Before Patrick Mahomes made a second straight Super Bowl start — and before the Chiefs’ quarterback became the league’s biggest star — he had to get his NFL start somewhere, and that came in Denver.
Mahomes made his debut against the Broncos at Mile High on Dec. 31, 2017, in place of then-starting quarterback Alex Smith, who would be traded one month later. Kansas City won, 27-24, as Mahomes outdueled Paxton Lynch to earn the first of what’s been seven straight victories over Denver.
A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns enabled the Broncos to erase a 14-point deficit, but Harrison Butker drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give Kansas City the win. Butker’s kick was set up by Mahomes’ first game-winning drive, an 11-play, 63-yard march that took up the last 2:45 of the game.
One silver lining for the Broncos that day: They kept Mahomes out of the end zone. The then-22-year-old was 22-of-35 through the air for 235 yards with a 76.4 rating. He was sacked twice (by Shelby Harris in the first quarter and DeMarcus Walker on the final drive), and the All-Pro quarterback’s first interception came via a first-quarter pick by safety Darian Stewart.
— , The Denver Post
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