Patrick Mahomes made his first NFL start against the Denver Broncos. He suffered the first serious injury of his career against the Denver Broncos. And on Monday night he returns from a torn ACL against, of all teams, the Denver Broncos.
In between, he built one of the most lopsided quarterback records against a single opponent that the modern NFL has produced.
13-2 as a starter
| Date | Result | Passing |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 31, 2017 | W 27-24 at Denver | 284 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT |
| Oct. 1, 2018 | W 27-23 at Denver | 304 yds, 1 TD |
| Oct. 28, 2018 | W 30-23 vs. Denver | 303 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| Oct. 17, 2019 | W 30-6 at Denver | Left in the first half with a dislocated kneecap |
| Dec. 15, 2019 | W 23-3 vs. Denver | 340 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Oct. 25, 2020 | W 43-16 at Denver | 200 yds, 1 TD |
| Dec. 6, 2020 | W 22-16 vs. Denver | 318 yds, 1 TD |
| Dec. 5, 2021 | W 22-9 vs. Denver | 184 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT |
| Jan. 8, 2022 | W 28-24 at Denver | 270 yds, 2 TD |
| Dec. 11, 2022 | W 34-28 at Denver | 352 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT |
| Jan. 1, 2023 | W 27-24 vs. Denver | 328 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Oct. 12, 2023 | W 19-8 vs. Denver | 306 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Oct. 29, 2023 | L 24-9 at Denver | 240 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT |
| Nov. 10, 2024 | W 16-14 vs. Denver | 266 yds, 1 TD |
| Nov. 16, 2025 | L 22-19 at Denver | 276 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
The Streak Elias Noticed
Before the November 2025 loss, Mahomes was 13-1 against Denver. The Elias Sports Bureau flagged that mark as tied for the third-best winning percentage by a starting quarterback against a single opponent since 1950, with a minimum of twelve starts. The names ahead of him were Otto Graham, who went 12-0 against the Chicago Cardinals in the early 1950s, and Roger Staubach, who posted a 16-1 record against the Giants across the 1970s. Steve Young shared the mark at 13-1 against the Rams.
Company like that is the reason this specific head-to-head kept coming up every fall.
The Two Losses
The first came on Oct. 29, 2023 in Denver, and it ended a sixteen-game franchise win streak over the Broncos. Mahomes threw two interceptions without a touchdown in a 24-9 loss, one of the flattest offensive performances of his career.
The second was Nov. 16, 2025, a 22-19 Denver win that fit a broader pattern. Kansas City was 5-5 walking in and Denver was 9-2, a reversal of the usual order in this matchup.
Denver Keeps Showing Up at the Turning Points
The 2019 game in Denver is the one people forget. Mahomes dislocated a kneecap in the first half of a Thursday night game, Matt Moore came in and finished a 30-6 win, and Mahomes missed the next two games. Kansas City won the Super Bowl that season anyway.
Now he returns from a torn ACL and LCL suffered in Week 15 of last season, and the opponent is Denver again. He carries no injury designation into the game and practiced fully through the week.
What Changed Around Him
The head-to-head numbers were built against a Broncos team cycling through quarterbacks. That is no longer the situation. Denver went 14-3 last season, won the AFC West and hosted the AFC Championship Game, and Bo Nix has beaten Kansas City in each of the last three meetings, including one in which Mahomes was on the field.
Denver also brings the defense that has been the actual problem, holding Mahomes to 240 and 276 yards in the two losses and generating the pressure that gave Kansas City trouble in both.
The Bottom Line
Mahomes is 13-2 in fifteen career starts against Denver, a .867 winning percentage that ranked among the best any quarterback has posted against one opponent in seventy-five years. He has also lost two of the last three he has played in the series. Monday night settles which of those two facts is the more useful one.
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