KANSAS CITY — P.J. Locke didn’t want to be bothered.
Sitting inside the visiting locker room in Kansas City, the Broncos safety was trying to piece together the final moments of Sunday’s 16-14 loss to the Chiefs. His emotions ranged from frustration to sadness to flat-out disbelief over how the football gods were not on Denver’s side on Sunday.
At GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Broncos did everything they could defensively to limit quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champions. But in a matter of seconds, all that hard work faded away on a blocked field goal at the final whistle, solidifying Denver’s second-straight loss to drop to 5-5.
“This is the first time this has ever happened to me in my life… A blocked field goal on a game-winning (attempt) is unfortunate,” Locke told The Denver Post. “Where did we go wrong?”
There were a handful of moments from the Broncos’ fifth loss that the defense probably wants back.
Safety Brandon Jones’ illegal contact penalty, which negated edge rusher Nik Bonitto’s sack on third down in the second quarter, is likely near the top of the list. A few plays later, nickel cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian slipped in coverage on fourth-and-goal, resulting in a 2-yard touchdown catch from tight end Travis Kelce to cut Denver’s lead to 14-10.
During Kansas City’s 10-play, 44-yard scoring drive in the fourth, Mahomes (28-for-42 passing for 266 yards and a touchdown) took advantage of busted coverage, completing a 31-yard pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Eventually, kicker Harrison Butker converted a 20-yard field goal to give the Chiefs the lead for good with six minutes to go.
“I think about the mistakes that I could’ve (made),” said Locke, who played in his first game after missing the last two with a thumb injury. “What could we have done to not give up one field goal? Keep it at 13 instead of 16. I don’t know how to digest it right now.”
Despite its mistakes, Denver’s defense was markedly better after getting steamrolled by the Ravens a week ago. The Broncos held Kansas City under 20 points for the third straight time while only allowing 57 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Denver only gave up one touchdown, forcing the Chiefs to settle for three field goals in its other three red zone trips.
Bonitto didn’t want to bask in the glory of his performance, but it remained significant. He finished with a sack and pressured Mahomes numerous times, as he continually abused rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia after he replaced starter Wanya Morris (knee injury). According to Next Gen Stats, Bonitto was matched up against Suamataia 11 times and generated four pressures before Morris returned to the game down the stretch.
Still, none of that mattered.
“We should’ve won the game,” Bonitto said.
Four different Broncos recorded a sack in the loss, including edge rusher Jonathon Cooper, who increased his total to 6.5 after taking the 2-time MVP in the second quarter.
Mahomes faced pressure on 20 of 49 dropbacks (40.8%), the highest pressure rate he’s faced in a game since Denver’s 24-9 victory over the Chiefs last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
“We were the more physical team,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “I bet if you asked (Kansas City) about this game, they are gonna look at it the same way. It’s definitely building blocks moving forward because we know what we’re capable of.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton expressed similar thoughts, saying the Broncos outplayed the Chiefs until the end. Despite the Chiefs reaching Denver’s 2-yard line on their final scoring drive, the Broncos held them to a field goal and opened the door for the offense to win the game.
Locke locked arms with teammates as he watched the offense move the ball into field goal position. But happiness turned into disbelief as Chiefs linebackers Leo Chenal and Jack Cochrane bulldozed over second-year center Alex Forsyth to block kicker Wil Lutz’s go-ahead field goal attempt on the final play of the game.
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“There’s no way that just happened,” he said.
Added defensive tackle Malcolm Roach: “We see the faces of everybody in this locker room. It’s supposed to hurt. If you’re not invested, it wouldn’t feel this bad.”
Locke vowed to not let this loss take away from what the Denver defense has built, expressing belief that the Broncos can hang with anyone.
“We are built for it,” Locke said. “I think anybody who watched that game today clearly (saw) it.”
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