Broncos drop to 1-5 for season after 19-8 loss to Chiefs on Thursday Night Football

The Broncos drop to 1-5 for the regular season after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 19-8 at Arrowhead Stadium for Thursday Night Football. 

Russell Wilson ended the game completing 13 out of 22 passes for 95 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions thrown. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 30 out of 40 passes for 306 yards, thrown one touchdown and one interception. 

Denver began the game on offense and attacked the Chiefs' defense with their run game. They got the ball down to Kansas City's 42-yard line but were stopped on fourth down after Wilson was sacked for a 3-yard loss. 

Kansas City took over on their own 38-yard line after the turnover on downs, but Denver's defense stood up and halted the Chiefs from a touchdown as they took a 3-0 lead after the field goal was good. 

For the Broncos next possession, Denver continued to utilize the run game after a tough run from Javonte Williams but when Denver tried to run a play-action pass the ball was picked off by Kansas City at the 5:00-mark of the first quarter. 

After the turnover, the Chiefs made their way down the field with a couple of chunk plays from Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Isiah Pacheco. On third and eight, a short pass from Mahomes was picked off by Broncos defensive back Justin Simmons as Denver took over on their own 7-yard line. 

Broncos went back to their run game after the pick and got down to the 26-yard line after a few plays, but the Chiefs forced a three-and-out on Denver as Kansas City's offense took back over on their own 43-yard line at the 14:19 mark of the second quarter. 

The Chief then drove down the field on 12 plays but faced a three-and-out situation after getting to Denver's 6-yard-line. After the time out, Denver came up with the fourth down conversion stop when the defense stopped Kansas City's direct snap to Noah Gray as Broncos defensive end Matt Henningsen came away with the tackle.

After another quick three-and-out from the Broncos, the Chiefs responded to the stop by maneuvering back downfield on Denver to score on a short pass to take a 10-0 lead with 3:06 left in the second quarter. 

Stops from both teams and another three-and-out from the Broncos following the sack from Kansas City's Chris Jones, the Chiefs' offense took over with 14 seconds left in the second half. 

Following a short pass and a scramble from Mahomes, the Chiefs knocked down a 60-yard field goal to take a 13-0 lead into halftime. 

In the beginning of the third quarter, Kansas City increased their lead to 16-0 after a field goal and got the ball back on defense after an interception thrown from Wilson at the 5:38 mark of the third quarter. Denver's defense ended up forcing a three-and-out stop on the Chief as the Denver offense took over on their own 3-yard line. 

The Broncos were forced to another three-and-out after a string of incomplete passes and a offensive holding penalty called on Denver as the Chiefs received the ball at their own 22-yard line. 

With a few run and passing downs, the Denver defense stood up and forced the Kansas City to punting situation and received the ball on their own 39-yard line. 

For the Broncos offensive possession, Denver whipped up a few successful plays to get down to Kansas City's 22-yard line. 

After a roughing passer penalty was called on the Chiefs, Courtland Sutton caught a spectacular one-handed pass in the end zone from Wilson for the score but was ruled incomplete. After the play was reviewed in the booth the call was reversed for the score and a successful 2-point conversion afterwards from Williams made the score 16-8 with 6:07 left in the game. 

The Chiefs made it down to the Broncos' 23 yard line after a few chunk plays, but on third and 10, Mahomes was sacked for an 11 yard loss by Denver's defensive end Zach Allen, forcing a fourth down situation. The Chiefs knocked down a 52-yard field goal to increase the lead 19-8. 

On Denver's last series, the Chiefs forced a fumble on the Broncos with 1:37 left to seal the game. 

For the Broncos offense, Williams recorded 53 yards on 10 carriers, while Wilson was the second leading rusher with 31 yards on four carries. Sutton was the leading receiver for the Broncos with 46 yards on four receptions. Samaje Perine was the second leading catcher out the group on two catches for 16 yards. Perine also forced a fumble in the game. 

Linebacker Alex Singleton was the leading tackler for the Broncos' defense after reeling in 11 tackles with 10 being solo. Josey Jewell was the second leading tackler in the game with nine total and seven being solo. 

Broncos head coach Sean Payton addressed the media following the loss saying that he's not discouraged.

"I am not discouraged, I thought they played hard. Defensively, particularly we did a great job, the red zone defense was outstanding, obviously offensively we struggled... our third down numbers were poor, the turnovers... against a team like this it's going to be tough to win and yet we were still in it," said Payton. "I was encouraged, I thought we played hard, we'll see this team in two weeks... kind of what I told them afterwards, 'you can be disappointed but don't be discouraged.'"

Wilson also answered questions after the game and discussed the offense progressing while also struggling against the Chiefs.

"I think offensively, we had some really good things and obviously two turnovers by me is unacceptable... I thought we kept battling, kept believing, we did a good job getting all the way down the field and make it an eight point game. Unfortunately, it just didn't go our way at the end."

The Broncos will take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2:25 p.m. MST.