Broncos Use Taylor Swift's Music Against Her Boyfriend After Upsetting Chiefs
Justin Simmons never paid much attention to the Broncos’ long losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs or the way Patrick Mahomes had owned them ever since winning in Denver in his first NFL start back in 2017.
Simmons won’t have to address — or ignore — either point again after the Broncos throttled the defending Super Bowl champs 24-9 on a frigid Sunday afternoon at Mile High Stadium.
“It just felt so good to win,” the safety said after the Broncos (3-5) ended their 16-game losing streak to the Chiefs (6-2) by dominating every facet against a team that hadn’t lost to Denver since Week 2 of the 2015 season.
It was Mahomes’ first loss to Denver after 12 wins and his first road defeat in the AFC West after winning his first 16 divisional games away from Arrowhead Stadium.
The star quarterback said the Broncos had a great game plan and executed it.
“And we didn’t execute or score any points,” he said.
In beating Kansas City for the first time in 2,965 days, the Broncos outplayed the Chiefs in every phase. Afterward, they were serenaded off the field to the sound of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” blaring throughout Empower Field.
Broncos celebrate win vs Chiefs with Taylor Swift music 👀 pic.twitter.com/3TFdN8InJC
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 29, 2023
The pop star — who has gotten a lot of media attention as she has attended boyfriend Travis Kelce’s games — wasn’t on hand in Denver to see the Kansas City tight end haul in six catches for 58 yards.
Swift also missed an awful day for the rest of the Chiefs, who posted three field goals, went 0-for-3 in the red zone and turned it over four times on offense to go with a turnover on downs and a muffed punt that Denver recovered.
Mahomes experienced flu-like symptoms, apparently catching a stomach bug from his wife and two young children, who got sick during the week.
“I started feeling bad last night,” said the All-Pro quarterback, who had a pedestrian day with a 59.2 passer rating, three sacks and two interceptions.
Simmons recovered a fumble and picked off Mahomes for the sixth time in his career.
.@jsimms1119 will take that. 😤
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/WXDmgzKaQc
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 29, 2023
Those takeaways led to 10 points as the Broncos posted back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year.
Russell Wilson only threw 19 times, but three of his dozen completions were in the end zone, to receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton and running back Javonte Williams, who ran 27 times for 85 yards and caught three passes for 13 yards.
After review, that’s a TD!
📺: CBS | @jerryjeudy pic.twitter.com/U3gkGFgWIH
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 29, 2023
Russ hits Courtland Sutton and the Broncos lead 21-9!
📺: #KCvsDEN on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/ryh5DKTJ7E— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
First TD since his injury. 👏
Welcome back, @javontewill33!
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/u9mLwWb9w7
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 29, 2023
Williams’ TD was his first since returning from a devastating left knee injury he suffered in the first month of the 2022 season.
“We believe in who we are,” Wilson said after the Broncos, who came in averaging just 22 carries a game, next-to-last in the league, ran the ball 40 times for 153 yards in controlling the clock and the tempo.
Denver made a 14-9 halftime lead hold up by controlling the clock and keeping Mahomes and Kelce cooling their cleats on the sideline in the second half. Kansas City had just three second-half possessions before getting the ball back for one meaningless snap at the end.
The Broncos blew the game open when rookie linebacker Drew Sanders recovered Mecole Hardman’s muffed punt at the Chiefs 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Two plays later, Wilson hit Sutton in the left corner to make it 21-9, making the Broncos the first opponent to top 20 points against Kansas City this season.
Mahomes drove the Chiefs to the Denver 27, but Skyy Moore couldn’t bring in a perfectly placed toss in the end zone on fourth down with 7:35 left.
On 4th & 3 in Denver territory, #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes drops a great pass to WR Skyy Moore in the end zone…but it’s dropped.#ChiefsKingdom #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/pneBCcQiCJ
— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) October 29, 2023
Simmons, who had a fumble recovery in the first half, intercepted Mahomes with about 5 minutes left, and the Broncos added a short field goal with 31 seconds remaining.
The Chiefs never trailed by more than 10 points in any of their 16 consecutive wins over Denver — it was the third-longest win streak against one opponent in NFL history — but they fell behind 14-3 early on and never found their footing.
In the first half, Mahomes also was intercepted by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian and strip-sacked by Baron Browning with Jonathon Cooper recovering the loose ball.
“Patrick Mahomes is a hard quarterback” to sack, said Browning, who had three QB hits to go with his two sacks. “He scrambles. He can move around, stop on a dime, spin around. There was a play early in the game where I thought I had a kill shot, he stopped. He’s a playmaker, so it feels good to be able to corral him like a chicken.”
RED-ZONE RED-FACED
Three weeks ago at Arrowhead, the Chiefs were just 1 for 5 in the red zone but managed to pull off a 19-8 win against the Broncos. On Sunday, they were 0 for 3 inside Denver’s 20.
“Yeah, we weren’t down there too much today,” said Mahomes, who was held without a touchdown throw for the first time since Dec. 5, 2021, in a 22-9 win over Denver.
“It’s the worst I felt walking out of the stadium,” he said after losing for the first time in six trips to Denver. “It’s a great environment and I actually have a lot of fun playing here. They love the game, they know the game.
“But it is what it is. They beat us. They were the better football team today, and I give them their props.”
INJURIES
Chiefs LB Willie Gay injured his tailbone in the second half.
UP NEXT
Chiefs: Face the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 5.
Broncos: Bye week, return at Buffalo on Nov. 13.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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