DENVER — Reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes injured his right knee in a pileup near the goal line before his Kansas City teammates rallied for a 30-6 thrashing of Denver on Thursday night.
Backup Matt Moore threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill and the Chiefs (5-2) had nine sacks, gave up a season-low 71 yards rushing and snapped a two-game skid in beating the Broncos (2-5) for the eighth consecutive time.
CHIEFS 30, BRONCOS 6
His balky left ankle heavily taped, Mahomes completed 10 of 11 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown before he got hurt on a successful sneak on fourth-and-inches at the Denver 5 early in the second quarter.
One by one, players peeled off the pile but when Mahomes didn’t get up, the stadium grew quiet, Broncos players knelt and some Chiefs stormed away in anguish as their quarterback ripped off his helmet and covered his face.
As players milled about nervously, the Chiefs’ medical personnel appeared to pop Mahomes’ right knee back in place before he was helped from the field and taken into the locker room. The Chiefs announced minutes later that Mahomes had a knee injury and wouldn’t return.
A source told The Kansas City Star on Thursday night that Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap and there doesn’t appear to be a fracture. Mahomes is scheduled to undergo an MRI today.
The Broncos had won two consecutive after a winless September and were hoping to turn the AFC West upside down by handling the Chiefs their third loss in a row.
But the Chiefs sacked Joe Flacco a career-high eight times, drew three holding flags on left tackle Garett Bolles, held Denver to 1 of 13 on third downs and benefited from Denver’s poor special teams play.
After Mahomes got hurt, Moore couldn’t get the Chiefs into the end zone on three plays from the 3, and Harrison Butker’s 20-yard field goal gave Kansas City a 13-6 lead.
Flacco, who was sacked five times and knocked down eight more times in 15 first-half drop-backs, was sack-stripped by linebacker Anthony Hutchins on the next series and linebacker Reggie Ragland scooped up the loose ball at the 5 and rumbled into the end zone for a 20-6 halftime lead.
The Broncos scored first after getting a reprieve on a three-and-out when Frank Clark’s face mask gave Denver a first down and Royce Freeman took it in from a yard out seven plays later. But Phillip Lindsay was stopped on the two-point conversion run.
Their 6-0 lead was short-lived as Mahomes somehow escaped the clutches of Von Miller and fired a pass that safety Will Parks tipped but Mecole Hardman reigned in anyway before avoiding sidestepping safety Kareem Jackson for a 21-yard score.
Moore finished 10 of 19 for 117 yards.
Kansas City.............10 10 7 3 — 30 Denver....................6 0 0 0 — 6 First Quarter
Den—Freeman 1 run (run failed), 9:06. KC—Hardman 21 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), 4:10.
KC—FG Butker 33, 1:00. Second Quarter
KC—FG Butker 20, 8:01. KC—Ragland 5 fumble return (Butker kick), 7:10. Third Quarter
KC—Hill 57 pass from Moore (Butker kick), 4:20. Fourth Quarter
KC—FG Butker 39, 5:04. Attendance—76,748.
KC Den First downs ..................................14 15 Total Net Yards............................271 205 Rushes-yards............................27-80 21-71 Passing........................................191 134 Punt Returns..............................4-50 4-12 Kickoff Returns...........................0-0 0-0 Interceptions Ret.........................0-0 0-0 Comp-Att-Int............................20-30-0 21-34-0 Sacked-Yards Lost......................1-2 9-79 Punts.........................................6-44.3 7-40.0 Fumbles-Lost..............................1-0 3-1 Penalties-Yards..........................6-46 4-33 Time of Possession .................. 32:13 27:47 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Kansas City, McCoy 12-64, Sherman 2-7, Dam.Williams 9-7, Mahomes 1-2, Dar.Williams 2-1, Moore 1-(minus 1). Denver, Lindsay 11-36, Freeman 10-35.
PASSING—Kansas City, Mahomes 10-11-0-76, Moore 10-19-0-117. Denver, Flacco 21-34-0-213. RECEIVING—Kansas City, Kelce 6-44, Hill 3-74, Robinson 3-31, Hardman 2-28, McCoy 2-12, Dar.Williams 2-5, Dam.Williams 2-(minus 1). Denver, Sutton 6-87, Sanders 5-60, Freeman 4-32, Hamilton 2-4, Janovich 1-22, Fant 1-7, Spencer 1-5, Lindsay 1-(minus 4). MISSED FIELD GOALS—Denver, McManus 45.