is trying to trade Frank Clark, the team’s other veteran at the position.
That likely won’t be the end of Denver’s attempts to deal. This is a team in need of more overall speed, more depth on the defensive front, more talent in the secondary and more of plenty else. They need draft ammunition to help facilitate a rebuild that is now on the way.
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Wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton could be trade candidates. Defensive lineman D.J. Jones and safety Justin Simmons could also be attractive to contending teams looking for more defensive depth.
“We’ve got a good handle on this current roster and our vision for the roster a year from now,” Payton said earlier this week.
Fans can only hope the vision can translate into something far brighter than what they’ve seen to this point in the Payton era. — Kosmider
Chiefs defense shines
Earlier this season, linebacker Willie Gay made a bold statement.
“We’re the best in the NFL,” Gay said of the Chiefs’ defense. “You’ve got to believe it within yourself before anybody else would.”
On a night where the offense struggled at various points, especially on short-yardage plays and inside the red zone, the defense dominated the Broncos with relative ease. When the Chiefs weren’t hitting Wilson, they deflected many of his passes, including one where Gay’s blitz and pass deflection led to an interception by safety Justin Reid. Defensive tackle Chris Jones, the Chiefs’ best pass rusher, continued his streak of collecting at least one sack in every game he’s played this season.
Linebacker Nick Bolton, in his return to the lineup from a sprained left ankle, recorded his first interception of the season. In total, the unit sacked Wilson four times, created three takeaways and had nine pass breakups. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs staff writer
Another impressive Kelce performance
The opponent that Kelce has tortured and overwhelmed the most in his 11-year career is the Broncos. Playing just four days after sustaining a right low-ankle sprain, Kelce had another impressive performance, finishing with a team-high nine receptions on nine targets for 124 yards.
The Chiefs needed Kelce to be the best pass catcher for Mahomes, too, since most of the team’s collection of receivers — Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson and Skyy Moore — struggled to get open. — Taylor
Highlight of the game
One-handed. Jump ball. Just an insane TD catch from Courtland Sutton. @SuttonCourtland#NFLPlus https://t.co/U9rA3YdBnZ pic.twitter.com/Gh5dOrmShS
— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2023
Required reading
- Chiefs struggle to put away the Broncos, further highlighting their offensive issues
- L’Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs’ shadow man, is helping take their defense to the next level
- Taylor Swift returns to Arrowhead Stadium for Chiefs vs. Broncos
(Photo: William Purnell / USA Today)