The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 10-1 against AFC West opponents under Patrick Mahomes, keeping their third seed in AFC playoff picture.
The Kansas City Chiefs continue to build upon their winning streak as they get their fourth straight win. Kansas City dominated the Denver Broncos 23-3 in a snowstorm that had little effect on the Chiefs for either side of the ball. As the defense continued its dominance against Denver, the offense came back to life, sparking optimism for fans.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the offense reminded everyone what they could do, putting up over 300 passing yards for the first time since Week 10. Mahomes finished the game throwing 27 of 34 for 340 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Tight end Travis Kelce was unstoppable as he caught 11 passes on 13 targets for 142 yards.
Unstoppable might be an understatement for not only Kelce’s performance in Week 15 but his career as a whole. Kelce came into the game with 10 games against the Broncos catching 61 passes for 806 yards and 4 touchdowns. His performance put his receiving total over 1,000 yards on the season for the fourth consecutive year. Kelce is the first tight end in NFL history to have four straight seasons with 1,000 plus receiving yards.
Mahomes made the record books with his 17th game throwing for 300 plus yards in his first three seasons to tie Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. The most impressive part of this record is that Mahomes only played one game his first season in the NFL. With two games remaining in 2019, he could surpass Warner for the record.
Despite the weather, the Chiefs offense was nearly impossible to slow down. Mahomes continued delivering beautiful passes to the intermediate and deep areas of the field as the Broncos defense seemed to struggle in the snow. Four receivers had catches of 20 plus yards for the Chiefs offense. Everything started with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill as Mahomes fit the ball between Chris Harris Jr. and Justin Simmons.
Hill caught his second touchdown of the day in the third quarter on an out-breaking route. In the previous three games against the Broncos, Hill was held to zero touchdowns. He finished the game with five catches for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Missouri native Drew Lock returned to Arrowhead for the first time since being drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 2019 NFL Draft. Lock came into the game leading his team to back-to-back victories to begin his career. It was not the day he envisioned as Lock would finish the game throwing 18 of 40 for 208 yards and an interception. Kansas City’s defense made life difficult for the Broncos offense by consistently putting pressure on Lock and playing with excellent coverage.
Tyrann Mathieu had multiple plays on the ball throughout the afternoon, including an interception that got brought back due to a questionable holding call. Rookie safety Juan Thornhill picked off Lock the very next play putting him at 3 interceptions on the season. Lock demonstrated why he was passed upon by every team before being picked up in the second round. Bad decision-making led to an interception and multiple passes that were turnover worthy. His stats against the Houston Texans in Week 14 overshadowed his questionable decisions and slow reads with the Texans unable to capitalize.