It has been 2,947 days since the Denver Broncos last defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, as of Thursday.
The day was Sept. 17, 2015. Patrick Mahomes was still at Texas Tech. Peyton Manning was under center for Denver in his final season.
The Chiefs have achieved 15 consecutive victories over the Broncos since then.
Russell Wilson is looking to change the narrative of the rivalry on Thursday night.
“The important thing is that we’ve got to create a new history,” Wilson said on Tuesday, via the team’s official website. “We have to be able to do that with one play at a time, one moment at a time, one game at a time. … Every game has a history of its own, and we’ve got to be focused on this one and go win this game.”
Since the 2015 season, the Broncos have rotated through 11 different starting quarterbacks. They haven’t reached the postseason and have ended up at the bottom of the AFC West in five out of the past eight seasons.
The Chiefs have tied the longest active win streak by one team against another, with 15 consecutive victories over the Broncos. This record is shared with the Patriots, who have also won 15 straight games against the Jets.
Mahomes famously made his first career start in Week 17, 2017, over Denver, winning 27-24. He’s yet to lose to the Broncos in his career.
According to NFL Research, Mahomes has an 11-0 record as a starter against Denver, making this the longest winning streak against a single team by a starting quarterback at the onset of their career in the Super Bowl era. This ties him for the fifth-longest winning streak against a single team by a starting quarterback at any time in their careers, alongside Bob Griese (17 wins against the Bills), Tom Brady (13 wins against the Bills), Steve Young (13 wins against the Rams), and Troy Aikman (12 wins against the Cardinals).
Despite the win streak, it hasn’t always been rosy for Mahomes against Denver. The QB has thrown eight interceptions versus Denver in his career (his most against any opponent and the only team against which he has thrown over five INTs). Only five players in the NFL have multiple INTs versus Mahomes in their career, and three of them are Broncos (Justin Simmons, Josey Jewell and Patrick Surtain II).
Mahomes stated on Tuesday that the Chiefs always approach the rivalry with seriousness, regardless of the one-sided outcomes.
He said, “Playing a team like the Broncos, or any division opponent for that matter, always brings a higher level of intensity. I’m not particularly concerned about maintaining a streak. My focus is on winning against a division opponent. Everyone in this locker room knows that regardless of the records, it’s going to be a close, hard-fought game. Both teams will give their all, and that’s just the nature of these matchups.”
For me, it’s not about maintaining a streak. It’s about stepping onto the field and figuring out how to secure a victory against a division rival in a hard-fought contest.
So far, after five weeks, the Broncos (1-4) have shown scant signs of being prepared to dethrone K.C. from the AFC West top spot. However, Sean Payton’s team has the opportunity to change this storyline by defeating the Chiefs (4-1) in a prime time game and putting an end to the dreadful streak that has been plaguing Denver.
