5 Winners, 3 Losers From Broncos' 22-16 Loss to Chiefs

The Broncos came up short at Arrowhead, falling to the Chiefs 22-16. Who were Denver's biggest winners and losers?

Close but no cigar. 

Cigars are for closers. Or was that coffee? I digress. 

The Denver Broncos valiantly battled the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, trading leads back and forth through three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, however, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs kicked into that extra gear while the Broncos remained stuck in neutral. 

If the Broncos played in the fourth quarter the same brand of football from quarters one, two, and three, we could be talking about a massive upset win and the snapping of the ignominious winning streak the Chiefs hold over them. It's now 11 games. 

Alas, Denver's defense couldn't get off the field while the offense couldn't stay on it. Who were the biggest winners and losers? 

Winner: Melvin Gordon | RB

Gordon posted his second 100-yard rushing game as a Bronco and 11th all-time. His 65-yard scamper in the second quarter set up Denver's first touchdown. He ran hard and helped sustain and give life to the Broncos' offense. 

Winner: Tim Patrick | WR

Patrick only caught four passes for 44 yards but two of them were for touchdowns. Patrick did have one drop but was mostly a reliable target for the quarterback. He's quietly becoming a bonafide No. 1 receiver in the absence of Courtland Sutton. 

Winner: Garett Bolles | LT

Bolles' play against Frank Clark exemplified why the Broncos paid him. Clark has been a thorn in Bolles' side since becoming a Chief but not this time. The whole O-line deserves some credit for blasting open holes for ball-carriers to total 179 rushing yards while not relinquishing one sack. 

Winner: Shelby Harris | DL

Harris returned to the field after missing four games due to COVID-19 and impacted the game in a big, bad way. He tipped multiple Patrick Mahomes passes and helped bolster the Broncos' rushing defense early while creating interior pressure. This is an impact player whom the Broncos would be remiss to let walk after this season. 

Winner: Tyrie Cleveland | WR/KR

Cleveland lands in the winners' column mostly for his contributions as a kick returner. He averaged 25.7 yards per return on the day with a long of 31. He also contributed one catch for 11 yards. The Broncos would be wise to keep Cleveland as the kick returner when Diontae Spencer returns from COVID-19. The rookie has far out-shined Spencer in that department this season. 

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Loser: Drew Lock | QB

In what amounted to his first Chiefs matchup that wasn't in a blizzard, Lock did a lot of things well in this game. But he bookended his respectable performance at Arrowhead with costly interceptions. Lock threw a pick on Denver's opening possession and final. However, he did make a few nice throws, one of which was a beautifully executed touchdown in the corner of the end zone to Patrick. Lock's NFL arc continues to be one of stuttering progress. One step forward, two steps back. However, Lock's play through the middle of this game was part of why Denver was able to hang with Kansas City but the mistakes, in many ways, wipe that out. I was more encouraged than discouraged by Lock's body of work in Week 13 but he still has a long way to go. 

Loser: Broncos Secondary

The Broncos' defensive backfield picked a bad day to lapse as a tackling unit. There were way too many missed tackles, which led to multiple, multiple big chunk plays by the Chiefs that should have been limited to modest gains. Without Bryce Callahan, this unit did its best and it wasn't all bad but the missed tackles and wide-open connections from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce killed the bend-don't-break approach. Also, have I mentioned that Duke Dawson is bad?

Loser: Brandon McManus | K

I'm picking nits here, perhaps, but I'm going forward with McManus as a loser because of his missed 57-yard field goal. In fairness, he did connect on a 53-yarder but as a kicker constantly importuning the head coach for the chance to kick from deep, in a close, hard-fought divisional game, McManus needed to be perfect. That missed field goal led to a short field for Kansas City, which quickly resulted in three points. Call it a six-point swing. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.