Chiefs’ playoff hopes in jeopardy after another last-minute loss, this time to AFC West rival Denver

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid tried to shoulder the blame for the Kansas City Chiefs’ latest loss in Denver on Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes tried to take it, too.

No need to fight over it: There was plenty of blame to go around.

Now, the Chiefs find themselves 5-5 with seven games to go in the regular season, a full 3 1/2 games behind the Broncos in the AFC West and having lost head-to-head tiebreakers to both Denver and the Chargers in the division race.

Their streak of nine straight AFC West titles appears to be over. And if Kansas City is unable to get on track soon, so could its decade-long streak of playoff appearances, which predates Mahomes’ days as the starting quarterback by a full three years.

“Obviously it’s going to be tough to get back in the division race,” Mahomes said after the 22-19 loss Sunday, the latest in a series of last-minute letdowns. “All you can focus on is next week. We have to learn from this one as much as possible.”

The Chiefs were just 1 for 4 in the red zone against Denver. They were 5 of 13 on third down and failed on their only fourth-down try. Mahomes threw a costly interception and was sacked three times, Harrison Butker had a PAT blocked and the Chiefs gave up a couple of huge punt returns. And when the defense needed to make a stop, the Broncos instead drove for the winning field goal.

“There was disappointment last night. They fought their hearts out. But we made too many mistakes,” Reid said Monday. “These guys normally take responsibility for those types of things, so I go around on the plane on the way back, talk, see where we’re at. I get a pretty good feel for what the guys are thinking immediately after a game, and these guys are accountable for their actions. They don’t finger point and things like that. That’s going to help us get through.”

They better do it quickly. The Colts, who at 8-2 are leading the AFC South, are due in Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

That is usually the position the Chiefs are in this time of year, topping their division while everyone else gives chase. But largely the same bunch of players that once won an NFL-record 17 consecutive one-score games has lost five of them this season, and the result is the worst record through 10 games since Kansas City started 5-5 behind Alex Smith during the 2015 season.

The big difference is that that year the Chiefs were already on a streak by this point; they started 1-5 and went on to win 11 straight, then beat the Texans in the playoffs before finally losing to the Patriots in the divisional round.

“We’re not quite as negative as the outside world is,” Reid said. “We know what we need to clean up, and we need to do it. But the guys, they get it. Some of these guys have been through some pretty good seasons, and this one — it isn’t like this one is lost.

“We just got to clean up a few things, and the urgency level, we have to make sure we take care of that now.”

What’s working

Travis Kelce had his best game of the season on Sunday, catching nine passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. The perennial Pro Bowl tight end has been quiet for most of the season, and he may be waking up just when the Chiefs need him the most.

What needs help

The Chiefs need to find their killer instinct again. In losses to the Chargers and Eagles, they couldn’t get the ball back in the final minutes for a shot at winning the game. In losses to the Jaguars and Broncos, they couldn’t prevent a go-ahead score when it was too late to overcome it. Those are the kinds of games Kansas City has won in previous years.

Stock up

Kareem Hunt carried 13 times for 59 yards and a touchdown. That may seem like a modest total, but Hunt averaged 4.5 yards per carry. And with Isiah Pacheco out with a knee injury, the Chiefs need the veteran running back to provide some offensive balance.

Stock down

Special teams coordinator Dave Toub. The Chiefs had another failure in the kicking game, and they allowed Broncos returner Marvin Mims Jr. to average 33.7 yards on three punt returns in a game in which field position mattered.

Injuries

LG Kingsley Suamataiia finished Sunday’s game in the concussion protocol.

Key number

10 — The number of years since the Chiefs were at .500 this deep into a season.

Next steps

The Colts visit Sunday for a game Kansas City desperately needs to win.

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