Chiefs Fall to Broncos, 24-9, Snap 16-Game Winning Streak vs. Divisional Rival
The Kansas City Chiefs had a horrible, no good, very bad day on Sunday
The Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) dropped a frustrating one on Sunday as the Denver Broncos’ defense gave the Chiefs’ offense more than they could handle - forcing the Chiefs into five turnovers and holding them out of the end zone for the first time in more than two years.
Here’s what KCSN’s Craig Stout took away from the game:
29.75 - Broncos Starting Field Position on Scoring Drives
The Kansas City Chiefs offense played well last week against the Los Angeles Chargers. It seemed like maybe this team had turned a corner and might be able to ramp up and make some noise through the middle and end of the year. On Sunday against the Denver Broncos, hopes of that turnaround took a serious hit as the offense made mistake after mistake, turning the ball over 5 times - and once more failing to convert on downs.
A Mahomes-led offense has only turned the ball over 5 times once – the shootout against the Los Angeles Rams in his rookie season – and has never had six drives end by giving the ball back to the defense without punting. Four of those five turnovers resulted in scoring drives for the Broncos, with an average starting field position inside the Chiefs' 30 yard line. It's beyond difficult to keep points off the board when the defense is constantly put in those positions, and damn near impossible to win games that way.
Through 8 weeks, there is just as much bad as there is good with the Chiefs offense. They've been able to lean on their defense and skate by with some less-than-stellar performances during the 2023 season. This week, that type of performance finally cost them a win – against a divisional opponent without a win in their last 16 tries. Something has to give, and with a couple of tough opponents coming up, the hope is that the offense can get right sooner rather than later.