Chiefs Stock Watch: Kansas City Failed Patrick Mahomes in Week 8 Defeat to Broncos

Life comes at you quickly in the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs are perhaps the best example of that right now. In a matter of just two Sundays, the team's gone from riding high as an undefeated powerhouse to a club that's licking its wounds after suffering back-to-back losses.

Week 7's defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks was a beatdown, but Week 8's shortcoming against the Denver Broncos raised the panic level even more. Despite some inspired performances from multiple players, others served as big enough culprits to drag everyone else down with them.

Let's dive into the good and bad from Week 8's Chiefs loss against Denver and single out three players whose stock is trending up, as well as three who could use a better showing in Week 9 and beyond.

Chiefs Stock Up After Week 8

These players stood out for positive reasons on Sunday, potentially changing the trajectory of their seasons in the process.

Patrick Mahomes

After going consecutive contests with no touchdown passes and an interception, quarterback Patrick Mahomes found himself on the wrong end of the post-Week 7 edition of this column. That came with a sentiment that he wouldn't be there for long, which wound up being the case thanks to his rebound effort on Sunday in the Mile High City.

Mahomes completed a staggering 30 of his 41 pass attempts for 321 yards and a trio of touchdowns, also going without a turnover for the first time in nearly a month. The two-time MVP was crisp, efficient and did a nice job of extending plays when needed. According to RBSDM, No. 15 was good for 0.24 EPA per play, and that might've been selling him short.

Kansas City let an improved Mahomes outing go to waste, which is a shame for everyone involved.

Emmett Johnson

Entering Sunday's play, rookie running back Emmett Johnson had failed to receive a single rushing attempt in two of his previous three games. In the one contest he did get some work in, it was a three-tote, six-yard output against the Los Angeles Chargers. That left many to wonder whether the fifth-round pick would see an increased role at any point, only for the course to completely reverse on Sunday.

Johnson experienced by far his best game as a professional, and he did it in multiple ways. As a receiver, he made the most of his five targets by ripping off five catches for 128 yards and his first regular-season touchdown. He also broke off about as fun and hard-earned a 15-yard rush as you'll ever see. His work didn't stop there — he had a nice kickoff return on special teams, too.

The Nebraska product's blend of tough running, contact balance, smarts and improving pass protection make him closer to a starting-caliber player than someone who should be buried on the depth chart. Kansas City's completely revamped its halfback room in the best of ways.

Khyiris Tonga

Being a nose tackle in the pros is a pretty thankless job. Oftentimes, it's your name not being called that means you're fulfilling your role at a high level. Everyone knew that'd be primarily the case when Khyiris Tonga signed with the Chiefs earlier this year, but he's making a name for himself. After a six-tackle performance against Seattle, the 30-year-old picked up right where he left off.

Tonga finished with just two tackles in Week 8, but one was a run stop on halfback J.K. Dobbins that stood out on tape. He also batted a pass in the second half of play and, per Pro Football Focus, was credited with a pressure on quarterback Bo Nix. On an afternoon and evening that saw several members of the Chiefs fall short, Tonga Time was out in full force.

Chiefs Stock Down After Week 8

This group of three didn't meet the appropriate level of expectations in Week 8 and desperately needs to recover moving forward.

Creed Humphrey

Another week, another instance of star center Creed Humphrey failing to do perhaps the simplest part of his complex job. How concerning is it that a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro has been charged with a career-high six fumbles before the season is even halfway over? Humphrey acknowledged last week that he was working on resolving his problem, then he proceeded to fail again in a pressure-packed game.

Head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media on Monday and said Humphrey simply needs to "get the snaps up," yet it appears to be much easier said than done at this point. Until the former second-round pick strings together a few good showings in a row, it's hard to be confident that he'll put this confusing trend behind him.

Kristian Fulton

When the Chiefs announced that L'Jarius Sneed was going on the injured reserve list and rookie Mansoor Delane would sit out Week 8, they knew they'd be shorthanded at the cornerback spot. Not many folks doubted the ability of someone like Nohl Williams to get the job done on the outside or someone — anyone — to at least match Sneed's production in the slot, but the jury remained out on Kristian Fulton.

A whopping 60 snaps later, it's virtually impossible to feel much better about Fulton being a viable replacement for anything more than brief stints.

The veteran defensive back committed defensive pass interference on the Broncos' opening drive and later had an illegal block in the back on special teams. In the second quarter, he also totally whiffed on an attempted jam on wideout Courtland Sutton and got burned because of it.

Fulton remains someone who's a valuable depth piece and maybe even a trade chip, but don't confuse him for a starter on the same level of Williams or Delane.

Andy Reid

Yes, we're cheating here and including a coach instead of a player. I think it's entirely justified, though, considering how much Reid melted down over the course of Sunday's contest. Penalties and on-field execution by the players were deserving of blame, sure, but Reid's baffling game management is still at or near the top of the list.

When the Chiefs opted to kick to try to go up 6 (never great!) our model had it as a toss-up between go...and punt.

It saw field goal attempt as clearly the worst option. pic.twitter.com/Z7ugriKYkj
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 2, 2026

From botching a fourth-and-short to trotting out placekicker Harrison Butker for a boot he was bound to face an uphill battle to make, Reid fell flat against a bitter rival. He also still isn't explaining what's going on with benching left guard Kingsley Suamataia; backup Mike Caliendo predictably struggled in relief.

Reid doesn't owe anyone answers, and his track record speaks for itself, but part of that includes decision-making concerns that crept back up at the worst time in Week 8. He needs to bounce back as badly as any of his players do.

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