Despite having plenty of time to prepare, the Kansas City Chiefs sure came out flat against the Denver Broncos in Week 11. Fresh off a bye, head coach Andy Reid’s team lost 22-19 and dropped to an even 5-5 on the year.

The Sunday defeat contained seemingly countless mistakes. Dropped passes on offense, coverage lapses on defense and penalties everywhere held the reigning AFC champs back. One of their shortcomings came from an unlikely source: quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes helped keep Kansas City in the game, but he also made life more difficult for them. His third-quarter interception thrown deep in enemy territory, in particular, stood out in the worst of ways.

Mahomes, extending a play as he has plenty throughout his illustrious career, ended up on the wrong side of it in Week 11. Eyeing running back Elijah Mitchell on a third-and-14, he instead found Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian. It was a brutal mistake in a critical point in the game.

Speaking to the media on Sunday night, No. 15 owned up to his costly error and explained his logic behind the pass.

“Yeah, I mean, I was rolling out to the right, but you just can’t do it,” Mahomes said. “I’ll have to look at the film, [but] I thought I had Elijah coming down the sideline. I was going to give him a chance, and I just didn’t throw it high enough at the end of the day.

“I got 29 [McMillian] to go to me because he was guarding him, and I didn’t throw it high enough, and he jumped up and made a good play. I’ve made that throw before but at the same time, with the type of football game we’re in, don’t put the ball in harm’s way. Take the three points and move on to the next possession.”

Advanced data backs up the weight of the turnover. Per box score data from rbsdm, that swung Denver’s expected win probability from 32% to 40%. It cost the Chiefs 3.4 expected points, which almost perfectly aligns with a field goal attempt in the event of a throwaway.

The Chiefs’ offense found 13 points over the final two frames after that interception, but even a kick there could’ve made the difference. In a three-point final outcome, gaffes like that from a two-time league MVP can’t happen.

For the first time in a while, Kansas City must now enter a new reality.

Reid’s team is .500 on the year, setting itself up for quite a stretch to finish the 2025-26 campaign. Instead of being in the driver’s seat for the AFC West crown, they can practically kiss that goodbye. With a four-game advantage now going to Denver, including a head-to-head tiebreaker, a comeback seems highly unlikely.

In addition to that division title streak (presumably) coming to an end, the Chiefs must scratch and claw their way just to play mid-January football. It doesn’t help matters one bit that most of their losses were to in-conference foes. Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills now all come to mind.

The Chiefs are chasing those teams in the hunt for a playoff spot. With the Broncos and New England Patriots both sitting at 9-2 and the Indianapolis Colts not far behind at 8-2, the hierarchy of the AFC is beginning to take shape. That’s without even considering the winner of the AFC North (the Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-4 and the resurgent Baltimore Ravens are now 5-5).

Kansas City plays those very Colts up next in Week 12. They also have games against divisional foes, Los Angeles (Week 15) and Denver (Week 17) remaining. The 5-5 Houston Texans also await in Week 14.

It’s safe to say that the Chiefs’ work is cut out for them. In many ways, though, that’s their own fault.