Chiefs-Broncos Live Game Thread

DENVER, Colo. -- To see the live game thread, see below.

First quarter

Official kickoff weather: Sunny and 70 degrees, 23 percent humidity and winds at 6 mph.

Spags sends the blitz on first play from scrimmage and Chamarri Conner gets home. Loss of 6 yards.

Chiefs’ defensive gameplan appears to include pressure on virtually every snap.

Broncos move ball with four chunk plays.

Trick play, Chamarri Conner nearly intercepts R.J. Harvey pass, broken up by intended receiver Bo Nix inside the 10-yard line.

Chris Jones gets Chiefs’ second sack of drive to force Broncos to settle for short field goal.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 1 – Wil Lutz 29-yard field goal. Broncos 3, Chiefs 0, 7:36. Drive: 14 plays, 54 yards, 7:24.

In five games this year, Chiefs have had two sacks or less. They got two on that first Broncos drive, including Chris Jones takedown to force Denver to settle for FG.

First play from scrimmage is short 11-yard gainer to Rashee Rice, but Mahomes overthrows three straight deep passes (Worthy, Gray and Thornton). Chiefs punt.

Dave Toub said Marvin Mims was dangerous. The return man, playing his first game since returning from a concussion, returns punt 52 yards into red zone. Chiefs block in the back adds yards onto end of run.

Critical stop for Chiefs after the Mims return, including third-down pass breakup by Leo Chenal, who looked like a Bo Nix spy, to prevent touchdown. Denver has to settle for another field goal.

Broncos already have seven red-zone snaps.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 2 – Wil Lutz 24-yard field goal. Broncos 6, Chiefs 0, 4:53 first quarter. Drive: four plays, 6 yards, 1:28.

Key penalty on deep ball for Worthy: Riley Moss small grab on Worthy’s jersey turns into 40-yard penalty. Moves ball to 13-yard line.

JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kingsley Suamataia penalties mar scoring drive, but Harrison Butker converts 31-yard field goal to put Chiefs on board. Remember, Denver’s red-zone defense is No. 1 in the NFL.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 3 – Butker 31-yard field goal. Broncos 6, Chiefs 3, 0:49 first quarter. Drive: Nine plays, 58 yards, 4:04.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Broncos 6, Chiefs 3.

Second quarter

Mahomes has been off target on deep throws but he’s had plenty of time to throw. Good protection early by Chiefs, including Josh Simmons in his return. Has completed seven consecutive passes.

Kelce gets key third-down catch, and Hollywood Brown maintains focus on tipped pass to get into red zone. However, Chiefs again can’t get into end zone against elite red-zone defense. Chiefs have to settle for 31-yard field goal.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 4 – Butker 31-yard field goal. Broncos 6, Chiefs 6, 4:38 second quarter. Drive: 16 plays, 77 yards, 9:32.

Jaylen Watson breaks up third-and-8 pass to force punt. Instinctive play. Watson has been quietly impressive this year.

Curious but aggressive playcall there. Chiefs on third-and-1 from deep in own end opt to pass, not run. Broncos have receivers covered and get first sack to force punt. Araiza nails 61-yard punt with 1:46 left. Denver takes over at own 27-yard line.

Omenihu showing consistent pressure on Nix. Chris Roland-Wallace breaks up pass. However, Chiefs allow approximately 20 seconds to run off the clock without taking timeout. After punt, Chiefs have ball at 24 with 27 seconds, two timeouts.

On first play, Hollywood Brown makes catch but doesn’t step out of bounds. Chiefs burn timeout. Then, Josh Simmons commits false start. Mahomes evades pressure and throws perfect strike to Rashee Rice, but he drops it. Second drop of game, this one to negate gain of 20-plus yards. McMillan on blitz sacks Mahomes to end half.

END OF FIRST HALF – Broncos 6, Chiefs 6. Chiefs get ball to begin second half.

Third quarter

Chiefs open second half with long drive but march ends near goal line. Mahomes and Elijah Mitchell appear not on same page, McMillan intercepts pass. However, on opposite sideline, Sean Payton collides with official, drawing unsportsmanlike conduct. Denver takes over at own 10-yard line.

Bo Nix throws perfect pass to Franklin, beating good coverage by Kristian Fulton, 35 yards. Broncos get several more chunk plays, then push Jaleel McLaughin 4 yards into end zone for game’s first touchdown.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 5 – McLaughlin 4-yard touchdown. Broncos 13, Chiefs 6, 4:03 third quarter. Drive: 11 plays, 89 yards, 6:01.

