Your Kansas City Chiefs are good enough to win a game like Sunday’s against the Denver Broncos quite comfortably. But a series of unfortunate decisions and mistakes allowed the Broncos to play the closer. Somehow, with an MVP quarterback, a Super Bowl MVP running back and an offense that rushed for 220 yards against this same defense six weeks ago, Kansas City couldn’t gain a yard with the game and the division lead on the line.
In the end, they still have a 5-2 record and are in a strong position in the AFC. But they could have – and perhaps should have – won this match.
Here are some Chiefs who stood out during the team’s second straight loss.
Running back Emmett Johnson: When teams focus all their energy on stopping Kenneth Walker, the Chiefs need a counter punch to emerge. On Sunday afternoon, that came in the form of an outstanding performance from Emmett Johnson. The Nebraska rookie led the Chiefs in receiving (128), had the biggest play of the game (73 yards), scored a touchdown, made a special teams tackle and returned a kick 44 yards to set up what should have been a game-winning score. Maybe the Chiefs should have gone back to the kid at the end?
Defensive end George Karlaftis: The conversation all week will be about Kansas City’s lack of pass rush, but we shouldn’t overlook Furious George’s efforts. Continuing an underrated season, Karlaftis had three batted passes, a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes: The best quarterback in the NFL had a great statistical game and delivered what should have been the game-winning score on a short pass to Rashee Rice. This loss does not belong to Mahomes.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice: Mahomes needs reliable receivers who can create yards after the catch. The return of Rashee Rice was a reminder that they already have one (plus) in-house. This was a solid match for Rashee that could have gone better and built on.
Tight end Travis Kelce: A middle-aged married man was still the team’s best option on the final drive of the game — Travis Kelce’s 32-yard catch and run was exactly what made this QB/TE duo the best in history. Kelce caught 5 of 7 targets for 67 yards, continuing his strong start to 2026.
Kicker Harrison Butker: The pressure was on and the kick was wide – again.
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy: At this point, should they just give him a bunch of trick plays and punt returns?
The Chiefs offensive line room: What’s going on with the Andy Heck guys? The left side of the line should be loaded with talent; instead, they mysteriously miss several games. The All-Everything Center has a low snap every game. The right side of the line suffered costly penalties in the most important moments. And the depth still leaves something to be desired. Can they field a championship attacking front for the next four months?
Defensive lineman Chris Jones: Ultimately, the future Hall of Famer’s lack of production in the middle would outweigh the wins at the edge. Sack Nation needs a better version of its CEO to win in the second half of the season.
Head Coach Andy Reid: The responsibility lies with Big Red. Once again, Reid benched the starting left guard, jeopardizing the offensive game plan before kickoff. Then, the Chiefs spoiled a very good performance from Mahomes (321 yards and 3 TDs). They gave up more penalty yards (11-105) than they gained on the rush (24-90). They couldn’t capitalize on a breakout game from their rookie running back and instead let Denver do the heroics. They once again struggled with short yardage situations and left points on the field.
They still led 24-13 in the fourth quarter and looked ready to beat the clock with a solid victory. But then there was that punt on 4th and 1 from 41 (questionable decision)… leading to a long Broncos drive that almost ended on the goal line. Instead, Bo Nix found receivers wide open in the end zone (run failures) on 4th and 2 and on the two-point conversion.
On the ensuing drive at the Denver 30, with a field goal, Mahomes is sacked (bad play and execution), and Butker misses a long field goal (everyone besides the coaching staff saw this coming, right?). This comedy of errors led to another Broncos touchdown after the two-minute warning. But even then, the Chiefs would have first-and-goal at the four-yard line with enough time to exit Colorado with a victory. Ken Walker got them to that one, but even more mistakes ended their chances as time expired – a botched pass attempt (predictable play call), a touchdown negated by a penalty (undisciplined play), and a sack (utterly terrible ending).
When a player is in difficulty, we can report him. But this game showed a lack of discipline, poor execution and questionable decisions from the coach that led to a fourth-quarter collapse. You could say Andy Reid was coached two weeks in a row.
Note: The application of “loser” labels is not a judgment on the talent or character of any of these individuals. It’s just a simple way to rate their job performance in one game. No disrespect is intended.
Gn sports
