NFL Week 13 roundup: Lions pull out first victory after wasting double-digit lead to Vikings

DETROIT — The Lions finally found a victory when Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown as time expired, lifting previously winless Detroit to a 29-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Not only was the finish dramatic, it was stunning. Goff led the Lions on a 75-yard decisive possession without a timeout after Kirk Cousins threw a go-ahead 3-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson with 1:50 left. The Vikings failed on a 2-point conversion for the third time; those missed opportunities proved costly.

Goff threw two touchdown passes in the first half to put Detroit ahead by 14 points, its biggest lead this season. Then he turned over the ball twice in the second half to help Minnesota rally.

As called on Detroit Lions radio: pic.twitter.com/sRqYdyXxnm

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) December 5, 2021

He came through in the end, leading the long drive and delivering a sharp pass to the rookie receiver, who took advantage of the Vikings secondary playing too deep in the end zone.

The Lions (1-10-1) ended a 15-game winless streak that lasted 364 days since winning at Chicago last season, giving first-year coach Dan Campbell his first victory with the franchise.

The Vikings (5-7) hurt their chances of earning a wild-card spot in the playoffs by losing a game they were favored to win by a touchdown — and led until the very last tick of the clock.

Minnesota has the dubious distinction of being the first team Detroit beat this year because it missed chances to score more often, and allowed an offensively challenged team to score more than 17 points for the first time since Week 1.

The Vikings, perhaps lulled to sleep in the first half by the Lions’ gray “Color Rush” alternate uniforms that looked like pajamas, woke up with 16 points in the first 18 minutes after halftime.

Dan Campbell's reaction to his first win as @Lions head coach ????pic.twitter.com/Cn66a7t73W

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2021

Red-zone woes, though, will haunt them when they look back at how they let the Lions win. Minnesota had the ball inside the Detroit 20 twice in the first quarter, settling for field goals and a 6-0 lead, and Greg Joseph kicked another field goal in the third quarter after a drive stalled at the Lions 12.

Cousins connected on a third-and-goal from the 5 with a pass under the goal posts to a diving K.J. Osborn to pull within two early in the fourth quarter. Minnesota failed to convert on a pair of 2-point conversions in the second half, letting the Lions cling to a 23-21 lead early in the fourth period.

Detroit drove to the Vikings 38 on the ensuing possession and Goff tried to force a pass to T.J. Hockenson that was picked off by Cameron Dantzler. That led to the wild final minutes.

Goff finished 25 of 41 for 296 yards with three touchdowns, an interception and a fumble. St. Brown had 10 receptions for 86 yards — and the touchdown that set off a roar in Ford Field loud enough it might’ve been heard on Motor City streets.

The Lions wore special T-shirts, hats and a helmet decal on Sunday to honor the victims in the Oxford High School shooting. pic.twitter.com/3z1RQmG2Yn

— ESPN (@espn) December 5, 2021

Cousins was 30 of 40 for 340 yards with two touchdowns and a fumble. Jefferson had 11 receptions for a career-high 182 yards, taking advantage of an increased role when Adam Thielen was injured early in the game.

Colts 31, Texans 0

HOUSTON — Jonathan Taylor ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts rolled to an easy 31-0 win over the hapless Houston Texans on Sunday.

The Texans turned the ball over twice in the first quarter and quarterback Tyrod Taylor was benched in the third quarter as Houston (2-10) lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

Jonathan Taylor, who leads the NFL in yards rushing, has 16 rushing touchdowns this season, which ties the franchise record set by Lenny Moore in 1964. It’s the 10th straight game where he’s ran for a touchdown, the longest streak in the NFL since LaDainian Tomlinson did it in 18 straight in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Carson Wentz threw for 158 yards and a touchdown for the Colts (7-6) before being replaced by Sam Ehlinger with five minutes left in the fourth quarter and the game long decided.

Things went wrong for Houston immediately with Tyrod Taylor throwing an interception on the team’s first play. It was initially ruled an incompletion, but the Colts challenged the call and the review showed that Kenny Moore grabbed it just before falling out of bounds.

The Colts took a 7-0 lead when Jonathan Taylor took the snap out of the wildcat and ran 1 yard for the score.

