Gary Kubiak wanted to give the Broncos a chance to win and not settle for the tie

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos in overtime, 30-27, in an AFC West divisional matchup on Sunday Night Football at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

It was a defensive battle for most of the night, but the offenses came alive late, tying it up at 24-24 at the end of regulation. From there, it was what happened in overtime that we’re still talking about and trying to understand on Monday morning.

The Broncos had the chance to win it in overtime, but it was a long shot, a 62-yard field goal attempt from Brandon McManus. It would have been the longest game-winning, overtime field goal in NFL history. It was also an incredibly risky proposition.

Denver could have settled for a punt, pinned the Chiefs offense deep in its own end zone, and played out the clock with one minute left. They went for it, and they missed it, giving the Chiefs the ball at Kansas City’s 44-yard line.

”If you did have your timeouts, maybe, maybe you think about punting it down there and see if you can get the ball back,” Kubiak explained. “But we’re going to try to win, and I’ve seen B-Mac do that many times in practice.”

Credit Kubiak for having confidence in his team. They are the reigning Super Bowl champs, after all. However, his gamble came with consequences that the Broncos could be still be dealing with in January.

A tie would have left both the Chiefs and the Broncos in the AFC’s two wild card spots. The loss drops Denver down to the seventh seed, just outside the playoff seeding, and bumped Miami into the sixth and final spot.

The truth is that the Broncos could have avoided this situation entirely with better decisions leading up to this point.

“My thing is we’re going to try to win around here and I made that decision and it just didn’t work out,” Kubiak added.

It was the best decision he could’ve made at that time, with only seconds to make it.

The Broncos are hardly eliminated with five games left to play. Their next two are against the Jaguars and Titans, and they’ll be in Kansas City for a Week 12 rematch against the Chiefs.

It should be an exciting stretch run in the AFC West!

A few more observations from the game:

Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian had a stellar performance against Kansas City’s tough defense. He made plays when he needed to and avoided turnovers. Also, Siemian used his legs to extend plays when the pocket was collapsing.

Late in the third quarter, Siemian orchestrated a 12-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Broncos receiver Jordan Taylor. Siemian took the snap, ran to his left to avoid pass rushers, rolled back to his right, and threw the pass to the back of the end zone to Taylor. Denver took a 10-9 lead.

Down 16-10 in the fourth quarter, Siemian threw a 35-yard touchdown to Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders beat Chiefs cornerback Phillip Gaines for the score. Denver took a 17-16 lead.

Late in the fourth quarter, Siemian threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler to increase the lead to 24-16.

Siemian finished the game with 368 passing yards and three touchdowns. Indeed, Siemian is only a rookie, but he is not making many rookie mistakes. He is playing with confidence and using his arm and legs to make plays.

Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston wreaked havoc on the Broncos offensive line in the first half. The veteran linebacker recorded three sacks and a forced fumble in the first two quarters. In fact, his sack on Siemian midway through the second quarter resulted in a safety, which gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead.

Because of Houston’s ability to rush the passer, Siemian did not look comfortable sitting in the pocket. Denver’s offensive line allowed Houston to single-handedly dictate the game early on. Houston also made plays in the running game. He finished the game with 10 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection.

No, Kansas City does not have a high-octane offense. Its formula for success is this: Run the ball, play great defense, avoid turnovers, and make a couple of big plays. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith does not commit many turnovers. His style of play has always kept Kansas City competitive in games because he doesn’t commit back-breaking turnovers.

However, he did enough to help Kansas City’s stingy defense. Smith kept throwing short passes and calling run plays. He only completed five out of 12 passes for 26 yards in the first half. In the second half, Smith took more shots down the field. He led Kansas City to overtime with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill and a two-point conversion.

Kansas City’s rushing attack struggled throughout the whole game. You have to give credit to the Broncos because their defense clogged up rushing lanes. On the other hand, the Chiefs offensive line couldn’t carve out rushing lanes and push Denver’s defense back.

Smith finished the game with 220 passing yards and a touchdown. As a team, the Chiefs only ran for 83 yards.

Hill made plays for the Kansas City’s offense and special teams in this game. After Houston forced the safety, Hill ran in an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown to give the Chiefs a 9-0 lead midway through the second quarter. No, he wasn’t done making an impact for his team.

Down 10-9 late in the third quarter, Hill struck again with a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Chiefs a 16-10 lead. He also had that 3-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter. The rookie receiver out of West Alabama used his speed and athleticism to help Kansas City score points. His performance is a huge reason why the Chiefs secured a much-needed victory.

Coming into this matchup, Broncos linebacker Von Miller had 9.5 sacks. After recording three sacks in this game, he now has 12.5 on the year. Miller is a threat when he rushes the passer. Like Houston, Miller wreaked havoc in this game.

Kansas City will travel to Atlanta for a Week 13 matchup against the Falcons (7-4). The Chiefs must continue to play great defense. The Matt Ryan-led Falcons are lethal on offense and can score points. Also, Kansas City has to score points if it wants to defeat the Falcons. Scoring 16 points will not help you beat Atlanta.

Denver will travel to Florida for a Week 13 matchup against the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9). If the Broncos want to make the playoffs, they will have to win this game.