After starting the season by winning one of their first six games, the Denver Broncos enter their bye week off back-to-back victories, including Sunday’s breakthrough win against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs had posted 16 consecutive victories in the AFC West rivalry until Denver defeated Kansas City 24-9 on Sunday.
“It feels great for the organization,” Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. “For us as a team, to go where we’ve been through and to finish out a game like that, a big divisional game, is huge. But we’ve just got to keep on building on it.”
The Miami Dolphins gashed the Denver defense for 726 yards in a 70-20 rout of the Broncos on Sept. 24. In the five games since, Denver has yielded fewer yards than it did in the previous contest each week, holding the Chiefs to 275.
The Broncos gave up 389 yards in losing to the Chiefs two weeks ago.
This time around, Denver ended Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ streak of 29 regular-season games with a touchdown pass.
Mahomes had his first regular-season game with no touchdown passes and two interceptions since Oct. 7, 2018. (He also had no TD passes and two interceptions in the Chiefs’ 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV on Oct. 7, 2018.) Mahomes’ passing-efficiency rating of 59.2 on Sunday ranks as the third-worst of his 102 career games, including the postseason.
With two interceptions and three fumble recoveries on Sunday, Denver is the third team since Andy Reid became Kansas City’s coach in 2013 to post five takeaways in a game against the Chiefs.
“You could just tell this was a team win collectively,” Surtain said. “We was all bought in to the game, all bought in during the week. And it showed out there on the field, just how bought in we was and how focused we was on the task at hand. And for us to deliver and win a big game like that goes to show a testament towards our team.”
The Broncos broke Kansas City’s six-game winning streak. At 6-2, the Chiefs are tied for the best record in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins.
“The Chiefs are a great team,” Surtain said. “When you beat a team like that, it’s for sure a momentum builder. It gives our team a lot of momentum going toward the weeks ahead, but we know each week is tough. We got to keep on progressing, keep on establishing ourselves and keep getting better each and every week.”
After their bye, the Broncos get back on the field against the Buffalo Bills in the Week 10 Monday night game at 7:15 p.m. CST Nov. 13 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Fans around the league are hoping Surtain isn’t on Denver’s roster when that happens. With the NFL trade deadline looming at 3 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Surtain is a wish-list staple.
After receiving unanimous All-American recognition and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award for Alabama’s undefeated CFP national-championship team in the 2020 season, Surtain joined Denver as the ninth selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Surtain became a first-team All-Pro in his second season, putting him in high demand.
But the Broncos don’t appear to be a team that will be active in the trade market.
“We’re not openly or even remotely shopping anyone,” Denver coach Sean Payton said on Monday. “Have people called? Sure they have. And typically the buyer wants the media to know they’ve called, not the seller.”