On Sunday, November 17, 2013, the Kansas City Chiefs came to Denver with a 9-0 record, a bye week behind them and a first season under coach Andy Reid that had gone better than anyone expected. The Denver Broncos were 8-1 and a 7½-point favorite. Denver led 17-10 at halftime and 27-10 in the fourth quarter, and held on to win 27-17 and improve to 9-1.
Peyton Manning threw for 323 yards without being sacked, and Demaryius Thomas caught five passes for 121 yards, including a 70-yard play that set up the first touchdown. Kansas City, which had won nine straight, lost for the first time that season.
A fast start for Denver
The game was played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, now called Empower Field at Mile High, on a 43-degree night with a light 6 mph wind. Matt Prater opened the scoring with a 54-yard field goal on Denver’s first possession, and both teams then traded fumbles in the first quarter. Manning lost the ball on an aborted snap on third-and-1 at the Denver 27, and Kansas City’s Derrick Johnson recovered it and returned it 11 yards to the Denver 18. On the next play, Alex Smith completed a pass to fullback Anthony Sherman, and Danny Trevathan jarred the ball loose. Quentin Jammer recovered it at the Denver 16.
Two runs by Knowshon Moreno later, Denver faced third-and-5 at its own 21. Manning went deep to the right for Thomas, who caught the ball and was pushed out of bounds at the Kansas City 9 after a 70-yard gain. Manning then threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Julius Thomas with 3:07 left in the first quarter, and Denver led 10-0.
| Time | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st quarter, 12:38 | Matt Prater kicks a 54-yard field goal | Broncos 3, Chiefs 0 |
| 1st quarter, 3:07 | Peyton Manning throws 9 yards to Julius Thomas for a touchdown | Broncos 10, Chiefs 0 |
| 2nd quarter, 13:28 | Alex Smith throws 6 yards to Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown | Broncos 10, Chiefs 7 |
| 2nd quarter, 9:09 | Montee Ball runs 1 yard for a touchdown | Broncos 17, Chiefs 7 |
| 2nd quarter, 2:58 | Ryan Succop kicks a 20-yard field goal | Broncos 17, Chiefs 10 |
| 3rd quarter, 2:28 | Ball runs 8 yards for a touchdown | Broncos 24, Chiefs 10 |
| 4th quarter, 7:10 | Prater kicks a 36-yard field goal | Broncos 27, Chiefs 10 |
| 4th quarter, 5:02 | Smith throws 10 yards to Anthony Fasano for a touchdown, after a challenge | Broncos 27, Chiefs 17 |
The Chiefs answer, then stall at the goal line
Kansas City pulled to 10-7 when Smith found Bowe from 6 yards out on third-and-6 early in the second quarter. Denver answered right away. Manning completed passes of 20 yards to Julius Thomas and 29 to Demaryius Thomas, and Moreno ran 5 yards to the Kansas City 1. A pass interference penalty on Brandon Flowers in the end zone then gave Denver a first down at the 1, and Montee Ball ran in for a 17-7 lead with 9:09 left in the half.
The Chiefs had their best chance to get back in the game just before halftime. Jamaal Charles ran 35 yards, and a 7-yard run by Knile Davis and an 11-yard pass to Davis moved the ball to the Denver 2. Then it stopped. Charles ran for no gain, Sherman gained 1 yard and Charles was stopped again on third-and-1. On fourth-and-1 from the Denver 1, with 2:58 left in the half, Reid sent in Succop for a 20-yard field goal, and it was 17-10.
Denver had a chance to extend its lead before the break, but Prater missed a 52-yard try wide left with 37 seconds left. Kansas City got the ball at its own 42 and used all three of its timeouts. Smith hit Bowe for 16 yards, but a sack and a fumbled catch that the Chiefs recovered followed, and Smith’s 25-yard scramble to the Denver 21 came as the half ended. The score stayed 17-10.
Ball closes it out
The third quarter began with six straight punts, three by each team, and included a 14-yard sack of Smith by Derek Wolfe. Then Denver started at its own 35. Moreno ran for 11, Manning hit Welker for 7 and then Decker for 33 yards on third-and-3, and Ball ran in from the 8 for a 24-10 lead with 2:28 left in the third quarter. Kansas City was also penalized for 12 men on the field on the extra point.
Prater’s 36-yard field goal made it 27-10 with 7:10 left. It came on fourth-and-1 from the Kansas City 18, when the Broncos chose points over a try. Wes Welker, who finished with eight catches for 72 yards, had been hurt on a 20-yard catch earlier in the quarter. In the fourth quarter, Smith found Fasano for 10 yards on a play that was first ruled incomplete. Kansas City challenged, the call was reversed and the Chiefs trailed 27-17 with 5:02 left.
The last five minutes
Denver then ran clock. The Chiefs used all three timeouts before the Broncos punted from their own 32 with 3:51 left. Smith moved Kansas City to the Denver 45, and then three straight passes fell incomplete, the last one to Bowe on fourth-and-3 with 2:57 to play. Denver ran about a minute and punted twice, because a penalty wiped out the first punt, and Kansas City took over at its own 20 with 55 seconds left. The Chiefs lost ground on their last plays.
| Chiefs | Broncos | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 17 | 27 |
| Total yards | 344 | 427 |
| Net passing yards | 200 | 323 |
| Rushing yards | 144 | 104 |
| Third downs | 4 of 13 | 6 of 16 |
| Fourth-down tries | 1 (failed) | 0 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 1 |
Manning completed 24 of 40 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Demaryius Thomas had five catches on 13 targets for 121 yards, Welker caught eight for 72 and Decker five for 71, and Julius Thomas had three for 43 and the touchdown. Knowshon Moreno carried 27 times for 79 yards, and Ball ran 8 times for 25 yards and two touchdowns.
Smith completed 21 of 45 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and was sacked three times. Bowe had four catches for 57 yards and a score, Dexter McCluster caught five for 53, and Fasano had four for 37 and a touchdown. Charles ran 16 times for 78 yards. Shaun Phillips, Malik Jackson and Wolfe shared Denver’s three sacks.
Our guide to coach’s challenges and instant replay explains how a reversal like Fasano’s touchdown works, and the guide to timeouts covers why the three Kansas City timeouts mattered late in the game.
What came next
Denver finished 13-3, took the top seed in the AFC and beat San Diego 24-17 and New England 26-16 in the playoffs. The Broncos then lost Super Bowl XLVIII to Seattle 43-8. They did beat Kansas City again, 35-28 at Arrowhead on December 1, to sweep the season series.
Kansas City went 2-4 in its last six regular-season games, including losses to San Diego twice, to Denver and to Indianapolis, and finished 11-5 as a wild card. In the first round, the Chiefs lost 45-44 at Indianapolis after leading by 28 points in the third quarter. The 2013 season was the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2010.
The same two teams met again on Sunday, November 1, in Denver. Kansas City led 24-13 in the third quarter, and the Broncos rallied for a 28-24 win that ended with a sack on fourth-and-goal on the final snap. Denver moved into first place in the AFC West. Read the Week 8 recap for the details.
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