Advertisement

7 QBs, 0 victories. Inside the Broncos’ 12-game losing streak to Kansas City Chiefs

Pete Grathoff
·4 min read
1

When the Chiefs played host to the Broncos on Sept. 17, 2015, it appeared a prime-time audience would see Alex Smith outduel Peyton Manning.

The Chiefs held a seven-point lead with a minute remaining in the “Thursday Night Football” game at Arrowhead Stadium. But Manning found Emmanuel Sanders on a 19-yard pass that helped the Broncos pull even with 36 seconds to play.

Playing for overtime, Smith handed off to Jamaal Charles, who fumbled. Bradley Roby recovered, broke a tackle and scored the game-winning touchdown, giving the Broncos a 31-24 victory to the amazement of the announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.

And that was the last time the Broncos defeated the Chiefs, who have won their last 12 games against Denver.

Quarterback Drew Lock, who starred at Lee’s Summit High School and the University of Missouri, will try to break the Broncos’ skid on Saturday.

Since that Thursday night game, seven Broncos quarterbacks have started against the Chiefs, and Kansas City has won each time. Here is a closer look at those quarterbacks who have failed to defeat the Chiefs.

Peyton Manning

Manning’s final start against the Chiefs was on Nov. 15, 2015 in Denver, and it was memorable. In the first quarter, he broke Brett Favre’s NFL record for most career passing yards. Things went south quickly for Manning and the Broncos after that as four of his 20 passes were intercepted and he was sacked twice. Manning was pulled in favor of Brock Osweiler, but it made little difference because the Chiefs rolled to a 29-13 victory.

Trevor Siemian

Siemian threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns but the Chiefs beat the Broncos 30-27 in overtime on Nov. 27, 2016. A month later, Siemian struggled as he completed just 17 of 43 passes 183 yards and an interception as the Chiefs thumped Denver 33-10 at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 25, 2016.

On Oct. 30, 2017, Siemian was intercepted three times as the Chiefs defeated Denver 29-19 at Arrowhead.

Paxton Lynch

Lynch replaced Siemian later in the 2017 season, but the Chiefs started rookie Patrick Mahomes, who led a late drive that that resulted in a game-winning field goal as KC prevailed 27-14 on Dec. 31.

Case Keenum

Denver held a double-digit scoring lead in the fourth quarter on Oct. 1, 2018 in Denver, but Patrick Mahomes threw a touchdown pass and Kareem Hunt’s 4-yard TD run gave the Chiefs a 27-23 victory. Keenum completed 21 of 33 passes for 245 yards with an interception.

Twenty-seven days later, Keenum played better with two touchdown passes and 243 passing yards, but the Chiefs won 30-23 despite being outscored 9-0 in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium.

Joe Flacco

The Chiefs traveled to Denver for a “Thursday Night Football” game on Oct. 17, 2019, and it was a scary day for KC. Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap and the game and the season seemed to be in doubt. But the defense sacked Flacco nine times and scored a touchdown. Matt Moore replaced Mahomes and threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill as the Chiefs rolled to a 30-6 victory.

Drew Lock

Flacco’s tenure in Denver didn’t last long as the former Mizzou quarterback took the starting reigns late in the season. That included a start at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 15, 2019. The Chiefs defense (and the snow) caused troubles for Lock, who completed just 18 of 40 passes and threw an interception in a 23-3 loss.

Lock made his first start in Denver against the Chiefs on Oct. 25, 2020, and his 2-yard run gave the Broncos a 7-6 lead in the first quarter. It was all down hill from there as Lock threw two interceptions, including a pick-six and the Chiefs rolled to a 43-16 win.

In his third start against the Chiefs, Lock helped Denver take a 16-12 lead late in the third quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 6, 2020. But the Chiefs scored the game’s final 10 points and won 22-16. Lock had two touchdown throws and two interceptions while throwing for 151 yards.

Teddy Bridgewater

Bridgewater got the start at Arrowhead Stadium last month, but he threw a pair of interceptions as the Chiefs took a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter and won 22-9.