Chiefs Living – and Dying – by Patrick Mahomes

DENVER, Colo. – Matt Nagy said what jumped off the page about the Broncos’ defense was an innate ability to frustrate opponents in the red zone.

So, Kansas City’s gameplan seemed sound – especially without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain. Find Travis Kelce on short passes and trust his yards after the catch and – when opportunities presented themselves -- attack the Broncos early and often with deep shots to Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton.

patrick mahome — Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles with the ball in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The only problem was, those early deep shots were off the mark.

“I just gotta make the throws,” Mahomes said after the game. “There's no other way around it.”

Gameplan was sound

Determined not to go three-and-out on their first possession, the Chiefs got 11 yards on their first play from scrimmage, a short pass to Rashee Rice. Then, Mahomes immediately looked deep. Xavier Worthy beat his man deep down the middle of the field.

“The play was designed for Travis,” Mahomes said. “I think Travis was wide open. But you have these alerts on your plays and how the safety was sitting, with Xavier’s speed, I knew that he changed down the field. I was gonna give him a chance, kind of like I did with Tyquan later in the game.”

On the next play, Mahomes misfired on a deep out-breaker to Noah Gray. Then, on third-and-10, the quarterback had Tyquan Thornton deep – but missed him.

“Against a good defense like that,” Mahomes said, “you're not going to have these opportunities all game long. And so, when they're there, you got to hit them. And I would say it's a great job by Xavier getting open and getting himself there. I got to give him a chance to make a play downfield.”

Making that play downfield would’ve completely changed the momentum and complexity of the game. The Chiefs’ defense played well in the red zone, and shut down the Broncos for the most part – with the exception of a few critical third downs.

Later in the game

The quarterback settled down later in the game, and came a rainbow throw from what would’ve been a bigtime touchdown early in the third quarter.

mahomes, kelc — Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and tight end Robert Tonyan (85) in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

He finished 29 of 45 for 276 yards, with one touchdown to Travis Kelce, and the interception. His 61-yard completion to Thornton was longest of the receiver’s career and Thornton’s seventh this season of at least 25 yards. It set up the first Chiefs touchdown in Denver since JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2022.

And Mahomes also got great protection against Denver’s vaunted pass rush much of the day.

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