The Kansas City Chiefs are so dynamic offensively they sometimes don't even know when they've scored a touchdown.They were fortunate one of those cases didn't come back to bite them Sunday night.Patrick Mahomes threw for 318 yards and a score, Harrison Butker was perfect on five field-goal attempts, and the underrated Chiefs defense bailed out an offense that struggled once again in the red zone - and made two big mistakes that cost them touchdowns - in a 22-16 victory over the Denver Broncos.Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 136 yards along with the go-ahead TD grab late in the third quarter, and Tyrann Mathieu twice picked off Broncos quarterback Drew Lock - the second with 24 seconds left to seal the win - as the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth by improving to 11-1 for the second time in franchise history.“It's obviously a big deal - you want to find a way to get in the playoffs," Mahomes said, “but we have bigger goals.”Like defending their Super Bowl title.It might help their cause if the Chiefs actually count the touchdowns they score.The play everyone was left talking about came on third-and-10 at the Denver 40 early in the second quarter. Mahomes found a wide-open Tyreek Hill downfield, only for him to appear to drop the certain touchdown. But replays clearly showed the ball trapped between Hill and a defender, never touching the ground, for what should have been a score.Hill never argued when it was called incomplete, though, nor did Chiefs coach Andy Reid throw his red challenge flag.Instead, he quickly sent his punt team out and tried to pin the Broncos deep in their own territory.“I checked with Tyreek," Reid said afterward. “He came off, and normally you can tell with a receiver whether he had it or not - especially Tyreek - and he was surprised as any of us he ended up with the football.”Hill also had a 48-yard touchdown reception wiped out by holding late in the game, which gave the Broncos (4-8) a chance to march for the go-ahead score. Denver managed to move to midfield before stalling, but rather than going for it on fourth-and-3 with 6 minutes to go, coach Vic Fangio elected to punt the ball away.The Chiefs melted most of the clock before Butker kicked a 48-yard field goal with 1:06 left, and the Kansas City defense forced Lock into a wild fourth-down throw that Tyrann Mathieu intercepted to put the game away.“I gave it strong consideration,” Fangio said of his fourth-down call, “but you know, at some point in the game, we’ve got to get a stop, and we weren’t able to. We held them to a field goal but that made it a touchdown game and burned off some of the time there, so in retrospect, should have probably gone for it.”Lock returned after missing last week's game against New Orleans, along with the rest of Denver's quarterbacks, because of COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing. The local boy finished with 151 yards passing and two touchdown throws to Tim Patrick, while Melvin Gordon ran for 131 yards on just 15 carries.“There's no feel-good losses in this league,” Lock said. “We did play them closer than we have before, but I mean, what does that get you? Nothing. It gets you an upset locker room. It gets you a sad flight home.”Made even more stinging is how close the Broncos came to springing the upset.The Chiefs didn't take the lead until Butker's fourth field goal early in the second half, then answered the second Lock-to-Patrick touchdown connection with a TD of their own. With a defender hanging on his jersey, Mahomes tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to Kelce, ending their streak of seven straight red-zone trips without a touchdown.The Chiefs defense made sure that the only touchdown they scored in the game would be enough.“It's such a blessing to have that guy back there slinging it around,” Kelce said, “because he takes the ultimate pride in his craft and playing the game, and you know you can always count on him.”GAME UPDATES10:25 p.m. -- Honey Badger picks it off. The Chiefs are playoff bound again.10:18 p.m. – Harrison Butker nails a 48-yard field goal to give Kansas City a 22-16 lead with 1:04 left. It’s his fifth field goal of the game. The Chiefs will need a stop on defense to win the game.10:05 p.m. – After scoring, the Chiefs defense let the Broncos move the ball down the field some, but Denver can’t convert on a third and three play. The Broncos have punted the ball back to the Chiefs. Kansas City has the ball at their own 15-yard line with 6:07 left in the game. Do the Chiefs try to run the ball or go to the passing game to try and finish this one off?9:30 p.m. -- Patrick Mahomes connects with Travis Kelce for a 20-yard touchdown. Chiefs now lead 19-16 with 1:06 left in the third quarter. The Chiefs’ drive was seven plays for 75 yards. It included a critical third-down run by Mahomes to pick up a first down.9:25 p.m. -- The Broncos march 72 yards on 11 plays to retake the lead. They fail to connect on the two-point conversion, so the score is 16-12. It's the first touchdown the Chiefs have given up in the third quarter this season. 