NFL roundup: Chiefs escape Broncos to stay unbeaten after field goal drama
The reigning Super Bowl champions looked poised to suffer their first defeat of the campaign after rookie Broncos quarterback Bo Nix expertly engineered a late fourth-quarter drive to the Kansas City 17-yard line.
That left Wil Lutz with what should have been a straightforward 35-yard chip shot to win the game with the final kick of an absorbing clash at Arrowhead Stadium.
But Lutz and the Broncos were left stunned after Chiefs' defensive end Mike Danna got a hand to the kick to block the attempt and leave Kansas City exhaling a collective sigh of relief.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes raced across the field in celebration with his teammates as Kansas City sealed a win that sees them improve to 9-0 for the season.
"It just speaks to this entire team," Mahomes said of Kansas City's great escape.
"I felt offensively we didn't do enough. Defensively we stepped it up in the second half, and then special teams - we're a full team. It's everybody, it was a special moment.
"Everybody believes, no one has any doubts, we just keep pushing and we found a way in the end."
The defeat was hard on Broncos signal-caller Nix, who had shown superb composure throughout to help Denver take a 14-3 second quarter lead thanks to touchdown passes wide receivers Devaughn Vele and Courtland Sutton.
Denver's defense, meanwhile, gave Mahomes and the Chiefs offense a torrid time, sacking the Kansas City quarterback four times.
Mahomes, though, gradually got his team back into the game, connecting with Travis Kelce for a touchdown that made it 14-10 at the half, before two Harrison Butker field goals in the second half gave them a slender 16-14 lead.
Nix then appeared to have done enough to give Denver a chance at winning the game, only for the blocked field goal drama to deny the Broncos a famous win.
Steelers pip Commanders
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Washington Commanders suffered an agonizing 28-27 defeat in a thrilling shootout with the Pittsburgh Steelers that was effectively decided by a matter of inches.
Pittsburgh took a one-point lead with two minutes and 22 seconds remaining after quarterback Russell Wilson floated a sublime pass to new receiver Mike Williams for a 32-yard touchdown.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels then sought to manoeuvre his team into position for a winning field goal, but on 4th&9, an attempted completion to Zach Ertz was ruled just inches short of a first down, turning the ball over to Pittsburgh.
The Steelers then held onto possession, assisted by a late Washington penalty, to ice the game and improve to 7-2.
In other early games on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills improved to 8-2 with a 30-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, dug deep to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on the road in Florida, Jake Moody nailing a 44-yard field goal with the final kick of the game to seal a win.
San Francisco rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall - who was shot in the chest in a street robbery in August and missed the first six games of the season - opened the scoring with the first touchdown of his NFL career.
The Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Giants 20-17 with an overtime field goal in the last international fixture of the season in Munich, while the New England Patriots downed the Chicago Bears 19-3 at Soldier Field.
The New Orleans Saints, meanwhile, pipped the Atlanta Falcons 20-17, six days after firing coach Dennis Allen.
Eagles dominate Cowboys in late kickoff
The most eagerly anticipated game in the late kickoffs proved to be a blowout, as the Philadelphia Eagles won big over their NFC East foes, the Dallas Cowboys 34-6 in Arlington.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns, while also running in two himself in what was a dominant showing from the away team, who are now 7-2. The Cowboys, who have lost their last four, are 3-6.
The game was close going into the half, with the visiting Eagles only up 14-6, but things changed in the third quarter when they added onto their lead with two touchdowns. They would not look back, adding a couple of field goals in the fourth quarter to round out the victory.
Across the other late games, the Arizona Cardinals won big with a 31-6 victory over the struggling New York Jets. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray went 22-for-24 for 266 yards, adding a passing touchdown in the process. He also completed his last 17 passes in what was one of his best performances in the NFL.
The Los Angeles Chargers got their sixth win of the year as they topped the visiting Tennessee Titans 27-17 in the other game in the late timeslot. Justin Herbert threw only 18 times in the game, but found his man in 14 of those attempts. Through nine games this year, the Chargers quarterback has yet to throw an interception.