Kansas City Chiefs have dominated recent series with Broncos
By Mike Norris
The Chiefs haven’t lost to Denver since.
After Denver won the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos came back down to Earth, and the Chiefs began their current run as Best of the West.
Nov. 27, 2016 — Kansas City 30, Denver 27 OT
The winning streak actually began in 2015 with the Chiefs defeating the Broncos in Denver two months later. Manning was injured, but still played (and horribly at that). As noted, the Broncos won the Super Bowl that year, but that victory proved the Chiefs could hang with Denver, and it carried over into the 2016 season.
The teams didn’t match up until Week 12 with both heading into the game sporting identical 7-3 records. It was the second straight road game in the series for the Chiefs, but it didn’t matter. After a scoreless first quarter, they jumped ahead 9-0. Kansas City held a lead until later in the third quarter when Denver scored ten straight points.
The Chiefs would eventually tie the game in the fourth quarter, and in a rare sight, ended up winning after Cairo Santos kicked his second field goal in overtime with just four seconds left. But it wasn’t just any field goal. It was one of the most dramatic game-winning kicks you’ll ever see.
O field goal da vitória do @cairosantos19 contra o Denver Broncos nas vozes marcantes de @everaldomarques e @Pauloantunes78 #TudoPel pic.twitter.com/miQlRdlgxh
— Alef de Lima (@limaalef) November 28, 2016
Kansas City pulled ahead one game in the standings, won the rematch by 23 points on Christmas night on Sunday Night Football (both games against the Broncos in 2016 were on Sunday night) and finished 12-4 en route to its first division title since 2010.
Even quarterback Alex Smith, who had his ups and downs during his tenure in Kansas City, played well against the Broncos. In his final four games — all wins — he threw for 870 yards while tossing four touchdowns and just one interception.
The Chiefs have won the past four games in the series by a combined 40 points and have scored at least 27 each time. The past two, however, have been closer, with Kansas City winning by three on New Year’s Eve last season and by four earlier this month.
While both happened to be in Denver, they also had another common thread. Patrick Mahomes III was under center.