KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes had another 300-yard passing day with four touchdowns. Kareem Hunt had another hurdling, tackle-breaking touchdown that gave the Chiefs a lead they’d never surrender.

Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins produced huge games, too, as the high-powered Kansas City offense once again made the incredible look downright casual in a 30-23 victory over Denver on Sunday that finished off a season sweep of the Broncos.

“When we’re clicking and spreading the all around,” Mahomes said, “we’re really tough to stop.”

You could make a case for nearly impossible. The only team to beat the Chiefs (7-1) so far has been New England, and it took the Patriots scoring 43 points at home to win by a field goal.

The Broncos (3-5) never came that close Sunday.

Mahomes finished with 303 yards passing for his franchise-record seventh consecutive 300-yard performance. Watkins had 107 yards and two of the TD catches, and Kelce and Hunt had the other two, as the Chiefs won for the 19th time in their past 21 games against the AFC West rivals.

“There were some good individual efforts there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, rattling off most of those same names before adding, almost as an afterthought: “Obviously our young quarterback was involved, too.”

Obviously.

Case Keenum had 262 yards passing and two scores for the Broncos (3-5), while Phillip Lindsay had a big day in his first career start. The undrafted rookie had 95 yards rushing and a TD while catching three passes and providing a spark out of the backfield.

Still, that production couldn’t help the Broncos overcome their own sloppiness. They were flagged 10 times for 83 yards, several of the penalties wiping out big gains — and that doesn’t include a few that were declined or offsetting, including a personal foul on defensive tackle Derek Wolfe.

“We can’t beat ourselves against this team. We know that,” said Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, whose team has lost seven straight to the Chiefs. “We got to be smart and we didn’t play smart enough here. We got to figure it out, why we keep having these same things happen every week.”

Kansas City failed to score on its initial drive for the first time all season, and instead it was the Broncos jumping in front when Lindsay scored from a yard out midway through the first quarter.

The Chiefs quickly found their stride, though.

Harrison Butker hit a chip-shot field goal, Kelce made a tough touchdown catch in traffic and Watkins found the soft spot in the middle of the Denver defense to haul in his first TD grab. Denver had no answer until the closing seconds, when Tim Patrick had his first career touchdown catch.

Still, the Chiefs took a 16-14 lead into the locker room. And they weren’t done.

Watkins, signed in the offseason to take some pressure off Tyreek Hill, showed his own game-breaking ability early in the third quarter. He had a 24-yard reception to move Kansas City downfield, and his 10-yard strike from Mahomes added to the Chiefs’ cushion .

The Broncos, meanwhile, kept stumbling through costly miscues. Two more penalties on their first possession of the half resulted in a shanked punt that gave Kansas City prime field position, and it took just four plays for Hunt to reach the end zone for the 10th time this season.

The reigning NFL rushing champion took an inside pitch from Mahomes — a pass, technically — and ran through two tackles, hurdled Will Parks and dragged fellow safety Justin Simmons into the end zone.

The highlight-reel catch-and-run came after another hurdling run by Hunt a week ago.

Denver tried to come back in the fourth quarter, when Jeff Heuerman caught a fourth-down touchdown catch. But the Broncos failed to convert the 2-point conversion, then Keenum threw a pick after they’d managed to get the ball back, foiling their best chance to make it a game.

“It is disappointing, but you got to go back to work on Sundays,” Lindsay said. “It’s time to get us a win. What better way than to go back home and get a win against the Texans?”

STATS AND STREAKS

Denver has lost four of five. … Reid won his 201st game, tying Dan Reeves for eighth-most in NFL history. … Butker had a streak of 61 consecutive PATs snapped in the first half.

INJURIES

Broncos: The Broncos were missing RB Royce Freeman (ankle), RT Jared Veldheer (knee) and strong safety Darian Stewart (neck). LBs Brandon Marshall (knee) and Von Miller (ankle) were active.

Chiefs: WR Tyreek Hill appeared to tweak his groin on a long catch early in the game. He left late in the fourth quarter. … LBs Anthony Hitchens (ribs) and Frank Zombo (hamstring) also left late.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hill showed up at Arrowhead Stadium wearing an inflatable sumo wrestler suit. That came after Mahomes posted video of himself on social media this week wearing a Tyrannosaurus Rex outfit while playing a pingpong game with practice squad wide receiver Gehrig Dieter, who also wore a sumo suit.

UP NEXT

Broncos: Return home to face Houston next Sunday.

Chiefs: Head to Cleveland next Sunday.

— Associated Press —

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Stephen Gostkowski hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired, and the New England Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-40 on Sunday night after blowing a big halftime lead.

Tom Brady passed for 340 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in his 200th victory as a starting quarterback, tops all-time. Brady also passed former teammate Adam Vinatieri for most career wins in the regular season and playoffs combined with 227.

It was the first loss of the season for the Chiefs (5-1).

New England (4-2) led 24-9 at intermission, but Patrick Mahomes directed an impressive rally by Kansas City in the second half. He finished 23 of 36 for 352 yards in his first loss as a starting quarterback, with three of his four TD passes going to Tyreek Hill.

Mahomes threw two interceptions in the first half, but was unflappable down the stretch. He found Hill for a 75-yard touchdown pass that tied the game with just over three minutes remaining.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nate Orchard has gone from a highly drafted pick of the Cleveland Browns to a featured star on HBO’s documentary series “Hard Knocks” to the couch as an unemployed linebacker in the NFL.

Now, he’s suiting up for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Maybe even the Super Bowl favorites.

Orchard signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday to shore up their pass rush besieged by injuries. Justin Houston could miss several weeks after hurting his hamstring in last Sunday’s win over Jacksonville while Dee Ford and Tanoh Kpassagnon have been dealing with nagging injuries.

“It was a nice time to be with my family,” Orchard said while standing in a mostly empty Chiefs locker room Wednesday, “but I’m very fortunate to be here with the record they have.”

The Chiefs (5-0) have become the trendy pick to win the AFC after routing the Jaguars last week, and they can validate those hopes with a win Sunday in New England. But winning on the road against Tom Brady and Co. became a lot tougher after the Chiefs’ defense sustained a surfeit of injuries last week.

Along with their ailing linebackers, the Chiefs had to put right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on the disabled list with a broken bone in his leg and Armani Watts on the IR with a core muscle injury.

The Chiefs signed Frank Zombo, who had spent the past five seasons with Kansas City, when they made those roster moves on Tuesday. They added Orchard to further bolster their depth.

“Nate had a real good college career. He played for a good friend of mine at Utah,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of Utes coach Kyle Whittingham. “(Orchard) knows the system, he’s familiar with it, then he’s a good player. A very hard worker. And he’s smart.”

The secondary is in a similar state of shambles.

Strong safety Eric Berry remains sidelined with a heel injury that was supposed to keep him out a short period, but has instead sidelined him since early in camp. Daniel Sorensen remains on IR with his broken leg, though he could return in the next few weeks, and Watts has joined him on the list.

Their backup, Eric Murray, was held out of practice Wednesday with a lower-leg injury.

The Chiefs thought Watts had merely sustained a groin injury against the Jaguars, but trainer Rick Burkholder said an MRI revealed more damage. Watts was headed to Philadelphia for core muscle surgery on Thursday, though he should be ready for the start of practices next season.

The fact that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach chose to add pass rushers in Orchard and Zombo and not an extra safety means they likely believe Berry and Sorensen will be able to help soon.

Jordan Lucas, who arrived in a trade with Miami just before the season, picked off his first career pass after entering the game against Jacksonville. He’s in line to get more snaps alongside Ron Parker, and journeyman safety Josh Shaw could factor into the mix.

“It’s a collective. This defense is no single guy out there being dominant,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “It’s a collective whole. Everyone making plays, that’s what we focus on.”

That goes for all levels of the defense, including outside linebacker, where Houston’s injury and the uncertain status of Kpassagnon could mean a crucial opportunity for Breeland Speaks.

The Chiefs’ second-round pick has been active for all five games, but he has mostly been used on special teams and to give the starters a breather. Now, the former Ole Miss star could be counted upon to put some pressure on Brady and cover the Patriots’ pass-catching running backs.

“I look for Breeland to keep progressing all around,” Jones said. “He’s got a veteran in Justin Houston in the room. Dee’s in the room. Those guys he can learn from.”

As battered as the Chiefs defense is right now, he’d better learn in a hurry.

Notes: Burkholder said Duvernay-Tardif’s injury was also more severe than first believed in that the offensive lineman tore ligaments in the ankle along with breaking his fibula. Duvernay-Tardif is scheduled to have surgery Monday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. “We’ll know more after the surgery how much he’ll miss,” Burkholder said. … Reid confirmed that Jordan Devey is likely to start in Duvernay-Tardif’s place. “He has experience,” Reid said. “Everybody is confident in him that he can step up and go.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs placed right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and safety Armani Watts on injured reserve Tuesday and signed outside linebacker Frank Zombo to provide depth at that depleted position.

Hardly the way to begin a week of preparation for a visit to New England.

Duvernay-Tardif, who’s in the second year of a $42.36 million, five-year contract, broke a bone in his left leg with a few minutes left in Sunday’s 30-14 victory over Jacksonville. Jordan Devey replaced him for the rest of the game is likely to start against the Patriots this Sunday night.

“It’s non-weight bearing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of the fracture of Duvernay-Tardif’s fibula. “It’ll be a few weeks here, but we should be able to get him back.”

The Chiefs already placed safety Daniel Sorensen on injured reserve with a designation to return in training camp. Teams are allowed to active two players off IR each season.

That means Watts likely had his promising rookie season cut short after hurting his groin against the Jaguars. The fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M has been used heavily after the injury to Sorensen and with fellow safety Eric Berry sidelined since the start of training camp with a troublesome heel.

His best performance came two weeks ago in Denver, when Watts had his first career sack.

The Chiefs have been surviving in the secondary with veteran Ron Parker, who signed just before the start of the season, anchoring a hodgepodge group of safeties. Eric Murray has been starting alongside him, but left the game against Jacksonville with an injury to his lower leg.

Jordan Lucas, who arrived in a trade with Miami a week before the start of the season, had played almost exclusively on special teams before Sunday. He wound up playing some important snaps against the Jaguars, and picked off Blake Bortles for his first career interception.

Depending on the health of Murray, he could get his shot to start in New England.

“He’s a type-A personality. He is a bubbly guy with a big personality and a sharp kid,” Reid said. “They’ve been working hard and making sure they are thinking the same way and on the same page with all the adjustments they have to make. He has done a nice job of it. You saw by the reaction after they had to the interception. The guys were happy for him.”

There are even bigger questions at outside linebacker.

Justin Houston was forced out of last week’s game with a hamstring injury, Tanoh Kpassagnon hurt his ankle and Dee Ford has been hobbled off and on much of the season. That forced Kansas City to use rookie Breeland Speaks late in the game, when the Jaguars were trying desperately to mount a comeback.

It’s also why general manager Brett Veach reached out to Zombo, who spent the past five seasons with the Chiefs before getting cut in training camp. He’s versatile enough to play inside or outside while his experience in defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s system means he can be up to speed quickly.

“(Veach) is always going to try to stay one step ahead of it,” Reid said. “Again, he’s working off what we’re getting medically, so he’s got to make sure we’ve got all that taken care of.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes had finally thrown an interception, the first all season for the Chiefs’ talented young quarterback, and the Jacksonville offense had shuffled back onto the field.

The Chiefs immediately strip-sacked Blake Bortles to take the ball right back.

Their beleaguered defense also picked off Bortles four times and sacked him five, and Chris Jones took one of those interceptions back for a touchdown, proving during a 30-14 romp over Jacksonville on a soggy Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium that the Chiefs are more than just an offensive dynamo.

“It shows what kind of team we are,” said Mahomes, who finished with 313 yards passing and ran for a touchdown. “I’m just excited to come out with a win on a day the defense made plays.”

Oh, the league’s highest-scoring offense still made plays.

Kareem Hunt ran for 87 yards and a touchdown, and Travis Kelce hauled in five catches for 100 yards, helping the Chiefs (5-0) move the ball at will against the NFL’s top-rated defense.

Tyreek Hill, who was frequently matched up with the Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey in an entertaining one-on-one affair, added four catches for 61 yards as the Chiefs rolled up 424 yards total.

“That play calling was something I’ve never seen before,” said the Jaguars’ Tashaun Gipson, who picked off Mahomes before leaving with a groin injury. “Tip your hat to them. Obviously, the offensive personnel they’ve got — they came out here and they beat us.”

The game eventually grew into a testy affair, resulting in a pair of ejections.

Jones was booted in the second half after he dropped an elbow on a Jaguars lineman while both were on the ground following a point-after attempt. Then, pass rusher Dee Ford joined him in the locker room when he was whistled for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“You can’t let emotions get the best of you,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

If anybody had reason to get frustrated it was Bortles, who was 33 of 61 for 430 yards with a touchdown and those four interceptions . Most of his yardage came in garbage time, and while he ran for a touchdown, he also was strip-sacked during Jacksonville’s miserable first half.

Mahomes led the Chiefs 73 yards on their first possession, finishing the drive himself with a short scramble for a touchdown. Then he led the league’s high-powered offense 82 yards for a field goal a few minutes later, leaving Jacksonville’s vaunted D second-guessing itself.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars’ offense was having all kinds of problems.

Jacksonville (3-2) drove inside the Kansas City 5 early in the second quarter, but an incomplete fade on third down and another incompletion on fourth turned the ball over. Bortles was stripped on the first play of their next possession, and he threw the pick-6 to Jones on the first play of the next.

The calamitous half ended when Bortles, trying to force a pass into the end zone, instead bounced it off his offensive lineman’s helmet and right to Steven Nelson for another interception.

“It felt a lot like some games we’ve had in the past, just moved the ball, there were some good things done, we had some bad turnovers,” Bortles said. “You can’t turn the ball over.”

In Bortles’ defense, his offensive line didn’t give him a whole lot of time. Along with the five sacks, the Chiefs were credited with 11 hurries, spending most of the game in his face.

Bortles’ only real highlight came late in the game, when he escaped the collapsing pocket and angled toward the sideline, then lowered his shoulder to finish off a 21-yard touchdown run .

The Jaguars recovered the onside kick, only for the Chiefs to force another turnover on downs.

“They did a good job early in the game getting a lead. They did a good job early on third downs in the game. Offensively, we didn’t execute,” Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. “Again, we had a poor showing in the red zone, we had turnovers, and the game got out of hand. Got to play better. We’ve got to coach better, play better. We got to go back and get this team back on track.”

RAMSEY VS HILL

Hill had nothing but praise for Ramsey after the game, though he did beat the Jaguars cornerback for one long gain. As for Ramsey? “I felt like I did pretty well. Really well, to be honest,” he said. “I won the majority of the matchups today, put it that way.”

STATS AND STREAKS

The Chiefs’ first TD was the first allowed by Jacksonville on a team’s opening possession. … The Jaguars have not started 2-0 on the road since the 2007 season. … Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon had 53 yards rushing. … Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins had six catches for 78 yards.

INJURIES

Jaguars: RB Corey Grant (foot) and LT Josh Wells (groin) left in the first half. Ramsey left on the opening series after taking a knee to the helmet, but returned to play the rest of the game.

Chiefs: OLBs Justin Houston (hamstring) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (ankle) and FSs Armani Watts (groin) and Eric Murray (lower leg) left the game in the first half. RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif left in the final minutes with a fractured fibia in his left leg.

UP NEXT

Jaguars: Visit the Cowboys next Sunday.