The second big mistake by the Texans came on the fourth play of the next drive when Pharaoh Brown fumbled after a catch and it was recovered by the Colts.

They failed to capitalize on that mistake when Michael Badgley’s 35-yard field goal sailed wide left.

Indianapolis extended the lead to 14-0 when Wentz found Ashton Dulin in the corner of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown just before halftime. The Colts kept that drive alive on a sneak by Wentz on fourth-and-1.

Jonathan Taylor’s second TD run came on the opening possession of the third quarter to push the lead to 21-0. It was a 3-yard run that capped a 75-yard drive.

Tyrod Taylor was evaluated for an injury after Houston’s first possession of the third quarter, but the team said he was available to play, and it was coach David Culley’s decision to insert backup Davis Mills in his place. He was 5 for 13 for 45 yards before being replaced.

Culley said after the game that Taylor hyperextended his wrist and the trainers weren’t sure that he could grip the ball, but that he could have played if they needed him.

After the two early turnovers, the Texans punted on four consecutive drives before Mills entered the game with about four minutes left in the third quarter. The QB change didn’t do anything to help Houston’s offense and the Texans punted twice after Mills took over and turned the ball over on downs on his other three possessions.

Mills was 6 of 14 for 49 yards.

The boos from the sparse crowd began early and grew louder with each terrible offensive possession as the Texans were shut out for the second time this season. It’s their second loss to the Colts this year after they got a 31-3 victory in Indianapolis in October.

The Colts outgained Houston 389-141 and Indianapolis had 26 first downs to just 9 by the Texans.

A 23-yard field goal with about nine minutes left made it 24-0 and rookie Deon Jackson added a 3-yard TD run with two minutes to go.

Eagles 33, Jets 18

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Gardner Minshew started in place of an injured Jalen Hurts and led the clock-eating Philadelphia Eagles to scores on their first seven possessions in a 33-18 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Minshew was 20 of 25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns to Dallas Goedert. Kenneth Gainwell ran for a score, Jake Elliott kicked four field goals and the Eagles (6-7) improved to 12-0 all-time against the Jets (3-9).

With Hurts out with an ankle injury, Philadelphia bounced back from a disappointing 13-7 loss to the Giants last weekend at MetLife Stadium to slice through the Jets’ defense drive after drive. The only possession on which the Eagles didn’t score was their last.

But the win might have come at a cost as running back Miles Sanders left in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury after running for 120 yards on 24 carries. Center Jason Kelce also limped off the field at the 2-minute warning.

It appeared the Jets and Eagles would be in for a slugfest as they both scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. It was the first game since the Elias Sports Bureau began tracking in 1978 that each team scored TDs on their first three drives.

Things slowed considerably after halftime as the Jets held the ball for only 70 seconds in the third quarter — just three plays for 3 yards. Meanwhile, the Eagles had 24 plays for 81 yards over 13:50 in the period. Philadelphia held the overall edge in time of possession: 35:36 to 24:24.

Four plays after Braxton Berrios returned the opening kickoff 79 yards, Zach Wilson found Elijah Moore in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. It was Wilson’s first TD pass since Week 4.

But Alex Kessman — signed Saturday from the practice squad to replace the struggling Matt Ammendola — missed the extra point in his NFL debut.

Minshew and the Eagles answered with a 36-yard TD to Goedert. And Elliott made his extra-point try to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead.

Wilson and the Jets came right back, with the rookie quarterback capping an 11-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. But Kessman was wide left again on the extra point, prompting boos from the Jets fans at MetLife Stadium.

Minshew then sliced right through New York’s defense again, connecting with a wide-open Goedert — again — for a 25-yard touchdown.

Again, Wilson marched down the field with the Jets, who went for it on fourth-and-1 from the 1 and got a touchdown toss to Ryan Griffin in the back of the end zone. The Jets went for 2 but Wilson’s throw to Jamison Crowder was incomplete.

And the Eagles kept the scoring going with Gainwell squirting through the defense on an 18-yard touchdown run that put Philadelphia ahead 21-18 with 4:30 left in the opening half.

