Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
Final Score: Broncos 22, Chiefs 19
Writer: Chris Helle (@ChrisHelleQBL on Twitter/X, Reddit)
Despite Kansas City’s record, this game was circled as a heavy-hitter matchup that would have a meaningful impact on the race to take the AFC West. The Broncos started with the ball, and jumped out to a 6-0 lead via two field goals from Wil Lutz. Patrick Mahomes was pushing the ball deep early, but settled into short passes by the numbers to march on back-to-back drives of nine and 16 plays, settling for field goals both times to tie the game. He struggled with his accuracy through much of the game and threw an interception to start the second half. Bo Nix made him pay, getting his team down to K.C.’s 8-yard line before letting Jaleel McLaughlin punch two 4-yarders into a touchdown. Mahomes responded immediately, with his TD through the air to Travis Kelce. The Broncos settled for another field goal, but the Chiefs punched in another TD — this time from Kareem Hunt. One of the biggest plays was Denver blocking the PAT to keep the deficit to only three. Lutz hit a 54-yarder to tie the game, and then Denver’s defense forced a three-and-out. Nix rifled passes of 20 yards and 32 yards to make the game-winner an easy 35-yard chip shot for Lutz. The Broncos now tie the Patriots with nine wins, the most in the NFL, and have a two-game lead over the Chargers in the AFC West, while the Chiefs fall to .500 and are clinging to wild-card hopes.
Two Up
- Bo Nix — A decent bounce-back game. He didn’t throw a TD, but he reinstated a lot of his fundamentals that crippled his games in previous contests.
- Will Lutz — 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 54-yarder to tie the game and a 35-yard game-winner.
- Travis Kelce — Season high in targets and receptions, and now owns the Chiefs’ all-time touchdown record.
One Down
- RJ Harvey — He played just fine and looked good, but nowhere near the production fantasy managers would have hoped from him following the injury to J.K. Dobbins. Expect Jaleel McLaughlin to carve out some field time going forward.
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes: 29/45, 276 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 1 Carry, 3 Yards
This was far from Patrick Mahomes‘ best game. He started off the game with two deep balls, both very overthrown and could have been 50-plus-yard TDs. Andy Reid reeled back the play calls to shorter, quick hitters, where Mahomes made most of his money through yards after the catch by his weapons. It felt as though any pass of over 15 yards was off the mark, with the lone exception of a 61-yard bomb to Tyquan Thornton. Rashee Rice did drop a 22-yarder as well. Mahomes actually threw a pick-6 that was called back by a (in my opinion, ticky-tack) penalty on Denver. But ball don’t lie as he threw an INT that stood a few plays later. He nearly threw an additional two INTs on poorly placed passes that he was lucky the defenders didn’t hold onto. His lone TD of the day was hitting Travis Kelce a few yards over the middle with Kelce doing all the work to get into the end zone. Mahomes has been lighting it up this year, but this was a very tough matchup on the road.
Running Back
Kareem Hunt: 13 Carries, 59 Yards, 1 TD | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
Kareem Hunt is a borderline bell cow for this offense, as no other RB had a direct carry in this one. He played extremely well, using very good vision on zone-scheme runs to consistently churn off 5-yard gains. He had a decent run for 10 yards that was called back by a penalty, and a screen pass that Mahomes threw over his head. Aside from that, he was Mr. Reliable and punched it into the paydirt from 2 yards out for his third straight game with a rushing TD.
Brashard Smith: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
The former WR is technically labeled an RB, but the Chiefs fully employ him as a pass catcher. Brashard Smith played only 12 of 70 snaps and saw only three opportunities. His two receptions were a screen and a shallow crosser. Mahomes missed him on a wheel route that he could have taken for a decent chunk gain, had the ball been catchable. Smith had another screen that went for 5 yards, but was called back by a penalty.
Elijah Mitchell: 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Travis Kelce: 13 Targets, 9 Receptions, 91 Yards, 1 TD
After not being targeted through the first quarter and a half, this ended up being Travis Kelce‘s season high in targets. He looked like his old self, breaking tackles and turning short passes into good 10-yard gains or more — especially his 21-yard TD. He had a single drop against tight coverage, but the other incompletions were all on his QB.
"WHAT AN EFFORT BY TRAVIS KELCE. HE SETS THE CHIEFS ALL-TIME TOUCHDOWN RECORD"
– Jim Nantz 🔥 @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/eYuI50YMah
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 17, 2025
Rashee Rice: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 38 Yards
The top dog in the WR corps was held to very limited yardage production through tight coverage and strong open-field tackling. Rashee Rice brought in all of those screens and quick, short-area targets, but was met immediately for very short gains. He had two very blatant drops. One on a route over the middle, which could have easily turned into an INT for Mahomes. The other was a 22-yarder up the sideline. He was targeted twice more up the sideline, a back-shoulder pass that was broken up and a ball that was way over his head — but Rice had little separation on both.
