The Denver Broncos losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs is dead.
Finally.
After 16 straight miserable defeats at the hands of their AFC West foes, Denver got the best of KC on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High. And they did it in dominating fashion, forcing five turnovers and battering Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes in a 24-9 win.
The consensus best quarterback in the NFL threw two interceptions, zero touchdowns and took three sacks. The Broncos hit him 11 times overall.
In two games against Denver this year, the Chiefs offense scored just one touchdown. It was sweet revenge for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, after many thought his job could be in jeopardy earlier in the season. Instead, the Broncos defense looks like an entirely new unit.
The return of outside linebacker Baron Browning has certainly helped, as he finished with two sacks, a forced fumble and three QB hits. Browning played in just his second game of the season.
And after the game, head coach Sean Payton was thrilled. He finally looked more relaxed after a win, not really enjoying tight triumphs over Chicago and Green Bay.
“We did the things you do when you win. We were plus-four in the turnover battle. We rushed the ball better than they did. I thought defensively, we did a fantastic job with their offense, a tough offense,” Payton said.
Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, even though he also took some questionable sacks and had a key fumble just before halftime. A long KC field goal cut things to 14-9 at the break, but it was all Denver in the second half.
“I felt like we did a good job of keeping (Mahomes) off schedule. I was pleased with how we ran the ball. We had some big drives,” Payton said. “There were a lot of things to look at that were positive. We are going to play in bigger games than that, but it is a division game and I’m glad we won.”
With the trade deadline on Tuesday, it’ll be curious to see what the 3-5 Broncos do. Once thought to be sellers, this may change things. The last two AFC wild card spots are occupied by 4-3 teams, so it’s not inconceivable Denver could get back into the playoff race.
But for now, this deserves 24 hours of celebration. The Broncos hadn’t beaten the Chiefs since 2015, the year they won Super Bowl 50.
This had been a long, long time coming. And the fact a 17-game losing streak won’t be a storyline entering next season makes it all worth it, regardless of how this may change the team’s short-term plans.
***