Halftime observations from Arrowhead: Chiefs lead the Broncos 16-14

After falling behind early, the Chiefs ended the half with a field goal and two touchdowns to go ahead of the Broncos 16-14. Denver pulled it within two points thanks to a 49-second touchdown drive to end the half, capped off by a 24-yard pass from Case Keenum to wide receiver Tim Patrick.

Some good things come to an end

For the first time all season, the Chiefs didn’t score on the first offensive possession. Aided by a strong performance from rookie DE Bradley Chubb, the Broncos forced a three-and-out on the Chiefs’ first drive. Chubb made the tackles on the first two plays and chased Mahomes out of the pocket along with Von Miller on third down to force the quarterback to throw the ball away. On the next drive, the Broncos put together an 81-yard scoring drive to go up 7-0, marking the first time the Chiefs have trailed at Arrowhead this season. It’s only the third time all season that KC has been behind in a game. The first two came against the Broncos in Denver and at New England. Kicker Harrison Butker also missed the first extra point of his career, pulling the kick late in the second quarter. He was 61 of 61 before the miss. But not all of the Chiefs’ streaks ended in the first half of Sunday afternoon’s game. The Chiefs won their eighth consecutive coin toss in the regular season. The Chiefs also won all four coin tosses in the regular season.

Out of sync

The Chiefs were missing two starting offensive linemen and it showed Sunday afternoon. Both Austin Reiter and Andrew Wylie made their second career starts, filling in for center Mitch Morse (concussion) and guard Laurent Duvernay Tardif (leg), respectively. Wylie picked up a false start as the Chiefs faced 4th-and-goal at the one. KC was attempting to go for it, but Wylie’s flag forced them to back up and take a field goal.

Welcome back, KPass

After being limited by an ankle injury for the last two games, outside linebacker Tanoh Kpassagnon announced himself with authority Sunday afternoon. His six-yard tackle for loss of Emmanuel Sanders on third down forced the Broncos to attempt a 55-yard field goal, which went wide right. Kpassagnon played two snaps on special teams against the Bengals and didn’t play a single defensive down. He was inactive the week before as he continued to recover from an ankle injury. After a slow start, Breeland Speaks got up to speed in the second quarter with a monster sack of Case Keenum.

Tempers flare

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Denver CB Tremaine Brock got into it on the sideline late in the second quarter. Brock held Hill as he streaked up the sideline and eventually threw him to the ground when the two locked arms. Hill fought to get up as Brock pinned him there. It nearly caused a minor melee as Chiefs players rushed to Hill. Brock was flagged for holding, but the Chiefs declined the penalty for Watkins’ 24-yard catch. Afterward, coach Andy Reid put an arm around Hill on the sideline to calm him down before putting him back in the game.

Keepin’ up with Kelce

Travis Kelce picked up his first touchdown catch since Week 4 in Denver with a nine-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes (13 of 17, 172 yards, 2 TD) in the second quarter. That play capped off a four-play, 55-yard drive that put the Chiefs back on top after training 7-3 early. Kelce caught four of five targets in the first half for 53 yards, including one 18-yard pickup.