The AFC West is slipping away from the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time in a decade. After a frustrating yet close loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Chiefs are just 5-5 on the season. In the divisional race, Denver is four games up in the win column.
While it was known to be a tough matchup entering Sunday, the Chiefs came out as ugly as they have ever been following a bye week under Andy Reid. Throughout parts of the day, the defense was the only bright spot for Kansas City. That unit even finished with some questionable decisions near the end, however.
Chiefs' tendencies have become predictable for league's best defenses
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In what was a long day for the Kansas City offense, the tendencies against the Broncos' defense were pretty alarming. The Chiefs never seemed to fool Denver. Obviously, the Broncos possess one of the best defenses in the league. Yet it should not have been as easy as it was to snuff out some of K.C.'s attempts, given what the Chiefs have at their disposal.
One area that stood out in that regard was the play-action passing game. Patrick Mahomes was hit almost immediately on many of his dropbacks when Kansas City incorporated the play-action fake. During replays on the game broadcast, you could easily tell that [no one was getting open](https://x.com/RonOnChiefs/status/1990448854240502181?s=20) after the fake handoffs. If anything, some checkdowns and swings out to the running back in the flat were there for the taking. Mahomes was late to see it or did not want to pull the trigger for those attempts. Plus, most of those potential chances to check it down likely would not have generated many yards anyway.
Let’s move further to another area where the Broncos' defense limited easy yards. The screen passing game is where Coach Reid has made his bread and butter for ages. It generally seems to be something that he brings out at the right time to free up the offense. But on Sunday, Denver rarely got punished by the screen passing game. A few hits in the middle of the field to Noah Gray, Travis Kelce, or Kareem Hunt picked up favorable gains. But there were other screens that either [resulted in no gain or a loss of yards](https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/charts/single/pass/team/2025/week/patrick-mahomes/MAH401939).
Denver was also disciplined when facing misdirection rushing attempts. There were multiple carries from Hunt that looked to be open to pick up a first down. Sure, Hunt does not have the speed or quickness that he once had entering the league. Still, any cutback or flow against the grain was eliminated by the Denver front seven. Many of Hunt's successful rushing attempts came on gap runs that condensed the formation and allowed Hunt to slither in between the tackles.
Kansas City cannot trot out same old attack against the Colts
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Kansas City has adjusted its offense at various points under Mahomes and Reid. After the week off, Chiefs fans were likely expecting something like that to occur. The Chiefs' offense simply came in with limited opportunities. Mahomes may have been hurt by a few drops or impressive pass breakups by the Broncos' secondary. However, in the end, the lack of cohesion in the drives or creativity left the Chiefs' offense grinding through it for 60 minutes. And Kansas City largely failed to help out its defense.
What’s on deck? The Chiefs face an Indianapolis Colts defense that owns a known foe for Mahomes and Co. New defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been a major part of the turnaround in Indianapolis. With how his defenses frustrated Kansas City when he was the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator, the Chiefs cannot just go in with the same old attack. If they do, K.C. could very well be playing on Thanksgiving with a losing record.