KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Patrick Mahomes had a great weekend returning to his college roots, going 7-2 as the guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay. However, he’s been even more successful against the Broncos.
Mahomes is 13-1 (.929) against Denver, where he made his first NFL start on Dec. 31, 2017. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that’s tied for third-highest winning percentage against a single opponent since 1950 (minimum 12 starts).
With a win on Sunday, Mahomes would improve to 14-1 (.933) against Denver and break a tie with Steve Young, who posted a 13-1 mark against the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams from 1986-98. Young played for both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers over his career.
From 1950-55, Otto Graham of the Cleveland Browns posted a 12-0 record and 1.000 winning percentage against the Chicago Cardinals, setting the standard for a starting quarterback against a single foe. The second-best mark belongs to Roger Staubach, who compiled a 16-1 mark (.941) against the New York Giants, all with the Dallas Cowboys from 1969-79.
Graham, Staubach and Young are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Since that 2017 starting debut in Denver
Since Mahomes made his first NFL start, the 2017 season finale, the Broncos have had five head coaches: Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio, Nathaniel Hackett, Jerry Rosburg and Sean Payton.
In the 14 starts Mahomes has made against Denver, the Broncos have started seven quarterbacks: Paxton Lynch (2017), Case Keenum (2018), Joe Flacco (2019), Drew Lock (2019-21), Teddy Bridgewater (2021), Russell Wilson (2022-23) and Bo Nix (2024).
Joseph returned in 2023 as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator.
Initial NFL start was in Denver
Mahomes made a memorable starting debut in Denver as a 2017 rookie. He was 22 of 35 for 284 yards, no touchdowns. After Mahomes engineered a touchdown drive on his first series — fellow rookie Kareem Hunt ran for a 35-yard score – Denver’s Darian Stewart ended his second drive with an interception.
After Lynch tied the game with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas with less than three minutes left, Mahomes drove the Chiefs on a game-winning march that ended with Harrison Butker’s 30-yard field goal with no time remaining. Kansas City won, 27-24.
The quarterback’s historic career record against Denver includes a left-handed completion to Tyreek Hill on the Chiefs’ game-winning drive in 2018. Mahomes did that as he led Kansas City on a Monday Night Football comeback in a 27-23 win on Oct. 1, 2018.
In 14 career games against the Broncos, Mahomes has completed 66.5 percent of his attempts for 3,771 yards with 20 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, a 93.2 passer rating.
The only time Mahomes lost a game to the Broncos was Oct. 29, 2023, a 24-9 setback in Denver.
