The Denver Broncos had a shot at becoming the first team in the 2024 NFL regular season to blemish the record of the two-time defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs. But Sean Payton and his men fell short of that goal, as they lost to Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday via a 16-14 score.
Broncos kicker Will Lutz could have given his team the victory but his 35-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Kansas City which walked off the field with its perfect record still intact.
Despite the loss, Payton remains confident in his team to do well.
“This team is entirely different,” Payton said about the quality of the 2024 version of the Broncos compared to the ones in the past, per Zac Stevens of DNVR Broncos.
Payton admitted the loss being “difficult,” but also believed the Broncos would be able to recover right away.
“We're going to have to bounce back from it,” Payton shared, per Stevens.
Broncos fall short in pulling off a big upset win vs. Chiefs
After a scoreless opening period, the Broncos got on the board first against Kansas City, with quarterback Bo Nix finding wide receiver Devaughn Vele for a six-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker drained a 36-yard field goal to cut Kansas City's deficit down to four before wideout Courtland Sutton caught a 32-yard touchdown to stretch the Broncos' lead. However, the Chiefs were able to score a touchdown just before the end of the first half with tight end Travis Kelce securing a two-yard touchdown pass from superstar signal-caller Patrick Mahomes with a little under two minutes left in the second frame.
It was all Chiefs from that point forward, as Butker scored all the points for Kansas City in the second half while the Broncos went scoreless the rest of the way. The Broncos' silence in the second half was a tough one to accept for Payton.
“I felt like we outplayed them but we didn't finish,” Payton said after the game, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “That one will take a while. It'll sting.”
Nix had better numbers than Mahomes, as he finished the game with 215 passing yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions on 22-of-30 completions, but the Broncos clearly needed more not just from him but from the others to beat Kansas City, which improved to 9-0. Meanwhile, Denver dropped to .500 with a 5-5 record — good for just fourth in the AFC West division.
The Broncos can pick up the pieces and snap a two-game losing skid when they share the field in Week 11 with Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.
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