Chiefs guard Suamataia in concussion protocol. Return is questionable.

Mahomes stays in the pocket to absorb hit and connects with Tyquan Thornton for 61 yards. Potential season-changing play, but Chiefs have to score on Denver’s No. 1 red-zone defense. Kareem Hunt answers with 2-yard score, thanks to big assist from Trey Smith and Travis Kelce.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 6 – Kareem Hunt 2-yard touchdown run. Broncos 13, Chiefs 13, 0:49 seconds, third quarter. Drive: six plays, 75 yards, 3:14.

That 61-yard catch was longest of Tyquan Thornton's career and his seventh this season of at least 25 yards. It set up the first Chiefs touchdown in this stadium since JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2022.

Deep corner route to Bryant, 48 yards from Bo Nix, beating Bryan Cook.

END OF THIRD QUARTER: Chiefs 13, Broncos 13. Broncos have second-and-1 from the Chiefs’ 23-yard line.

Fourth quarter

Good coverage by Trent McDuffie on third-down incompletion. Broncos have to settle for short field goal.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 7 – Wil Lutz 38-yard field goal. Broncos 16, Chiefs 13, 12:50 fourth quarter. Drive: eight plays, 60 yards, 2:59.

Bonitto gets held by Jawaan Taylor but chases down Mahomes. Winded, Bonitto appears a little slow to get to Mahomes on next play, allowing time for deep pass. Hollywood Brown on play draws pass interference on Riley Moss, a 46-yard penalty.

Kelce breaks Hufanga tackle after short catch, rumbles 21 yards and plows into end zone for go-ahead touchdown. Breaks Priest Holmes’ career franchise record for touchdowns. However, on important PAT, Broncos block Butker’s kick. Only a field-goal game but Chiefs have first lead.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 8 – Mahomes 21-yard touchdown to Kelce. Chiefs 19, Broncos 16, 9:57, fourth quarter. Drive: six plays, 73 yards, 2:53.

Omenihu misses sack but forces intentional grounding to set up third-and-16. Broncos get 14 yards and then decide to go for it on fourth-and-2 from own 36. However, Denver doesn’t get play in quickly and is charged with false start. Jack Cochrane comes inches from blocking punt. Chiefs take over at own 12-yard line.

Another nice play by Watson on deep pass toward end zone; may have gotten away with too much contact. Wil Lutz connects on game-tying 54-yard field goal.

SCORING UPDATE NO. 9 – Lutz 54-yard field goal. Chiefs 19, Broncos 19, 4:10, fourth quarter. Drive: six plays, 19 yards, 2:20.

On ensuing drive, Hufanga nearly intercepts Mahomes on first play. Mahomes can’t complete sideline tiptoe pass to Kelce and then McMillan gets another sack off the left edge. Chiefs have to punt. McMillan has two sacks and INT. Great punt by Araiza, 67 yards.

Nix converts third-and-15 pass to Courtland Sutton for 20 yards. Denver moves chains on critical play. Two-minute warning in tie game. Denver has first-and-10 on its own 41.

Bolton breaks up second-down pass for Engram. Then, on biggest third down of game, third-and-5, Courtland Sutton barely converts on short pass. Then, Bo Nix perfectly thrown ball to Franklin for 32 yards, beating Watson for first time. Chiefs out of timeouts.

Wil Lutz 35-yard game winning field goal (same distance as last year’s blocked kick in Kansas City), this time is good in clutch.

FINAL SCORE: Denver 22, Kansas City 19.

Steve Spagnuolo isn’t a scoreboard watcher, and outside the AFC West, couldn’t tell you the current state of other divisions. Don’t ask him the leader of the AFC East, or why the Rams and Seahawks will play one of the NFL’s most-anticipated games at the same time his Chiefs are squaring off with the Broncos.

He takes after head coach Andy Reid.

“I'm not one that looks around the league that much,” the Kansas City defensive coordinator said Thursday. “I can honestly tell you that. And I couldn't tell you the standings of other divisions and all that. And Andy's built this way, and maybe it's from working with him all those years, but it is truly what's on the plate next.”

What’s on the plate next is arguably the most important AFC West game the Chiefs have played during Spagnuolo’s tenure in Kansas City.

With all of that in mind, the Chiefs are now entering perhaps their most important game of the entire 2025 season as they fight for AFC West positioning.

But before kickoff, a few appetizers…

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