After losing 16 straight games to the Kansas City Chiefs from 2015 to 2023, the Denver Broncos finally broke that losing streak when Sean Payton took over in 2023.
The Broncos are 3-2 against the Chiefs under Payton, and even if you remove the 38-0 win over KC’s backups last season, Denver has still outscored the Chiefs 60 to 44 in three of their last four meetings.
Kansas City has won the AFC West in nine straight seasons, but after a 22-19 win on Sunday, the Broncos now have a commanding lead in the division with a 9-2 record.
“They were at the top, and if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,” quarterback Bo Nix said after Sunday’s win. “Some say, ‘If you’re scared, go to church.’ If you’re going to play this sport, if you’re going to play this game for too long, you can’t really be intimidated, or there’s really no sense in going out there. If you don’t believe you’re going to win and eventually you get to the top, then I feel like you waste so much time throughout the week, but we work hard and we put together a great team to win games like tonight, and it paid off.”
Nix went 24-of-37 passing on Sunday for 295 yards with no turnovers and six scoring drives. On defense, Ja’Quan McMillian stood out with two sacks and a crucial interception.
“It’s great, man,” McMillian said after upsetting the Chiefs. “Obviously, those guys have been on top for a while. As a team, we wanted to take that next step, but in order for us to take that next step, we had to beat them guys, get through them, and it was a wonderful win for us. Even more confidence going into the bye week and then following the rest of the season. But it was a big win, we needed it.”
The job’s not done yet. Denver has six games remaining on its 2026 schedule, including a Christmas Day showdown in Kansas City in Week 17. There’s still a lot of football left to be played, but the Broncos are in a good spot going into their bye week.
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