The back-and-forth TD streak ended on the fourth possession by the Jets, who were forced to punt with just over two minutes left before halftime.

The Eagles didn’t get a touchdown on their fourth possession, either. But they still got points with Elliott’s 31-yard field goal.

Elliott added a 32-yarder on Philadelphia’s first drive of the third quarter, pushing the Eagles’ lead to 27-18.

Cardinals 33, Bears 22

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Kyler Murray threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in his return from an ankle injury, and the Arizona Cardinals beat the struggling Chicago Bears 33-22 on Sunday.

The Cardinals (10-2) got back Murray and three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins after both players missed three games because of injuries, then rolled to an easy victory over Chicago (4-8). The NFC West leaders, who have the NFL’s best record, intercepted Andy Dalton four times.

The Cardinals, who were coming off a bye, improved to 7-0 on the road, with each win by 10 points or more.

Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker picked off passes that deflected off the intended target on Chicago’s first two possessions. The Cardinals took advantage, with Murray connecting with Hopkins for a 20-yarder and scrambling 9 yards to the end zone. He also threw a 21-yard TD to James Conner in the second quarter to make it 21-7, sending Chicago to its sixth loss in seven games.

Murray completed 11 of 15 passes for 123 yards, giving him 10,092 in three seasons, on a cool and soggy afternoon. At 24 years, 120 days, he became the fourth-youngest player with 10,000 career yards passing, according to NFL research. Drew Bledsoe (23 years, 299 days), Jameis Winston (23 years, 303 days) and Dan Marino (24 years, 63 days) are the only younger players to reach it.

Murray also joined Cam Newton as the only players in NFL history with at least 10,000 yards passing and 1,500 rushing in his first three seasons.

Hopkins, back from a hamstring injury, caught two passes for 32 yards. Conner added 75 yards rushing and 36 receiving. Byron Murphy Jr. and Zach Allen had interceptions.

Dalton, making his second straight start with Justin Fields sidelined because of broken ribs, matched a career high for interceptions. He was 26 of 41 for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

The early interceptions by Thompson and Baker helped put Arizona in control.

Murray and Hopkins connected for a 20-yard touchdown on fourth down after Thompson picked off a short pass in Chicago territory that deflected off receiver Jakeem Grant’s hands.

The Bears were threatening on their next possession, only to have Baker intercept a pass that hit off Cole Kmet’s chest and return it 77 yards to the 15. That led to the 9-yard touchdown scramble by Murray to make it 14-0.

Chicago orchestrated a 77-yard drive that lasted nearly eight minutes, with David Montgomery scoring from the 1. But the Cardinals answered. Conner, aided by Xavier Crawford’s missed tackle, turned a short pass by Murray into a 23-yard touchdown to make it 21-7.

Buccaneers 30, Falcons 17

ATLANTA — Tom Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns — two of them to longtime favorite target Rob Gronkowski — and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved to the brink of clinching the NFC South title with a 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

The Bucs (9-3) won their third straight game and pushed their division lead to four games over Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans (all 5-7) with five games remaining.

Brady improved to 10-0 in his career against the Falcons, including four straight wins over the last two seasons since moving from New England to Tampa Bay.

The 44-year-old Brady completed 38 of 51, including touchdowns of 27 and 11 yards to Gronkowski — their first scoring passes since Week 2 against the Falcons.

The prolific duo has combined for 90 regular-season TDs, passing Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates for No. 2 in NFL history. Only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison have more, hooking up for 112 scoring passes.

Brady shook off a huge blunder in the final minute of the first half, when 278-pound defensive lineman Marlon Davidson picked off a short pass and glided 3 yards into the end zone for a touchdown that cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 20-17 at the break.

The Bucs came out throwing. For the first time since 2004, they passed the ball on their first 13 plays of a game — accounting for the entire 75-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession.

Brady completed 11 passes on the drive, including a 6-yard throw to Leonard Fournette on fourth-and-4 at the Atlanta 38. The two hooked up again for a 3-yard touchdown play, with Fournette making a slick, one-handed grab.

The Falcons answered with a touchdown drive of their own, doing most of their damage on the ground.

