The Chiefs and the Broncos came into this Week 18 game with different mindsets. Kansas City had a 15-1 record and had already locked up the AFC top seed. Denver needed to win this game to ensure that they got into the playoffs, with the Bengals' win over Pittsburgh on Saturday leaving them no margin for error.
It showed in the team selection as well as the Chiefs rested their starters on both sides of the ball. From Patrick Mahomes to Chris Jones, Andy Reid gave his star players two weeks' rest before they play next in the Divisional Round. Meanwhile, Sean Payton went with his starters and needed to start aggressively to have a chance. Here is how the action went down.
Chiefs vs. Broncos box scores
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Chiefs box scores
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Broncos box scores
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Chiefs vs. Broncos game summary
The Broncos knew what they had to do and Sean Payton had them playing that way. On the very first drive, Bo Nix led them to a touchdown that game with phenomenal play-calling from the Denver head coach. They faked two jet sweeps before a screen pass to Marvin Mims Jr. saw him run all the way to the house.
The Broncos' defense managed to do well against the Chiefs' backups and forced them to punt. The next Denver drive was all about Courtland Sutton as he caught a deep pass from his quarterback before hauling in a reception in the endzone that put his team up 14-0.
Another Chiefs punt allowed the Broncos to extend their lead further in the second quarter. This time, it was a comedy of errors, as the Kansas City defense mishandled the pass into the endzone, allowing Devaughn Vele to come down with it to make it 21-0. At that point, Bo Nix had an astonishing completion rate of 100% (17/17) for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
During the two-minute warning, the Chiefs finally had a chance to get on the scoreboard as they lined up a field goal attempt with just over a minute remaining. However, luck was smiling on the Broncos as Harrison Butker missed his kick to the left.
Denver, though, was not done having fun as they started the final drive of the half with a quarterback run and a lateral to Javonte Williams, only to be called back for a forward pass. Too bad the NFL does not follow rugby rules that take into account forward momentum! No matter, though, as Bo Nix took off again and got his team into the red zone but this time it was called back for holding.
If Kansas City thought their luck was turning, a deep ball by the quarterback to Courtland Sutton again disabused them of that notion. Nix's first incompletion stopped the clock with six seconds remaining and the Broncos kicked a field goal to make it 24-0 in their favor at the end of the first half.
With the game nearly in the bag, Denver came out a bit slowly on offense. After their defense forced another Chiefs punt, they could not score on their next drive and had to kick the ball back. That was the wake-up call that they needed as the home team's defense forced Kansas City to punt and this time Bo Nix led them on another touchdown drive. Marvin Mims got his second to give them a 31-0 lead.
The Chiefs tried to be aggressive but only ended up turning it over on downs on their next possession. If they expected some sympathy from the Broncos, though, they got none. Another touchdown, this time on the ground by Audric Estime on a third-and-goal after the visiting defense had stopped fullback Michael Burton short earlier, made it 38-0.
It was the biggest deficit Kansas City has ever faced under Andy Reid and the head coach rang in the changes to bench Carson Wentz and give Chris Oladokun a chance to stake his claim as the primary backup. He fumbled the ball once and then tried to extend the play as his protection broke down, but the result was the same as before, resulting in another Chiefs punt.
Sean Payton then also decided to rest his starting quarterback knowing that they were in the playoffs and had to travel to Buffalo to face the Bills and the irrepressible Josh Allen next week. Jarrett Stidham came in and gave the football to his running backs to eat the clock and when that did not work, he took off himself to keep the drive going.
The Broncos managed to bleed the time to the two-minute warning and then both teams saw out the game with the minimum amount of fuss. Stidham kneeled to give the ball back to Kansas City and they returned the favor to keep the final score 38-0. This result means that Denver is in the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season when they last won the Super Bowl.
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