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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Broncos arrived in Kansas City to relieve the pent-up anger and frustration that built from two embarrassing losses. In the days leading up to Monday night’s contest, they held several players-only meetings, some initiated by quarterback . They blasted crowd noise at practices. They said they studied more and they studied harder.

By the time they took the field at Arrowhead Stadium, they believed they were ready to topple the long odds — and the AFC West-leading Chiefs.

But despite a late resurgence, they couldn’t overcome their earlier mistakes and persistent troubles, and they fell to the Chiefs, 29-19. The loss was the Broncos鈥� fourth of their last five games and dropped them to 3-4 on the season.

And the score failed to accurately reflect the depth of Denver’s offensive troubles.

After more than two quarters of miscues, Denver finally found the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run by in the third quarter and Siemian tacked on a touchdown pass in the final two minutes. But the late hope was fleeting. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker drilled a pair of field goals in the fourth and an earlier drop by Broncos receiver Isaiah McKenzie on a fourth down had already sealed the Chiefs鈥� victory

Denver鈥檚 defense, so often relied upon to be both a spark plug and safety net, couldn鈥檛 do it all. Again it turned in a sound performance and again it kept the Broncos within one score late in the third when it could have easily been a blowout. but it couldn鈥檛 contain Kansas City鈥檚 myriad weapons, especially tight end .

鈥淚t would be selfish of us to say, 鈥榃hat else can we do?鈥欌�� linebacker said. 鈥�… We have to do a better job of protecting the football. You can鈥檛 win the NFL turning the ball over five times.鈥�

And it couldn鈥檛 salvage the wreckage of Denver鈥檚 offense and special teams.

Siemian鈥檚 outing mirrored his last two as throws were often off-target or to the wrong target. Though his offensive line afforded better protection, he still took three sacks. Some of his passes were dropped, some shouldn’t have been thrown at all and his three interceptions were deadly. Siemian finished 19-of-36 for 198 yards, one touchdown, and a 43.5 passer rating — a marked improvement from his game-low rating of 6.9.

Asked if he was pressing, Siemian admitted he was 鈥渁t times.鈥�

鈥淔or sure. I can鈥檛 do that,鈥� he said. 鈥�… Too many mistakes by me.鈥�

The Broncos amassed five turnovers, the most they鈥檝e recorded in a game since their 2015 season finale, when ceremoniously returned from injury to replace Osweiler en route to a victory.

But there would be no cerebration or anything close to it this time.

Head coach said the turnovers were simply 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥�

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 win games that way,鈥� he said.

His players called it “frustrating.”

The Broncos’ 17 turnovers are the second-most in the league, and they’ve led to 58 points by opponents, or 39.5 percent of Denver’s 147 total points allowed. No team has allowed a greater percentage.

鈥淭here鈥檚 high tension. We鈥檙e not winning. We鈥檙e giving the ball away,鈥� cornerback Chris Harris said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e tired of losing the same way. We have to score some points. You can鈥檛 win if you can鈥檛 score. 鈥� We鈥檝e been fighting uphill the last two years.鈥�

Once the owner of the most prolific offense in the NFL, Denver now sports the most inefficient and beleaguered unit in the league, a mess so complex and tangled that a solution appears far from sight.

Its defense, once proudly the most suffocating and feared group against the pass, gave up only 276 net yards, but allowed Kelce聽to rack up 133 of them on his own, plus a touchdown.

And the special teams, formerly a group with speed in the return game and accuracy in the kicking game, bobbled (literally) and stumbled its way to more miscues. muffed a kickoff, McKenzie muffed a punt and lost it for a turnover and averaged a meager 40.5 yards on four punts.

鈥淣ot good,鈥� Joseph said. 鈥�… It抖阴ap inconsistency, it抖阴ap a major error that we have to stop.鈥�

Another game, another display of the same issues for Denver, each more magnified and dreadful than the one before.

And, per usual, the tone was set early.

The game was 鈥� first against his former team and before his first snap, Chiefs defenders one by one gave him a hug and a handshake. When play resumed, Charles broke loose for an 18-yard gain — then fumbled on a run up the right sideline.

Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters stripped the ball from Charles鈥� hands, recovered it and ran it back 45 yards for the early touchdown. Kelce found the end zone, too, about three-and-a-half minutes later to put the Broncos in an early 14-0 hole and send them on a continued quest for the end zone.

Denver moved within striking distance in the second quarter but had to settle for a field goal, leaving the door open for Kansas City to blow out their lead to three scores. The Chiefs capitalized.

The perfect storm of chaos had only begin to build, however. A drop by added to the list of blunders and was followed by a short punt by Dixon, which was followed by another interception by Siemian. And that was just the first half.

By the break, the Broncos had as many points as turnovers and no halftime chat could right the ship. If there was a bright spot, it was a glimmer. Denver鈥檚 run game that had gone dormant for weeks found its legs late and tallied 177 net yards rushing and a touchdown — the team鈥檚 first in two weeks.

But yet again, it was too little too late.

Joseph said after he chose to remain with Siemian because the game was within on a score late in the third quarter. But this week he may consider a change.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “But losing three games in a row and having five turnovers tonight, anything’s possible.

鈥淚 am going to watch the film tomorrow. Obviously like most coaches would do and see but tonight, our defense played winning football in my opinion. Our offensive line blocked. We ran the ball for 177 and the pass throw was better, but it all falls back to turning the ball over five times. That抖阴ap insane. You can鈥檛 win turning the ball over five times. Guys work too hard along with coaches and players to have a big game and give it away five times. It is mind-boggling.鈥�

Throughout their week of practice, the Broncos set out to correct their long and growing list of issues. The blame was shared by all, head coach Vance Joseph said, so they changed their practice regimen to include more on-field time. They had already pushed up red-zone work, they continued to emphasize takeaways on defense and ball-security on offense. And though they finally forced their first fumble — a strip sack by late in the first half — the Broncos worn their own rut deeper with every play.

They arrived in Kansas City hoping to leave in celebration, as two of their own returned home in grand fashion. They believed they had answers. But they left with more solemn faces, more questions, more problems.

“This team is special,” receiver said. “We got a lot of talent and to be 3-4, there’s a lot of frustration.”