Cordarrelle Patterson broke off a 39-yard scamper before Mike Davis ran for a 17-yard touchdown.

Tampa Bay finally ran the ball on the first play of its next possession, but again it was Brady’s arm that accounted for most of the production on another 75-yard touchdown drive.

He went to Chris Godwin for 25 yards and Mike Evans for 36 yards to set up another 3-yard scoring pass, this one to Cameron Brate. A missed extra point left the Bucs with a 13-7 lead.

Atlanta squandered a chance to pull ahead, settling for a field goal after having first-and-goal from inside the 1. Ryan lost a couple of yards falling on a bobbled snap, sandwiched around a pair of incompletions that forced the Falcons to send in Younghoe Koo for a 21-yard field goal.

Brady’s 27-yard TD to Gronkowski had the Bucs on the verge of a blowout.

But Tampa Bay got greedy near the end of the half, sending the Falcons to a locker room on quite a high after Davidson’s pick-6.

It didn’t carry over. Matt Ryan was sacked five times and called for intentional grounding. Russell Gage lost a fumble in Tampa Bay territory when it looked as if the Falcons might be driving for a go-ahead score.

Dolphins 20, Giants 9

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa threw a pair of short touchdown passes, and the Miami Dolphins extended their winning streak to five games by topping the New York Giants 20-9 on Sunday.

Isaiah Ford and Mack Hollins had the scoring grabs for Miami (6-7), which has shaken off a 1-7 start. Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for 90 yards for the Dolphins, and rookie Jaelan Phillips had two more sacks — giving him five in his last two games.

Tagovailoa completed 30 of 41 passes for 244 yards and the two scores.

Mike Glennon started at quarterback for the Giants in place of Daniel Jones, who was sidelined with a neck injury. Glennon completed 23 of 44 throws for 187 yards, and Saquon Barkley had 55 rushing yards on 11 carries.

But New York never found the end zone against a defense that has yielded only 55 points during the five-game winning streak. Graham Gano had three field goals for the Giants, including a 51-yarder with 4:59 remaining to get New York within 17-9.

The Giants had a chance to force a three-and-out about a minute later, but Tagovailoa found DeVante Parker with a 16-yard pass that required an acrobatic sideline catch to keep the drive alive. And on another third down with 3:14 left, Tagovailoa lofted one perfectly for Mike Gesicki for a 17-yard gain.

New York was out of timeouts, unable to do anything but watch the Dolphins run the clock down to 1:16 before sending Jason Sanders on for a 48-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 11 and sealing the outcome.

The Dolphins took the lead late in the first half on a 5-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Hollins, the capper to a 14-play, 89-yard drive. It was quintessential Miami of late, the formula that has worked with Tagovailoa, relying on the short ball to chip, chip, chip away.

He was 11 for 12 on the drive for 77 yards, only one of those throws going for more than 10 yards, six of them going for no more than 6 yards. The only true deep shot in the series came after the Giants jumped offside; Tagovailoa knew he had a free play and let fly with an incompletion that didn’t count anyway.

Ford’s TD catch capped a seven-play, 61-yard drive with 11:13 left.

Rams 37, Jaguars 7

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Jacksonville Jaguars were the cure for just about everything that ailed the Los Angeles Rams throughout November.

Matthew Stafford and the Rams hope they can stay up at this level when their stretch run gets a whole lot tougher.

Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. caught touchdown passes from Stafford, and the Rams snapped their three-game losing streak with a 37-7 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday.

Stafford passed for 295 yards while Sony Michel rushed for 121 yards and a score for the Rams (8-4), who rebounded from a winless month with a solid all-around effort against a struggling opponent. Kupp had his 100th reception of a remarkable season among his eight catches for 129 yards.

“It’s nice to get a win after three subpar performances,” Stafford said.

Stafford snapped back into his early-season form, playing turnover-free football after giving the ball away six times during the three-game skid that threatened to derail the Rams’ playoff plans. Los Angeles still has never lost four straight in coach Sean McVay’s half-decade in charge.

“We really need to find a way to start playing our best ball in December,” McVay said. “Our guys did a great job just staying steady and trusting the process. … You don’t take any wins for granted in this league. This is good for our team, and now we’ve just got to start stacking blocks.”

