DENVER (AP) — For a team that hasn't tasted much success since Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware were still burnishing their Hall of Fame credentials in Denver a decade ago, this version of the Broncos sure keeps showing off a championship-level moxie.

That's exactly what coach Sean Payton predicted would happen back in training camp when he started touting his team as having the ingredients to win the next Super Bowl.

Their 22-19 thriller over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday marked their seventh comeback of the season, their seventh win in a one-score game, their eighth consecutive victory and their NFL-best 11th straight triumph at home.

“We just got a resilient team that just believes we’re going to win,” quarterback Bo Nix said, "and at the end of the game when it’s close, belief goes a long way.”

A year ago, the Broncos were 1-6 in one-score games and the Chiefs were 12-0. This year, Denver is 7-2 in one-score games and the Chiefs are 0-5.

And the AFC West race has been turned on its head, too. The Chiefs' nine-year reign atop the division is in jeopardy as they trail both the Chargers (7-4) and Broncos by multiple games, although their schedule is favorable down the stretch.

“I think it’s a belief or mentality or a grit, a toughness that we’ve just built as a team,” Nix said. “We just kind of have this belief that get it to the end of the game, we are just going to find a way.”

That's what happened again Sunday.

“I feel like it starts with having a defense that you know they are going to stop them,” Nix said. “At some critical moment, they are going to stop them. We are going to have opportunity after opportunity. As an offense, there is going to be a moment at the end of the game where you are going to have the football and you are going to have a chance to go on a drive, get points or win the game.”

What’s working

With 49 sacks through Week 11, Denver is on track to obliterate the franchise record of 63 sacks they collected last season and eclipse the NFL record for most sacks in a season (72 by the Chicago Bears in 1984). Denver's 49 sacks are the most by a team in the first 11 weeks of a season since 1989, when the Minnesota Vikings had 53.

What needs help

Even though they scored on six of their 10 drives against the Chiefs, five of those scores came on chip-shot field goals after the bend-but-don't-break offense stalled. If they can just finish their drives, the Broncos can start putting away teams early and coasting into the fourth quarter instead of sweating out more close ones.

Although Payton is loathe to credit an up-tempo approach, Nix is at his best when the call comes in early enough for him not to have to rush things and can survey the defense at the line of scrimmage, which was a big talking point on Sunday's broadcast.

Stock up

DB Ja'Quan McMillian had a career day with an interception, a pass breakup, six tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, two of Denver's three sacks and two other hits on Mahomes. He's the first cornerback in franchise history with two sacks and an interception in a game.

Stock down

Although Riley Moss, the most targeted cornerback in the NFL this season, leads the league in giving up the lowest completion percentage of all players targeted at least 40 times, he has developed a bad pass interference habit on deep balls, some of them costly. He said he's going to wear boxing gloves at practice to break this tendency.

Injuries

The Broncos are hoping to get star CB Pat Surtain II (chest), ILB Alex Singleton (testicular tumor) and TE Nate Adkins (knee) back after the bye. RB J.K. Dobbins (left foot) is recovering from Lisfranc surgery and has a chance to return if the Broncos go deep in the playoffs.

Key stats

 

__The last time the Broncos won nine of their first 11 games was their Super Bowl-winning 2015 season.

__Nix led the Broncos to his fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season Sunday. Since last season, Nix has totaled an NFL-high eight fourth-quarter comebacks. That's one shy of Manning's four-year mark in Denver and the most by any player in his first two seasons in league history.

—Wil Lutz's eight game-winning field goals since joining the Broncos in 2023 are the most in the league over that span, three more than runner-up Harrison Butker of the Chiefs.

Next steps

Payton gave the Broncos the week off. They'll return Nov. 24 to begin preparations for their visit to the nation's capital to face the Commanders (3-8).

Forget winning the AFC West. Mahomes and Chiefs in danger of missing playoffs after loss to Broncos

DENVER (AP) — At this point in the season, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are usually cruising toward another division title and being touted as Super Bowl favorites.

Instead, they're losing the close games they used to win and, at 5-5, they're looking up in the AFC West at the Denver Broncos (9-2) and the Los Angeles Chargers (7-4).

It's all new territory for Mahomes and the startled Chiefs.

Sunday's 22-19 loss to the Broncos on Wil Lutz's 35-yard field goal as time expired makes a record-tying 10th straight division crown a long shot. The Chiefs are currently out of playoff position; they haven't missed the postseason since 2014.

Rarely have the Chiefs appeared this vulnerable — or maybe this dangerous?

They're relying on the experience of going to five of the last six Super Bowls — winning three — to spark a late-season surge. But the clock is ticking with seven games remaining. They need to go 5-2 to reach double-digit wins, which coach Andy Reid has done every season but one since taking over in KC in 2013.

“We’re in a beautiful spot, probably not the most amazing spot, or where we're used to being in, but we still have an opportunity,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “Give me an opportunity, that’s all we ask for.”

In recent seasons, Kansas City was so used to winning tight games that it almost seemed inevitable. The Chiefs were 12-0 in one-score games a season ago, extending their NFL record to 17 consecutive triumphs in games decided by eight points or fewer.

This season, they're 0-5.

The Chiefs had the ball with just over four minutes remaining in a tie game Sunday. That’s typically a recipe for Mahomes’ magic. But the Broncos defense forced a three-and-out, and KC didn't get the ball back.

“It sucks. Don’t get me wrong,” said Mahomes, who was sacked three times and intercepted once while throwing for 276 yards and a score. “You’ve got to feel that. But you’ve got to be able to kind of use that energy to push it into the next week, into the rest of the season.

“We’ve been losing these close games recently, but we’ve played some good football in spurts. It’s just about being more consistent.”

The Chiefs were facing a banged-up team in the Broncos, who where missing their top cornerback (Pat Surtain II) and running back (J.K. Dobbins) along with their top tackler (Alex Singleton). Relying on a stalwart defense, the Broncos found a way to persevere for their eighth straight win.

And they've pushed the Chiefs to the brink. But feeding Kansas City's hopes is that its three toughest remaining games are all at home, starting next weekend with Indianapolis (8-2).

“The goal is to get into the playoffs and try to make a run at it,” Mahomes said. “We’re at that point where we've got to find a way just to win football games.”

The Chiefs were out of sync despite entering the game well-rested coming off a bye. It started early, with Mahomes unable to connect on three deep passes on the first series. Mahomes also threw an interception in the red zone in the third quarter.

The Chiefs committed 10 penalties for 69 yards. Harrison Butker had an extra point blocked.

Kansas City's defense had a chance to bail out the offense. But on a third-and-15 at the Denver 21 with 2:05 remaining, Bo Nix connected with Courtland Sutton for a 20-yard gain. A few plays later, Nix completed a 32-yard pass to Troy Franklin that set up Lutz’s game-winning kick.

“It’s frustrating,” cornerback Trent McDuffie said. "After the game, I told everybody, ‘We can’t keep our heads down. We have a whole year ahead of us.’ Positivity is everything, and we've got just get back to work. We've just have to get back to KC defense.”

There was one milestone — Travis Kelce caught a 21-yard TD pass from Mahomes for his franchise-record 84th touchdown. It gave the Chiefs a 19-16 lead with 9:57 remaining.

“He deserves it,” Mahomes said. “He’s a leader."

Which the Chiefs need right now — from Kelce, Mahomes and the rest of their veterans.

“It’s not always been just championships. We’ve dealt with adversity,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, this is something that we haven’t dealt with so early in the season, but at the same time, I know the guys in that locker room, and know how they’re going to respond.

“All we can do is stick together and push ourselves to be even better and try to do what we can to win this next week.”