KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. He also serves as our game-day digital reporter for the Chiefs. Share your story idea with Tod.
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As the sun set Thursday, the fog thickened and hung over GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
But much like the fog that has clouded the stadium’s future for the last three years, as kickoff approached Christmas night ahead of the Chiefs’ battle against the rival Denver Broncos, everything cleared up (allowing the crowd to see the Elf on the Shelf atop the scoreboard on Hallelujah Corner end zone).
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Kansas City, which was eliminated from the postseason two weeks earlier and lost Patrick Mahomes for the season to a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, put together a spirited performance with a chance to play Grinch to Denver’s division-title and No. 1-seed hopes.
But the Broncos ultimately prevailed 20-13 after Bo Nix found RJ Harvey in the back of the end zone while scrambling to his right for the game-winning 1-yard touchdown bullet pass with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining.
Three plays and two Chiefs timeouts earlier, Harvey lined up behind center on fourth-and-2 at the 9-yard line on the first play coming out of the two-minute warning.
Denver didn’t seem poised to actually snap the ball and probably would have settled for another Wil Lutz field goal with Chris Oladokun making his first career NFL start and leading a lackluster offensive performance.
Instead, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones jumped offside, which extended the drive, burned a few more precious seconds and cost a couple of precious timeouts.
ALMOST-ADOKUN
Oladokun did his best to bring Kansas City back.
After a couple of short passes, Kareem Hunt broke a 14-yard run, which got the Chiefs untracked.
Oladokun, who finished 13 of 22 for 66 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, followed with a 14-yard toss to tight end Travis Kelce and a 7-yard scramble, but a spike to stop the clock, a delay-of-game penalty and a deep incompletion to Kelce followed.
His deep shot to Hollywood Brown in the end zone on fourth-and-8 sailed harmlessly high with 14 seconds left.
Kansas City finished with 139 total yards and only 10 first downs. Still, given the attrition — Oladokun played behind a patchwork offensive line with a depleted stable of weapons at wide receiver — it’s hard to pin those troubles solely on a young QB.
Kelce led the Chiefs in catches (five) and yards (36) in what could be his final game at Arrowhead.
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
It took Denver until its third trip to the red zone to find the end zone — and Bo Nix had to do it himself.
Nix scrambled around the left edge and took two Chiefs defenders with him over the goal line on a 9-yard run, which capped a 14-play drive that covered 72 yards and erased 9 minutes, 47 seconds of the third-quarter clock.
Kansas City, which led by a point at halftime, had extended its lead with a field-goal drive to open the third quarter.
Denver, which entered the week needing a win and a Los Angeles Chargers loss to clinch its first AFC West crown since winning five in a row from 2011-15, answered with an impressive march.
Nix went 6 of 6 for 60 yards, including a 23-yard pass to Courtland Sutton after an offensive pass interference penalty threatened to stall the drive, with three scrambles for 12 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown run.
The Broncos went in front 13-10 with the TD.
TERRIFIC TURNOVER
The Chiefs entered the week with only two turnovers in the previous seven games, but that changed in a spectacular way on the Broncos’ second drive.
With Denver backed up, facing third-and-12, Bo Nix tried to connect with Lil’Jordan Humphrey on a deep sideline out.
Cornerback Kristian Fulton, whose debut season in Kansas City has been marred by injury, made a great break on the ball and batted it from Humphrey’s hands with a dive.
With a dive of his own, linebacker Nick Bolton corralled the deflection for Nix’s 11th interception of the season. It was Bolton’s first interception of the season and the fifth of his career.
The turnover set up the Chiefs’ offense at the Broncos' 35-yard line.
Ten plays later, Oladokun connected on a 5-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Brashard Smith. It was the first career touchdown for both players.
Oladokun went 4 of 5 for 20 yards and added a 4-yard scramble on the touchdown drive, which gave Kansas City a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
BEND, BUT DON’T BREAK
Denver devoured 8:02 with the game’s opening drive, a 14-play march that started at the Broncos’ 35-yard line and ended 56 yards later in the Chiefs' red zone.
The defense stuffed RJ Harvey on first down and Chamarri Conner had Humphrey blanketed in the flats well short of the first-down marker on third-and-6, forcing Denver to settle for a 27-yard Wil Lutz field goal.
Despite falling behind 3-0 early, it was a win for Kansas City’s defense.
Late in the second quarter, the Broncos again put together a lengthy drive, but again settled for a field goal.
After driving 79 yards to the Chiefs’ 11-yard line, Nix misfired on three straight passes and the 16-yard drive ended with a 30-yard field goal.
Kansas City led 7-6 at halftime.
BUTKER HITS ANOTHER BOMB
Harrison Butker opened the second half with a 53-yard field goal.
It’s the second straight week, the fifth time this season and the 35th time in his career that Butker has connected from beyond 50 yards.
Butker’s five field goals of 50-plus yards are tied for the second most in a season in his career. He went 7 of 9 from 50-plus in 2021 and 5 for 5 from that distance in 2023.
Butker has made 5 of 8 kicks of 50 yards or longer this season.
UP NEXT
Kansas City (6-10) wraps up its season against the Raiders in Las Vegas next week, but the date and kickoff time won’t be announced until Sunday evening.
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