Jalen Ramsey made three tackles against his former team and recovered a fumble forced by Aaron Donald on the opening drive for the Rams, who comfortably won what appeared to be the least daunting game remaining on a tough schedule. Los Angeles still must make trips to Arizona, Baltimore and Minnesota along with two NFC West games at home.

“When you get turnovers, you tend to win games,” Donald said. “We need to build off this type of win we had today. … We can’t be satisfied. Got to stay hungry.”

Rookie Trevor Lawrence passed for 145 yards for the Jaguars (2-10), who have lost four straight. With their 16th consecutive loss to NFC teams since September 2018, the Jaguars have lost 10 games for the 10th time in the last 11 years.

“There are some times when you’re at a loss for words, especially in a game like this where we were moving the ball earlier and then can’t get anything going,” said Lawrence, who went 16 for 28. “The turnovers hurt, and when you’re not moving the ball consistently it is pretty much impossible to come back.”

Jacksonville turned the ball over twice and struggled to get anything going offensively against LA’s star-studded defense, managing just 197 total yards. This defeat means Urban Meyer will lose at least twice as many games in his rookie NFL season as he ever did in any of his 17 seasons as a head coach at the college level.

“I don’t mean to be redundant and go into coachspeak, but there’s nothing else I can tell you,” Meyer said. “Is it frustrating for everybody involved? Absolutely. Are we better than that? Absolutely. We have better players and coaches than that. So now it’s time to go produce.”

Michel was the Rams’ featured back with Darrell Henderson in uniform but limited by a thigh injury. Michel capped the Rams’ only TD drive of the first half with a 5-yard run before finishing with the Rams’ first 100-yard rushing performance all season.

Jacksonville’s defense hung in throughout the first half, preventing the Rams from converting any of their six third downs and forcing LA’s Matt Gay to kick three field goals.

“We’re playing excellent pass defense, field position and complementary football there,” Meyer said. “That’s kind of where you want to be on the road against a good team, and then we couldn’t move the ball.”

The Rams’ defense dominated Lawrence’s offense in the first half except for one 73-yard scoring drive culminating in Carlos Hyde’s 1-yard TD run.

The Rams took control after halftime with two long touchdown drives capped by Kupp’s 29-yard TD grab and Jefferson’s 2-yard, toe-tap scoring catch.

Washington 17, Raiders 15

LAS VEGAS — Taylor Heinicke threw two touchdown passes and set up new kicker Brian Johnson’s game-winning 48-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining to lead Washington to its fourth straight win, 17-15 over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Heinicke threw a 7-yard TD pass to Logan Thomas on the opening drive and a 4-yarder to Antonio Gibson early in the fourth quarter after extending the drive with a key third-down scramble.

But Washington (6-6) then allowed the Raiders (6-6) to score on successive drives to take a 15-14 lead on Daniel Carlson’s 37-yard field goal that was set up by Nate Hobbs’ interception of Heinicke.

But Heinicke responded and drove Washington down the field to set up the kick by Johnson. who was signed earlier this week after Joey Slye went down with an injury.

Coordinator Jack Del Rio’s defense then sealed it to give him the win in his first game against the Raiders since being fired by the team following the 2017 season.

The game was sealed when Derek Carr’s desperation heave from his 43 fell incomplete, short of the goal line.

The Raiders were unable to build on a Thanksgiving overtime win at Dallas and lost for the fourth time in five games as the offense has stalled after a strong start to the season.

They were held to just two field goals in the first three quarters as Carr seemed to miss injured tight end Darren Waller and couldn’t connect on the big plays with DeSean Jackson that helped fuel last week’s win.

Las Vegas finally got into the end zone when Josh Jacobs capped a 75-yard drive aided by three defensive penalties with a 1-yard run. Carr missed Bryan Edwards in the back of the end zone on the 2-point try to keep Washington ahead 14-12.

Seahawks 30, 49ers 23

SEATTLE — Russell Wilson played his best game since returning from finger surgery throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks made a late goal line stand to beat the San Francisco 49ers 30-23 on Sunday.