Xavier Worthy: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 25 Yards
The speedster nearly blew this game open with a 60-yard TD on the second play of the Chiefs’ first drive, but the ball was a good 5 yards overthrown. There was another 50-yarder that Mahomes threw too far inside, but Xavier Worthy drew a DPI. A back-shoulder throw his way late in the game was very underthrown as well. Aside from the deep balls, his route tree continues to show good development. He brought in a comeback and a whip route that each created multiple yards of separation.
Hollywood Brown: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 40 Yards
Hollywood Brown‘s number was sprinkled in the game plan throughout the contest. A checkdown went his way early, but he was the first read on his three other targets. This story continues: A deep ball was launched his way by Mahomes, and it was (any guessers?) underthrown. His routes looked good, just didn’t have many opportunities go his way.
Tyquan Thornton: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 61 Yards
Tyquan Thornton continues to be a purely vertical deep threat. His first deep ball was overthrown by maybe a yard, but he made up for it by bringing in his second chance. He might’ve gotten away with a minor push off, but it stands with the no-call.
Noah Gray: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
Robert Tonyan: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
Bo Nix: 24/37, 295 Yards | 3 Carries, 8 Yards | 1 Target, 0 Receptions
After all the backlash he received due to a very poor performance last week, Bo Nix took a big step forward. He was much more decisive and maintained better footwork as he worked through his progressions. He did have a ball nearly intercepted due to inside placement on Pat Bryant‘s out route, but got away with it. Nix got into a rhythm in the second half, striking on a seed to Troy Franklin for 35 yards and then another tight-window pass to Courtland Sutton. The only drive to get into the red zone converted on the ground, so Nix went without a passing TD.
Running Back
RJ Harvey: 11 Carries, 30 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards | 0/1, 0 Yards
After the news broke that J.K. Dobbins underwent season-ending surgery, RJ Harvey was expected to take on a bigger role. Alas, Harvey’s opportunities weren’t very often nor very productive. His rushing was strong, with good vision and good cuts to turn positive yards; he simply didn’t have much to work with on his opportunities. It took most of the game for Sean Payton to get him involved in the passing game, which immediately returned production. Unfortunately, the goal line work and rushing TD went to Jaleel McLaughlin.
Jaleel McLaughlin: 6 Carries, 19 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, -5 Yards
The vacated production from Dobbins fell Jaleel McLaughlin‘s way. He was a relatively strong runner against a stout Chiefs run defense and converted his 4-yard goal-line carry into six points. He had a carry that was a single broken tackle away from a big gain, but couldn’t get to the second level. While he only played eight snaps (compared to Harvey’s 38), he saw an opportunity on seven of those snaps. I’d expect McLaughlin to eat into the snap share in the early-down role a tad more going forward.
Tyler Badie: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 0 Yards
Every time Tyler Badie gets an opportunity on the field, I die a little inside. He hasn’t shown anything on the field to have earned himself the opportunities, yet Payton will refuse to roll out no fewer than three RBs per game.
Adam Prentice: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 14 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Troy Franklin: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 84 Yards
This was nearly an even bigger day for Troy Franklin. Nix threw a bomb to him that barely went through his outstretched hands, but could have been caught. He had another very bad drop on a comeback that could’ve moved the sticks. Two more deep balls went incomplete — one on a fairly handsy play by the defender, but no DPI was called, and another on an overthrow from Nix. Most of his production was on two 30-yard-plus receptions. Despite being outsnapped by Sutton, Franklin continues to be the team’s target leader.
Pat Bryant: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 82 Yards
The rookie continues to improve with each passing week. The lone incompletion his way was a won out route that Nix threw too far inside. He brought in a nice 48-yarder on a corner route, adjusting well to the ball in the air. Bryant missed some time after landing hard on his head and going into concussion protocol, but made it back into the game by the end of the drive. He’s quickly taking over the WR3 role from Marvin Mims Jr., and even starting to eat into Sutton’s role somewhat.
Courtland Sutton: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 59 Yards
While he’s still likely the strongest outside WR in this group, Courtland Sutton‘s role is diminishing into being Nix’s scramble-drill man. A couple of his targets (and all that went incomplete) were thrown his way while Nix was under pressure. The real missed opportunities were a back-shoulder throw that had a lot of contact but no penalty, and a potential end-zone target was knocked down by the LB.
Evan Engram: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 33 Yards
While Payton called him the “Joker” of the offense, Evan Engram‘s opportunities have dwindled into screens and fast-to-flats. The only semidownfield route he ran was a stick route, which was broken up by Nick Bolton. Even with the run game taking a hit, Engram doesn’t seem to be anything close to a focal point of the offense.
Marvin Mims Jr.: 0 Targets | 1 Carry, 2 Yards
Adam Trautman: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards