Broncos–Chiefs rivalry

The Broncos–Chiefs rivalry is a rivalry between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League's AFC West division. Since the American Football League was established in 1960, the Broncos and the Chiefs have shared the same division, first being the AFL Western Conference, and since the AFL–NFL merger, the AFC West. For years, the rivalry has featured two of the best home-field advantages in the league. CBS ranked this rivalry as the No. 4 NFL rivalry of the 1990s in 2020. The Chiefs and the Broncos are the farthest teams from a division rival, and the Broncos are the farthest from any other team at all.

Broncos–Chiefs rivalry

Broncos and Chiefs face off during the 2011 season.
Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs
First meeting	October 30, 1960: Texans 17, Broncos 14
Latest meeting	October 29, 2023: Broncos 24, Chiefs 9
Next meeting	November 10, 2024
Statistics
Meetings total	128
All-time series	Chiefs: 72–56
Regular season series	Chiefs: 71–56
Postseason results	Broncos: 1–0
Largest victory	Broncos: 38–3 (2012); Chiefs: 59–7 (1963)
Longest win streak	Broncos: 8 (1976–1979) Chiefs: 16 (2015–2023)
Current win streak	Broncos: 1 win (2023–present)
Post-season history
1997 AFC Divisional: Broncos won, 14–10

300km
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Chiefs

Broncos

  

Locations of the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs

The Dallas Texans/Chiefs dominated the Broncos in the 1960s, the decade of the AFL, winning 19 of 20 games. The Broncos have responded since then, winning the series from the 1970s to 2000s. The Chiefs snapped this streak in the 2010s when they won 11–9. The Chiefs/Texans lead the series 72–56, but since the Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs, they lead 66–56. Dallas swept all six meetings in the rivalry's first three years.

In the 2010s, Peyton Manning went 7–1 against the Chiefs as a member of the Broncos from 2012–2015. The Chiefs took control of the series after defeating the Broncos in 2015 in the final meeting with Manning at quarterback, starting a 16-game win streak for Kansas City over Denver. Until 2023, the Chiefs had gone 15–0 against the Broncos since Manning retired following the 2015 season, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes won his first 12 career starts against Denver. Combined, the two teams have won the last 14 AFC West Division titles from 2010–2023, and were the only teams to win the AFC West in the 2010s.

Notable moments

1990–1994

• September 17, 1990: In a game played at Mile High Stadium on Monday Night Football, the Broncos were trailing 23–21 with 1:44 left in the fourth quarter, after Chiefs' quarterback Steve DeBerg launched an 83-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stephone Paige to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game. Broncos' quarterback John Elway engineered a comeback, which culminated with kicker David Treadwell hitting a 22-yard field goal as time expired. The game is also remembered for Broncos' safety Steve Atwater applying a punishing hit to Chiefs' running back Christian Okoye.
• October 4, 1992: The Chiefs were victimized by 8 of John Elway's 46 fourth quarter comebacks/game-winning drives, the most he had against one NFL team. Perhaps the most memorable comeback occurred on October 4, 1992, at Mile High Stadium. The Broncos trailed 19–6 late in the fourth quarter, and had not scored a touchdown in the previous 12 quarters. After the 2-minute warning, Elway threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Jackson to narrow the gap to 19–13 with 1:55 left. After the Chiefs subsequently went three-and-out, the Broncos returned a punt to the Chiefs' 27-yard line. Three plays later, Elway threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Vance Johnson with 38 seconds left for a thrilling 20–19 comeback win.
• December 27, 1992: Less than three months after John Elway stunned the Chiefs with the aforementioned comeback win, the Chiefs exacted revenge on the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium in the 1992 regular season finale, with a playoff berth on the line. The Chiefs routed the Broncos 42–20, with the Chiefs' defense scoring three touchdowns off Broncos' turnovers, and denying the Broncos a playoff berth in the process.
• October 17, 1994: John Elway and Joe Montana, two of the three greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, squared off in one of the greatest games in Monday Night Football history. Montana played the last two years of his 16-year NFL career with the Chiefs (1993–94), after playing the majority of his career with the San Francisco 49ers (1979–1992). The two teams matched each other score for score through the first three quarters, until Chiefs' kicker Lin Elliott nailed a 19-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a 24–21 lead with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. After Broncos' tight end Shannon Sharpe and Chiefs' running back Marcus Allen traded fumbles over the next two possessions, Elway led the Broncos on a 6-play, 39-yard drive, and scored a 4-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw to give the Broncos a 28–24 lead with 1:29 remaining. However, the Chiefs would one-up the Broncos, with Montana connecting on a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Davis with only eight seconds remaining to give the Chiefs a thrilling 31–28 win. It not only gave Chiefs' head coach Marty Schottenheimer his first victory in Denver in eight tries, but the Chiefs also snapped an 11-game losing streak at Mile High Stadium.
• December 4, 1994: In a game at Arrowhead Stadium, Broncos' defensive end Shane Dronett blocked a potential game-winning 37-yard field goal by Chiefs' placekicker Lin Elliott at the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime. Broncos' quarterback Hugh Millen, substituting for an injured John Elway, committed a fumble in Broncos' territory after being sacked by Chiefs' defensive end Darren Mickell; however, the Chiefs immediately returned the favor when running back Marcus Allen lost a fumble that was recovered by safety Dennis Smith at the Broncos' 27-yard line. Placekicker Jason Elam later kicked a 34-yard field goal with 2:48 remaining in overtime, for a Broncos' 20–17 victory.

1997–present

• November 16, 1997: The Broncos were trailing the Chiefs 21–19 at Arrowhead Stadium, and were backed up at their own 27-yard line with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Quarterback John Elway led the Broncos down the field, with Jason Elam kicking a 34-yard field goal with only a minute left to give the Broncos a 22–21 lead. However, Chiefs' quarterback Rich Gannon drove the Chiefs to the Broncos' 37-yard line, and kicker Pete Stoyanovich hit a 54-yard field goal as time expired to give the Chiefs a 24–22 win.
• January 4, 1998: A very hard-fought, yet controversial game. Less than two months after the aforementioned last-second win by the Chiefs, the Broncos returned to Kansas City for the divisional round of the 1997–98 NFL playoffs, and redeemed themselves by upending the No. 1 seed Chiefs 14–10, en route to their first Super Bowl win that season.
• October 5, 2003: Chiefs' return specialist Dante Hall returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, after it seemed that the Broncos' special teams had him corralled for a loss deep in Chiefs' territory. This gave the Chiefs a 24–23 win over the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.
• November 14, 2010: The Broncos stormed out to a 35–0 lead against the visiting Chiefs before the second half, leading to a 49–29 victory. Chiefs' head coach Todd Haley was distraught after the game and snubbed a postgame handshake with Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniels, thinking that the Broncos were running up the score on the Chiefs.
• September 17, 2015: The Broncos trailed 24–17 at Arrowhead Stadium with 2:27 left, when quarterback Peyton Manning engineered a 10-play, 80-yard drive, culminating in a game-tying 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders with 36 seconds left. The game appeared to be headed to overtime, until Broncos' linebacker Brandon Marshall forced Chiefs' running back Jamaal Charles to fumble on the next play from scrimmage. Cornerback Bradley Roby then returned the fumble 21 yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos a stunning 31–24 comeback win.
• November 15, 2015: Two months after the aforementioned Broncos' comeback win, the Chiefs exacted revenge in a dominating 29–13 win at Sports Authority Field at Mile High and ended a seven-game losing steak to the Broncos. Despite the anticipation of Peyton Manning becoming the NFL's all-time leader in regular season passing yardage, needing only three yards to do so, the Chiefs' defense held Manning to just 35 yards passing and intercepted him four times, giving him the only 0.0 passer rating of his career before being benched in the third quarter in favor of backup quarterback Brock Osweiler. Shortly after the game, it was revealed that Manning had been dealing with plantar fasciitis, which kept him out until Week 17. The game would prove to be the final regular season start of Manning's career as would be the backup for the Broncos once he came back from injury. Despite this loss and Manning's injury, however, the Broncos would eventually go onto win Super Bowl 50, but not have made the playoffs since then as Manning retired following the season.
• November 27, 2016: The Chiefs were trailing 24–16 with three minutes left in regulation, when quarterback Alex Smith engineered a 13-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, coupled with a game-tying two-point conversion with only 12 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime. Hill previously returned a free kick 86 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and also scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. After each team exchanged field goals in overtime — a 44-yarder by Broncos' placekicker Brandon McManus followed by a 37-yarder by Chiefs' placekicker Cairo Santos, the Broncos were trying to win the game with a highly criticized 62-yard field goal attempt by McManus, but the kick was both short and wide-left, giving the Chiefs possession at the Broncos' 48-yard line with 1:08 remaining. Four plays later, and with five seconds remaining, Santos kicked the game-winning 34-yard field goal for the Chiefs, which initially caromed off the left upright.
• October 1, 2018: On Monday Night Football in Denver, the Chiefs trailed 23–13 in the fourth quarter before Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce for a 2-yard score. The defense then held the Broncos to a three-and-out, giving the ball back to Mahomes, who led the team down the field, even avoiding a sack by Von Miller to throw the ball left-handed to Tyreek Hill for a first down. Kareem Hunt then scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard rush with 1:39 remaining, giving Kansas City its fourth consecutive victory at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
• January 8, 2022: In the 2021 regular season finale in Denver, the Broncos were holding a 21–20 lead midway through the fourth quarter, hoping to end a 12-game losing streak to the Chiefs. The Broncos were attempting to add to their lead, and marched deep into Chiefs' territory, when Chiefs' linebacker Melvin Ingram penetrated into the Broncos' backfield untouched, and forced a fumble off of Gordon. Linebacker Nick Bolton scooped up the football, and returned the fumble 86 yards for a game-changing touchdown and a 28–24 Chiefs' win.
• October 29, 2023: After losing 19–8 two weeks prior (which was their 16th straight loss against Kansas City), the Broncos beat the Chiefs 24–9 at Mile High, getting their first win against the Chiefs since Week 2 of the 2015 season.

Season-by-season results

Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs Season-by-Season Results
1960s (Texans/Chiefs, 19–1) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Dallas Texans/ Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 1960 Texans 2–0 Texans 17–14 Texans 34–7 Texans 2–0 Inaugural season for both franchises and the American Football League (AFL). 1961 Texans 2–0 Texans 19–12 Texans 49–21 Texans 4–0 1962 Texans 2–0 Texans 24–3 Texans 17–10 Texans 6–0 Last season Texans played as a Dallas-based team and under the "Texans" name. Texans win 1962 AFL Championship. 1963 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 59–7 Chiefs 52–21 Chiefs 8–0 Texans relocate to Kansas City and rename themselves to the Kansas City Chiefs. To date, 59–7 is the Broncos' most lopsided margin of defeat in franchise history. 1964 Tie 1–1 Broncos 33–27 Chiefs 49–39 Chiefs 9–1 The Broncos' only victory over the Chiefs during the AFL era. 1965 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 31–23 Chiefs 45–35 Chiefs 11–1 1966 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 56–10 Chiefs 37–10 Chiefs 13–1 Chiefs win 1966 AFL Championship, lose Super Bowl I. 1967 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 38–24 Chiefs 52–9 Chiefs 15–1 1968 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 30–7 Chiefs 34–2 Chiefs 17–1 1969 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 26–13 Chiefs 31–17 Chiefs 19–1 Chiefs win Super Bowl IV
1970s (Broncos, 12–8) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 1970 Tie 1–1 Broncos 26–13 Chiefs 16–0 Chiefs 20–2 AFL–NFL merger; both teams placed in the AFC West. 1971 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 16–3 Chiefs 28–10 Chiefs 22–2 Chiefs finish 9-0 against Broncos in Municipal Stadium. 1972 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 45–24 Chiefs 24–21 Chiefs 24–2 Chiefs' first season at Arrowhead Stadium. 1973 Tie 1–1 Broncos 14–10 Chiefs 16–14 Chiefs 25–3 Chiefs win 14 consecutive home meetings (1960–1973). 1974 Tie 1–1 Chiefs 42–34 Broncos 17–14 Chiefs 26–4 Broncos record their first road win over the Chiefs. 1975 Tie 1–1 Broncos 37–33 Chiefs 26–13 Chiefs 27–5 1976 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 17–16 Broncos 35–26 Chiefs 27–7 Broncos record their first season sweep against the Chiefs. 1977 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 23–7 Broncos 14–7 Chiefs 27–9 Broncos' first ever postseason berth; Broncos lose Super Bowl XII. 1978 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 24–3 Broncos 23–17 (OT) Chiefs 27–11 1979 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 20–3 Broncos 24–10 Chiefs 27–13 Broncos win eight consecutive meetings from 1976 to 1979.
1980s (Broncos, 11–8) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 1980 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 23–17 Chiefs 31–14 Chiefs 29–13 1981 Tie 1–1 Broncos 16–13 Chiefs 28–14 Chiefs 30–14 1982 Chiefs 1–0 Chiefs 37–16 Chiefs 31–14 The two teams met only once (at Denver) due to the players strike which reduced the season to 9 games. 1983 Tie 1–1 Broncos 27–24 Chiefs 48–17 Chiefs 32–15 1984 Tie 1–1 Broncos 21–0 Chiefs 16–13 Chiefs 33–16 1985 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 14–13 Broncos 30–10 Chiefs 33–18 1986 Tie 1–1 Broncos 38–17 Chiefs 37–10 Chiefs 34–19 Broncos lose Super Bowl XXI. 1987 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 20–17 Broncos 26–17 Chiefs 34–21 Broncos lose Super Bowl XXII. 1988 Tie 1–1 Broncos 17–11 Chiefs 20–13 Chiefs 35–22 1989 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 34–20 Broncos 16–13 Chiefs 35–24 Broncos lose Super Bowl XXIV.
1990s (Broncos, 11–10) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 1990 Tie 1–1 Broncos 24–23 Chiefs 31–20 Chiefs 36–25 David Treadwell kicks game-winning 22-yard field goal in the last seconds of the game in Denver. 1991 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 19–16 Broncos 24–20 Chiefs 36–27 1992 Tie 1–1 Broncos 20–19 Chiefs 42–20 Chiefs 37–28 John Elway stuns the Chiefs with a fourth quarter comeback at Denver; Chiefs exact revenge by denying the Broncos a playoff berth at Kansas City. 1993 Tie 1–1 Broncos 27–21 Chiefs 15–7 Chiefs 38–29 Broncos win 11 consecutive home meetings from 1983 to 1993. 1994 Tie 1–1 Chiefs 31–28 Broncos 20–17 (OT) Chiefs 39–30 Joe Montana leads the Chiefs to a dramatic win at Denver; Broncos block potential game-winning field goal at Kansas City. 1995 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 21–7 Chiefs 20–17 Chiefs 41–30 Chiefs' first series sweep since 1980. 1996 Tie 1–1 Broncos 34–7 Chiefs 17–14 Chiefs 42–31 1997 Tie 1–1 Broncos 19–3 Chiefs 24–22 Chiefs 43–32 Pete Stoyanovich kicks a game-winning 54-yard field goal at Kansas City; Broncos win Super Bowl XXXII. 1997 Playoffs Broncos 1–0 Broncos 14–10 Chiefs 43–33 AFC Divisional playoffs. Only playoff meeting between the two teams. 1998 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 35–31 Broncos 30–7 Chiefs 43–35 Broncos win Super Bowl XXXIII. 1999 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 16–10 Chiefs 26–10 Chiefs 45–35
2000s (Broncos, 11–9) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 2000 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 23–22 Chiefs 20–7 Chiefs 47–35 2001 Tie 1–1 Broncos 20–6 Chiefs 26–23 (OT) Chiefs 48–36 Broncos open Broncos Stadium at Mile High (known then as "Invesco Field at Mile High"). 2002 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 31–24 Broncos 37–34 (OT) Chiefs 48–38 2003 Tie 1–1 Broncos 45–27 Chiefs 24–23 Chiefs 49–39 Dante Hall returns a punt 93 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter at Kansas City. 2004 Tie 1–1 Broncos 34–24 Chiefs 45–17 Chiefs 50–40 2005 Tie 1–1 Broncos 30–10 Chiefs 31–27 Chiefs 51–41 2006 Tie 1–1 Broncos 9–6 (OT) Chiefs 19–10 Chiefs 52–42 Game in Kansas City played on Thanksgiving Day. 2007 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 41–7 Broncos 27–11 Chiefs 52–44 2008 Tie 1–1 Broncos 24–17 Chiefs 33–19 Chiefs 53–45 Broncos win eight consecutive home meetings from 2001 to 2008. 2009 Tie 1–1 Chiefs 44–24 Broncos 44–13 Chiefs 54–46
2010s (Chiefs, 11–9) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 2010 Tie 1–1 Broncos 49–29 Chiefs 10–6 Chiefs 55–47 Infamous post-game handshake snub between the head coaches at Denver — Josh McDaniels (Broncos) and Todd Haley (Chiefs). 2011 Tie 1–1 Chiefs 7–3 Broncos 17–10 Chiefs 56–48 2012 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 38–3 Broncos 17–9 Chiefs 56–50 2013 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 27–17 Broncos 35–28 Chiefs 56–52 Chiefs started 9–0 and the Broncos started 8–1 entering their week 11 meeting in Denver. Broncos lose Super Bowl XLVIII. 2014 Broncos 2–0 Broncos 24–17 Broncos 29–16 Chiefs 56–54 2015 Tie 1–1 Chiefs 29–13 Broncos 31–24 Chiefs 57–55 Peyton Manning leads Broncos to a fourth quarter comeback win at Kansas City; Broncos win seven consecutive meetings from 2012 to 2015; Broncos win Super Bowl 50. 2016 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 30–27 (OT) Chiefs 33–10 Chiefs 59–55 Alex Smith leads the Chiefs to an overtime comeback win at Denver; Chiefs' first series sweep since 2000. Game in Kansas City played on Christmas, in which Kansas City eliminates Denver from playoff contention. 2017 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 27–24 Chiefs 29–19 Chiefs 61–55 Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes gets his first ever start in the series in a Week 17 game in Denver. 2018 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 27–23 Chiefs 30–23 Chiefs 63–55 2019 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 30–6 Chiefs 23–3 Chiefs 65–55 Chiefs allow the fewest points in season series since 1968. Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV.
2020s (Chiefs, 7–1) Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Overall series Notes 2020 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 43–16 Chiefs 22–16 Chiefs 67–55 Chiefs lose Super Bowl LV. 2021 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 28–24 Chiefs 22–9 Chiefs 69–55 2022 Chiefs 2–0 Chiefs 34–28 Chiefs 27–24 Chiefs 71–55 Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII. 2023 Tie 1–1 Broncos 24–9 Chiefs 19–8 Chiefs 72–56 Chiefs win 16 consecutive meetings from 2015 to 2023. Chiefs win Super Bowl LVIII.
Summary of Results Season Season series at Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Notes AFL regular season Chiefs 19–1 Chiefs 9–1 Chiefs 10–0 Texans/Chiefs have a 3–0 record in Dallas. NFL regular season Broncos 54–53 Broncos 35–19 Chiefs 34–19 AFL and NFL regular season Chiefs 72–55 Broncos 36–28 Chiefs 44–19 NFL postseason Broncos 1–0 No games Broncos 1–0 AFC Divisional: 1997 Regular and postseason Chiefs 72–56 Broncos 36–28 Chiefs 44–20

External links

• Denver Broncos' official website
• The Denver Post – Complete Broncos Coverage
• Pro Football Hall of Fame – Denver Broncos team history
• Denver Broncos at Sports E-Cyclopedia.org
• Kansas City Chiefs' official website
• The Kansas City Star – Chiefs' coverage
• Pro Football Hall of Fame – Kansas City Chiefs team history
• Kansas City Chiefs at Sports E-Cyclopedia.org