CHIEFS 30, BRONCOS 27, OT
DENVER -- Cairo Santos' 34-yard field goal hit the left upright and bounced through as the overtime period expired Sunday night to give the Kansas Chiefs a 30-27 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.
That avoided the third tie in the NFL this season, something that hasn't happened since 1973 before the league introduced overtime.
The game-winning kick came after a risky move by Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak, who sent kicker Brandon McManus out for a 62-yard try with 1:01 left only to see the attempt come up short.
"It's on me," Kubiak said, explaining he made the move because he had confidence in his kicker even with a new long snapper who joined the team on Friday. "We didn't have any doubt that he could get the ball there. The thought process was on the other end: if we do punt, do we get the ball back?"
McManus practically begged to get a crack at the 62-yarder.
"That's still well within my range. I just kind of hit the ground," said McManus, who reportedly has made kicks from 70 yards in training camp. "From that distance, everything kind of needs to be perfect just because of how far you are away. It didn't happen for me."
The Chiefs got the ball at the Denver 48 with one timeout and just over a minute remaining instead of being backed up inside their 20, where they might have been if Denver had punted.
The Chiefs reached the Denver 16 before Santos' kick ended the game.
The Chiefs (8-3) kept up with the Oakland Raiders (9-2) in the AFC West race and the Broncos (7-4) could find themselves fighting for a wild card now.
Sports on 11/28/2016