Seattle (4-8) snapped a three-game losing streak but it wasn’t easy as a number of mistakes gave the 49ers a chance for a tying touchdown in the final moments.

Gerald Everett fumbled at the San Francisco 2 with 4:03 remaining and Seattle on the cusp of a clinching score. Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers 95 yards to the Seattle 3. But his third-down pass for Trent Sherfield was broken up by Sidney Jones, and his fourth- down pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Carlos Dunlap.

It was the second big play by Dunlap, who sacked Garoppolo for a safety early in the third quarter.

Newly signed running back Adrian Peterson moved into a tie with Jim Brown for 10th all-time with 126 career touchdowns, scoring on a 1-yard run in the second quarter for Seattle.

Wilson threw a 7-yard touchdown to Dee Eskridge in the second quarter and his 12-yard touchdown to Tyler Lockett late in the third quarter provided the winning points.

Travis Homer also ran 73 yards for a touchdown on a fake punt on the opening possession of the game for Seattle.

San Francisco (6-6) saw its three-game win streak snapped and was swept by Seattle this season. The 49ers were unable to get their run game going as in recent weeks, with Elijah Mitchell rushing for 66 yards on 22 carries.

Garoppolo threw for 299 yards and two TDs, but also had a pair of interceptions, the second grabbed by Quandre Diggs and setting up Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown.

George Kittle had nine catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns, but was shut down in the second half until the final drive.

On that final drive it took San Francisco five plays to reach the Seattle 30, including completions to Kittle of 29 and 14 yards. Brandon Aiyuk’s 11-yard catch got the 49ers to the Seattle 7, two runs by Mitchell yielded only 4 yards and Garoppolo couldn’t connect on his last two throws.

Chiefs 22, Broncos 9

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The resurgent Kansas City defense shut down Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos, Daniel Sorenson returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, and the Chiefs beat Denver 22-9 on Sunday night for their fifth straight win.

Patrick Mahomes had 184 yards passing with a touchdown run and an interception for the Chiefs (8-4), who now lead the Chargers by a game and the Broncos and Raiders by two in their race for a sixth straight AFC West championship.

Things went haywire for the Broncos early in the game, when a 20-play drive ended with a failed fourth-down play rather than an easy field goal. And they didn’t get a whole lot better when Bridgewater threw a pair of second-half interceptions, including the one that Sorensen picked off with 9 1/2 minutes left to put the game away.

Bridgewater was held to 257 yards passing for the Broncos (6-6), who have lost 12 in a row to their longtime AFC rival dating to the 2015 season. Javonte Williams started in place of injured running back Melvin Gordon III and had 102 yards rushing along with a touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to his defense, Chiefs coach Andy Reid improved to 20-3 after a bye. The once-maligned bunch stopped Denver on fourth down three times while holding an opponent to fewer than 10 points for the third time in its last four games.

The Chiefs must have spent their entire week off working on their opening offensive script, because they effortlessly flew downfield for a touchdown. They even overcame an offensive pass-interference call before Mahomes scampered for the score.

After the Chiefs forced a second consecutive three-and-out, Harrison Butker made a 56-yard field goal.

That was just about the last anyone saw of Mahomes and Co. for a while.

The Broncos answered with a field goal of their own. Then, after forcing a quick punt, they embarked on a 20-play odyssey that carried them 83 yards and chewed up nearly 12 minutes of the second quarter — and resulted in no points.

Denver twice converted on fourth down to keep the drive alive, then went for the hat trick on fourth-and-2 at the Kansas City 8. Williams took the handoff and was stuffed by linebacker Willie Gay Jr. for a turnover on downs, the first time since 2009 that a 20-play driving lasting at least 11 minutes didn’t result in points.

That wasn’t the end of the Broncos’ woes. They went three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, Bridgewater was picked off by Juan Thornhill on their next, and Caden Sterns ran into returner Diontae Spencer after forcing Kansas City to punt. The Chiefs managed to hop on the muff for a fresh set of downs.

Butker hit his third field goal a few minutes, extending the lead to 16-3 with 13 1/2 minutes to go, and Sorensen tacked on his pick-6 a couple minutes later.