Broncos Rally Past Chiefs 28-24 on a Goal-Line Stand to Take the AFC West Lead
Denver trailed 24-13 in the fourth quarter, scored 15 straight points in two plays' worth of sudden offense, and then stopped Kansas City four times inside the 10 - the last a sack at the 1-yard line as time expired - to beat the Chiefs 28-24 and move alone into first place in the AFC West.
DENVER - The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24 on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High, rallying from 11 points down in the fourth quarter and surviving a final drive that reached the 1-yard line, according to Reuters' account of the game.
Kansas City (5-2) controlled most of the afternoon behind Patrick Mahomes, who finished 30-for-41 for 321 yards and three touchdowns, and led 24-13 in the fourth quarter. Denver's comeback - its fourth of the season - came in a rush: Bo Nix threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Nate Adkins, and then, in two plays covering 56 yards in 35 seconds, Nix hit Jonah Coleman on a 51-yard catch-and-run and Coleman ran in from the 5 with 1:56 left to put Denver ahead for the first time, 28-24. Nix finished 20-for-32 for 222 yards, and Coleman totaled 104 yards.
The Chiefs outgained the Broncos 399 to 294 and still had the last word to say. Mahomes drove Kansas City inside the Denver 10 in the final seconds, but the Broncos stopped the Chiefs four times there - on the final play, with four seconds left and the ball at the 1, Malcolm Roach sacked Mahomes to end the game, Reuters and NBC Sports both reported.
The win was the 200th of Sean Payton's career including the postseason, and it moved Denver (6-2) alone into first place in the AFC West, a game ahead of the Chiefs, while avenging a Week 1 loss at Kansas City. It was Kansas City's second consecutive loss. The ending played out in two stadiums at once: in Salina, Kansas, the crowd at President Donald Trump's closing rally had watched the game on the big screen, and Trump remarked on it from the stage - "That was a nasty ending wasn't it."
