Kansas City Chiefs rally past Denver Broncos, stay unbeaten
Bell targets bye to join Steelers
KANSAS: Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives Monday, passing for 304 yards as the Chiefs outlasted the host Denver Broncos 27-23. With the Chiefs trailing 23-13, their flashy first-year starter sparked his first comeback as a pro. Kansas City went in front when running back Kareem Hunt crashed in for a 4-yard touchdown with 1:39 remaining.
Although he started slowly, Mahomes completed 28 of 45 passes while adding an 8-yard touchdown rush. The victory was the sixth straight in the series for the Chiefs (4-0), who opened a two-game lead in the AFC West while posting their 18th win in their past 19 matchups against division rivals.
Before the game-winning, 60-yard drive, Mahomes completed 8 of 10 passes to drive the Chiefs 75 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce with 6:27 left. That march brought Kansas City within 23-20.
Kelce finished with 78 yards on seven catches. Hunt added 121 yards on 19 carries. On the decisive drive, the Chiefs faced second-and-30, yet Mahomes responded with a 23-yard pass to Demarcus Robinson and a 35yarder to Demetrius Harris to get the ball to the Denver 11. Rookie running backs Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman rushed for 69 and 67 yards, respectively, to ignite the upset bid for Denver (2-2). Quarterback Case Keenum drove the Broncos to the Chiefs 28-yard line in the closing seconds, but an attempted catch-and-lateral on fourth down was ruled as an incomplete pass. Kansas City then took possession with 12 seconds remaining.
Keenum finished 21 of 33 for 245 yards with one interception. After the Chiefs tied the score at 13 with a 21-yard field goal by Harrison Butker in the third quarter, they could not capitalize on an interception by Eric Murray, stalling on downs.
That gave the Broncos a lift as they marched 80 yards and made it 20-13 on a 1-yard plunge by Lindsay with 2:05 left in the third quarter. Denver drove 60 yards in just more than two minutes for a 34-yard field goal by Brandon McManus as time expired in the first half. The boot gave the Broncos a 13-10 halftime lead. Kansas City managed one first-half TD drive, going 89 yards, capped by Mahomes’ TD run. A Freeman 14yard run produced the game’s first touchdown, tying the score 10-10 in the middle of the second quarter.
The Pittsburgh Steelers might have a timeline for the return of star running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell told ESPN that he intends to end his holdout at some point to play this season, his sixth in the NFL, all with the Steelers. A source told ESPN that Bell is targeting a return during Pittsburgh’s bye, which is Week 7, the weekend of Oct. 21.
In that scenario, he could be back in action Oct. 28 for a home game against the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers are off to a 1-2-1 start this season, with the defense struggling and the offense mostly relying on the passing game. During the offseason, they placed the franchise tag on Bell for the second consecutive season, but the running back wants a multiyear contract with more money guaranteed, so he has not signed his franchise contract tender.
Without an agreement in place, the Steelers haven’t been able to trade Bell either, despite reports that they have made him available. “It sucks having to sit out football,” Bell told ESPN by telephone from South Florida on Monday, where he says he has been keeping in shape and could play “tomorrow.”
“I want to play. I want to win games and the playoffs,” Bell said. Over the summer, the Steelers reportedly offered Bell a five-year, $70 million contract, but Bell balked because only $17 million was guaranteed. Bigname running backs Todd Gurley and David Johnson, who signed new contracts, received at least double that much money guaranteed.
“I know the guaranteed money will be there (in March),” Bell said. “If a team wanted to, they could definitely do what they needed to do to make me happy and satisfied.” Adisa Bakari, Bell’s agent, has openly worried that the Steelers, not expecting to be able to keep Bell beyond this season, would overuse him while they had him this season.
Bell led the NFL with 321 rushes and 406 touches a season ago. Bell, who has 5,336 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns plus 2,660 receiving yards and seven scores in 62 games, all as the starter, at one point said he would join the team in time for the season opener. However, a Week 7 return still would get him enough service time to reach free agency in 2019.
The Oct. 28 game against Cleveland also occurs two days before the NFL trade deadline. Bell’s decision to wait another few weeks might have been influenced by the Sunday injury to Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas.
Thomas held out in training camp for a multiyear contract and more guaranteed money and security, but he reported once the season started. He sustained a lower left leg fracture in the fourth quarter on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.