Chiefs seek 14th straight win over Broncos
A week removed from a heartbreaking loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is 41-9 in games after Halloween over his career and has never lost to the Broncos (3-9) in nine tries., is ready to move on and focus on the next game.
“In this league,” Mahomes said, “you have to move on or you’ll make one loss turn into two.”
The Chiefs have been adept at bouncing back in games under Mahomes, who has only lost back-to-back three times in his career, including just once in Kansas City’s last 64 games, an NFL record over the past 25 seasons.
When the Broncos, who have lost 13 consecutive times to the Chiefs, traded for Russell Wilson in the offseason, this game looked like a marquee matchup and certainly must-see TV. Suddenly, the Chiefs weren’t the only stacked team in the AFC West.
While Mahomes is having another MVP season, though, Wilson has struggled mightily since coming to Denver, throwing just eight touchdown passes for a team that’s not even averaging 14 points a game. In fact, Denver only trails the 2000 Cleveland Browns in worst PPG in a season since the turn of the century. And keep in mind, Cleveland was an expansion team in 1999.
The Chiefs’ winning streak over the Broncos is the league’s second-longest by one team over another, behind only the Patriots’ 14 consecutive wins over the Jets.
Six of the Broncos-Chiefs games have been decided by one score, including Mahomes’ NFL debut in the 2017 regular-season finale when he led Kansas City to a 30-27 overtime win at Denver. Since then, Mahomes leads the NFL with 22,799 passing yards and 181 touchdown passes, and has already established himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the modern era.
Despite the Broncos’ struggles on offense, defensively they are still a top-five unit, especially against the run. So forcing Mahomes to pass the ball more than he would like could come back to haunt him, especially with one of the elite young corners in Patrick Surtain II out there lurking.
But the Chiefs will be prepared. For anything and everything. And they’ll once again look to bounce back after a gut-wrenching defeat, as the regular season draws closer to its end.