The Week 8 matchup between the top two teams in the AFC West lived up to the hype, as the Denver Broncos used a goal-line stand to defeat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 28-24.
The Broncos entered the final quarter down by 11 points, but two unanswered touchdowns set the stage for what would be a wild finish. Mahomes led the Chiefs offense 44 yards down the field on eight plays, but couldn't punch the ball in on second-and-goal from the one-yard line, third-and-goal from the one-yard line, or fourth-and-goal from the six-yard line following a costly false start from Jaylon Moore.
Bo Nix completed 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, while rookie Jonah Coleman established himself as the top back in Denver with 41 yards rushing and a touchdown, plus a team-high 63 yards receiving on four catches.
Despite the loss, the Chiefs did find success offensively. Patrick Mahomes completed 30 of 41 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns after failing to throw a single touchdown in each of the last two games, while rookie running back Emmett Johnson led the team in receiving with 128 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Rashee Rice made his presence felt in his return to the field after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, as he caught seven passes for 53 yards and a touchdown.
The Broncos did it again. Nix improved to 12-12 in his career when trailing in the fourth quarter. That's the best record by any quarterback trailing in the final quarter since 1970, per CBS Sports Research. Andy Reid's decision to try a 54-yard field goal up three points late in the fourth quarter is one that will surely be questioned, and it ultimately led to a dramatic Denver comeback that shook up the AFC West. Let's take a look at what went down in Denver on Sunday.
Reid's questionable decision
Following a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive from the Broncos in the fourth quarter that clipped Kansas City's lead to three points, the Chiefs took over looking to run clock. Mahomes guided the offense 34 yards down the field on 11 plays and ran 6:24 off the clock, but made a critical error in taking an avoidable sack on a third-and-2.
This turned a 48-yard field goal attempt into a 54-yard field goal attempt. At this point, you had to wonder if Reid was going to punt, and force the Broncos to go the full field with under three minutes remaining. Instead, Reid threw Harrison Butker out to miss a long field goal and give Denver a shorter field to potentially win the game.
Remember, the Chiefs just signed former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad a few days ago. Could this mark the end of the Butker era in Kansas City? Maybe.
On the first play of the Broncos' next possession, Coleman took a reception 51 yards to the Chiefs' five-yard line. That was the first time it felt like Denver was actually going to win this game.
Just seconds after Coleman's massive gain, the first-year back punched in what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
The goal-line stand
Mahomes had done this before. He had 1:56 and two timeouts to work with to lead a game-winning drive. Sure enough, the Chiefs got all the way down to the Broncos' 1-yard line with 15 seconds remaining.
On second-and-goal, Mahomes couldn't find an open receiver and threw the ball away. On third down, the powerful Kenneth Walker III was turned away by JL Skinner, who made an incredible tackle.
Following a false start, the game came down to a fourth-and-goal, where Mahomes was sacked by Malcolm Roach.
Rookie RBs shine
Sunday served as a coming-out party for both Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman and Chiefs rookie Emmett Johnson.
Coleman racked up 104 yards from scrimmage plus the game-winning touchdown on 15 touches. It's fair to speculate he's Denver's RB1 moving forward over J.K. Dobbins with RJ Harvey recently being placed on injured reserve.
As for Johnson, he was the MVP of this game through the first half. The fifth-round pick out of Nebraska and reigning Big Ten Running Back of the Year entered this week with 62 yards rushing on 19 attempts, and nine receptions for 109 yards for a grand total of 171 scrimmage yards and zero touchdowns on the season. Sunday, he almost doubled that number with 143 scrimmage yards and his first career touchdown. Johnson caught as many passes as Travis Kelce in Week 8. Maybe Reid starts experimenting with him in the passing game. Johnson went from the backfield to the end zone on a wheel route for a 73-yard touchdown on a third-and-10 in the second quarter.
What's next
The Chiefs return home to face the 2-6 New York Jets. They fell to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, 38-33. The Broncos hit the road in Week 9 to take on the 3-4 Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. They lost to the Green Bay Packers on "Thursday Night Football," 27-19.
