DENVER _ For a struggling offense, it was the moment of truth.
With a little over three minutes left in the fourth quarter of their Sunday night showdown against the arch-rival Broncos, the Chiefs suddenly found themselves trailing by eight, thanks to a pair of deep-ball completions.
And if this Alex Smith-led offense, which had racked up just 123 yards by the start of the fourth quarter, was ever going to figure it out, this _ on national television, against an elite defense, with the pressure on _ was the moment.
And wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what the Chiefs did, as they not only mounted an improbable 75-yard scoring drive but converted the two-point conversion and eventually prevailed in overtime for a 30-27 victory at Mile High Stadium.
The Chiefs got the ball back late in the fourth quarter and, aided by several Denver penalties, marched to the Broncos' 14-yard line. After three incompletions, the Chiefs faced a do-or-die fourth-and-10 at the Broncos' 14-yard line.
Smith responded, completing an 11-yard out route to Tyreek Hill that put the Chiefs in scoring position with 15 seconds left. The next play, a 3-yard slant to Hill, was eventually reviewed and ruled a touchdown. Tight end Demetrius Harris caught the ensuing two-point conversion, sending the game into overtime before a stunned crowd.
But the crowd wouldn't stay that way. Denver got the ball back and started throwing it around in overtime, eventually connecting on a 44-yard field goal to take a three-point lead.
Not to be outdone, the Chiefs responded with a scoring drive of their own, as kicker Cairo Santos came on for a 37-yard field to tie the game at 27 with 4:19 left.
And after a 62-yard field goal by Denver fell short, all the Chiefs _ who got the ball at midfield _ needed to do to win was kick a field goal.
Smith, who had struggled for so much of the game, came up big. He completed first-down passes to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to get the Chiefs in field goal range, and Santos took care of the rest, connecting on a 34-yard field goal that hit the left upright and then bounced in to give the Chiefs their first prime-time win in Denver since 1994.
It was, to be sure, a thrilling end to an epic game that lived up to its hard-hitting, defense-first billing. Both teams seemed content to pound away at each other with the running game in hopes of seeing it pay off later.
The Chiefs, in particular, seemed to take a cautious approach, mixing in a ton of short passes so Smith could get the ball out quickly against one of the most dangerous defensive fronts in football.
The Broncos' offense, however, failed to get much going against the Chiefs' defense, which harassed quarterback Trevor Siemian to the tune of four first-half sacks.
The primary culprit was outside linebacker Justin Houston. Houston racked up three sacks in the first half, with the final one resulting in a safety that gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead with 6:16 left in the second quarter.
But the safety would soon be the least of the Broncos' concerns. On the ensuing free kick, Tyreek Hill _ who, in a star turn, became the first player since Gale Sayers in 1965 to score a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same game _ found a seam and turned on the jets to sprint untouched into the end zone to give the Chiefs a 9-0 lead.
The Broncos, however, showed signs of life by mounting a scoring drive that resulted in a field goal. That made the score 9-3 Chiefs going into the break.
The Chiefs mustered a mere 49 yards of first-half offense; Denver had 124, but trailed.
It would not stay that way, of course, as Siemian, who finished 20 of 34 for 368 yards and three touchdowns, soon caught fire. On the next drive, he made a gaggle of nice plays, including a third-and-goal touchdown pass in which he avoided some pressure by reversing his field and threw a strike to Jordan Taylor for a touchdown that gave the Broncos a 10-9 lead midway through the third quarter.
At that point, the pressure was on Smith, the Chiefs' $17 million man who had completed a mere 5 of 12 passes for 26 yards by halftime and was being outplayed by a seventh-round pick who was drafted a year ago.
But that's when Smith, who finished 26 of 44 for 220 yards and touchdown, turned to his two most reliable targets, Kelce and Spencer Ware. They each caught passes to set up a 35-yard field goal that was ultimately waved off due to an illegal formation penalty on Denver.
That gave the Chiefs a first down at the Broncos' 12, and facing a crucial third-and-1 at the Broncos' 3, the Chiefs got cute. But this time, it worked; Ware received a direct snap and handed it off to Hill, who exploded toward the sideline on the jet sweep and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 16-10 lead with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
The Chiefs then blew a chance to extend on the lead when they recovered a muffed Denver punt near midfield, and the Broncos made them pay, courtesy of two deep-ball completions to Emmanuel Sanders over cornerback Phillip Gaines. The latter, a 35-yard gain, went for a touchdown as the Chiefs suddenly found themselves trailing 17-16 with 7:47 left.
And after the Broncos snuffed out another Chiefs drive, they promptly extended their lead on third-and-short, when Siemian uncorked a deep ball to receiver Bennie Fowler, who hauled in a ball several yards behind Gaines and sprinted to the end zone for a 76-yard touchdown that put the Broncos ahead 24-16.
The Chiefs got the ball back with around three minutes left, which was more than enough time to put together a game-tying drive.
And once overtime started, the Chiefs finally took control after some push and pull. The offense came up big one last time, and Santos put the Broncos away for good.
The victory helps the Chiefs' chances of winning the division, as Oakland currently leads the pack at 9-2 but the Chiefs, who already beat the Raiders once earlier this season, still have a home game remaining against them.
But really, no one was thinking about all that Sunday. The victory, an instant classic, was too fresh.
The Chiefs have contended all year that they are Super Bowl contenders, and on Sunday, they found a way to win a close one.
