Kansas City defense gets job done against Broncos
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The resurgent Kansas
City defense shut down Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos, safety Daniel Sorensen returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, and the Chiefs beat Denver 22-9 on Sunday night for their fifth straight win.
Patrick Mahomes had 184 yards passing with a touchdown run and an interception for the Chiefs (8-4), who lead the Chargers by a game and the Broncos and Raiders by two in their race for a sixth straight AFC West championship.
Things went haywire for the Broncos early, when a 20-play drive ended with a failed fourth-down play rather than an easy field goal. And they didn’t get much better when Bridgewater threw two second-half interceptions, including the one Sorensen picked off with 9½ minutes left to put the game away
Bridgewater was held to 257 yards passing for the Broncos (6-6), who have lost 12 in a row to their longtime AFC rival dating to 2015. Javonte Williams started in place of injured running back Melvin Gordon III and had 102 yards rushing with a touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter.
Thanks to his defense, Chiefs coach Andy Reid improved to 20-3 after a bye. The once-maligned bunch stopped Denver on fourth down three times while holding an opponent to fewer than 10 points for the third time in its past four games.
The Chiefs must have spent their entire week off working on their opening offensive script, because they effortlessly flew downfield for a touchdown. They even overcame an offensive pass-interference call before Mahomes scampered for the score.
After the Chiefs forced a second consecutive threeand-out, Harrison Butker kicked a 56-yard field goal.
That was just about the last anyone saw of Mahomes and Co. for a while.
The Broncos answered with a field goal. Then, after forcing a quick punt, they embarked on a 20-play odyssey that carried them 83 yards and chewed up nearly 12 minutes of the second quarter — and resulted in no points.