Chiefs: Head to New England for a Sunday night showdown.

— Associated Press —

DENVER (AP) — Patrick Mahomes rallied the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 27-23 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

The Chiefs (4-0) took a two-game lead over the Broncos (2-2) in the AFC West with their sixth straight win over their rivals.

Down 23-13, Mahomes directed a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate up more than six minutes and culminated with a 2-yard TD toss to tight end Travis Kelce, then added a 60-yard touchdown drive, handing off to Kareem Hunt for the 4-yard score with 1:39 remaining.

It was the first time since 2004 that the Broncos blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead at home.

In between Kansas City’s scoring drives, the Broncos, who had run roughshod over the Chiefs all night — a 7.2-yard average per run — suddenly abandoned their ground game in favor of three-wide receiver sets that resulted in a quick three-and-out.

Then, struggling punter Marquette King shanked a 35-yarder out of bounds, giving the Chiefs the ball at their 40 with 4:35 left.

Mahomes overcame a couple of flags that put Kansas City in a second-and-30 hole from their 31 and completed a 35-yard pass to Demetrius Harris down to the Broncos’ 11 at the 2-minute warning.

The play should never have counted because the play clock expired before the snap, but referee Craig Wrolstad’s crew missed it.

After the Chiefs took the lead, the Broncos reached the Kansas City 28, but Case Keenum overthrew an open Demaryius Thomas near the goal line racing down the right sideline. Then rookie Courtland Sutton caught a first-down pass but overhanded it back on a failed hook-and-ladder that resulted in a turnover on downs with 5 seconds left.

Phillip Lindsay’s 1-yard TD run broke a 13-all tie late in the third quarter, and Brandon McManus extended the lead to 10 with a 46-yard field goal.

Kelce’s TD catch got the Chiefs within three with 6:27 remaining. Denver’s three-and-out and shanked punt gave the Chiefs the ball at their 40 and brought the Broncos’ exhausted defenders right back onto the field with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

The officials had another big blunder when Mahomes was about 1 1/2 yards past the line of scrimmage when he scrambled and hit Kelce for a 29-yard catch to the 3 early in the second half. Broncos coach Vance Joseph appeared to be reaching for his red challenge flag but never threw it.

Denver’s defense bailed out its coach by forcing the Chiefs to settle for Harrison Butker’s chip-shot field goal tied it up at 13.

On Denver’s first drive of the second half, Keenum threw a 25-yard pass to tight end Jeff Heuerman, but Chiefs defensive back Eric Murray wrested the ball away as they tumbled out of bounds. Heuerman was starting in place of Jake Butt, who sustained his third ACL tear of his career while practicing special teams on Thursday, ending his season.

It was Keenum’s sixth interception with Denver, one fewer than he had all of last season in Minnesota.

The Broncos averaged a whopping 8.5 yards per carry in the first half but kept stopping themselves with pass plays even though Keenum had completed 14 of 19 throws at the half.

Royce Freeman took a toss from Keenum and slipped seven tackles on his way to a 14-yard touchdown in which he dragged linebacker Anthony Hitchens across the goal line to tie it at 10. The big play of the drive was a 42-yard catch by Sutton.

The Chiefs also had a big play on their first touchdown drive as Hunt rumbled 45 yards, setting up Mahomes’ 8-yard keeper to put the Chiefs on top 10-3.

Denver led 13-10 at halftime.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and linebacker Brandon Marshall both stood with their teammates during the national anthem. Since the preseason, both players had been retreating to the tunnel nearest their bench during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

INJURIES

Chiefs: Wide receiver Sammy Watkins pulled a hamstring in the second quarter and didn’t return. Linebacker Dee Ford (groin) left in the fourth quarter.

Broncos: Right tackle Jared Veldheer left in the first quarter with a knee injury and was replaced by Billy Turner.

UP NEXT

Chiefs: Host Jacksonville on Sunday to begin a stretch of three home games in four weeks.

Broncos: Visit the Jets on Sunday, the first of three road games in four weeks.

— Associated Press —