9:09 p.m. -- Another red zone trip, another without a touchdown. But another Harrison Butker field goal puts the Chiefs into the lead with 10:32 in the third quarter. It’s Kansas City 12, Denver 10.8:48 p.m. -- If the Chiefs are going to clinch a playoff spot tonight, they’re going to have to make some halftime adjustments. Patrick Mahomes is 13 of 20 for 154 yards, but the Chiefs defense has given up 134 yards rushing and 7.1 yards a carry. Melvin Gordon has 105 yards rushing, including a 65-yard burst to set up a field goal.Other notable numbers:+Denver QB Drew Lock is 9 of 15 for 88 yards, one TD and one interception.+Le’Von Bell is getting bulk of carries for KC and has 21 yards on seven rushes.+Travis Kelce has three receptions for 65 yards.8:28 p.m. -- The Chiefs march down the field but once again can’t come through inside the red zone. The Chiefs got a little too cute on three plays near the goal line and must settle for a field goal. It’s Denver 10, Kansas City 6 with 2:42 left in the first half.8:19 p.m. – The Chiefs had a touchdown but didn't realize it. The Broncos drive right down the field and punch it in on Drew Lock's first touchdown pass against his hometown Chiefs. It’s 10-3 Denver with 6:26 left in the second quarter.8:05 p.m. – Replay shows that Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill had connected for a touchdown, but the Chiefs didn’t challenge the call and instead punted the ball away. 8:02 p.m. – Travis Kelce has recorded his fifth-consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season, extending his NFL record for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end. Kelce becomes the 26th player in NFL history (first tight end) to record 1,000 yards receiving in at least five straight seasons. Of the other 25 players to accomplish the feat, eight are in the Hall of Fame. Two players (Julio Jones and Mike Evans) were on active streaks of 6 seasons entering 2020.7:54 p.m. -- The Chiefs didn’t get into the end zone in the first quarter and it’s all tied up at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter. Patrick Mahomes is 5 of 7 for 72 yards, while Denver quarterback Drew lock is 5 of 8 for 68 yards with one interception.7:52 p.m. -- The Chiefs stall inside the red zone and Harrison Butker nails a field goal to make it 3-3 with 20 seconds left in the first quarter. So far, the Denver defense has come to play.7:45 p.m. -- Brandon McManus drills a 53-yard field goal, and Denver is on the board first. It’s 3-0 with 3:58 left in the first quarter.7:35 p.m. -- The Chiefs can’t make Denver pay for the interception after Patrick Mahomes wasn’t able to hit Tyreek Hill on a long bomb. It was definitely a missed opportunity because the Broncos had blown the coverage.7:30 p.m. -- The Chiefs pick off Drew Luck on the first drive.7:23 p.m. -- And we’re off at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs have beaten Denver 10 straight times, and they’re looking to make it 11 in a row tonight on Sunday night football. Denver will get the ball first with Lee's Summit native and former Mizzou quarterback Drew Lock under center.6:57 p.m. -- Travis Kelce needs just 22 yards tonight to become the only tight end in NFL history to record his fifth straight season with 1,000 yards receiving. No other tight end in the league has reached four straight.6:45 p.m. -- The Chiefs will be wearing Red on Red tonight on Sunday night football.6:30 p.m. -- Matt McMullen and Shawn Barber are live with the breakdown of the Chiefs matchup against the Denver Broncos6 p.m. -- Here are the Chiefs’ inactives for tonight’s game against Denver:CB BoPete KeyesLB Darius HarrisOT Martinas RankinTE Ricky Seals-JonesDE Tim WardDT Khalen Saunders5:50 p.m. -- The Chiefs are on the field at Arrowhead Stadium going through warmups ahead of their Sunday night football game against the Denver Broncos.5 p.m. -- Sports Illustrated announced Sunday morning that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardifhave been named as two of the magazine’s Sportspersons of the year. READ MORE4:50 p.m. -- Patrick Mahomes has arrived in style for Sunday night football.4 p.m. -- Here's a look at some of the cleats players will be wearing Sunday night to support the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats." Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the headliners of the cause.GAME PREVIEW The Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes is putting together one of the best seasons of any quarterback in NFL history.The Broncos? Well, they're just happy to HAVE a quarterback. Drew Lock will be back under center when Denver visits Kansas City in the latest edition of their long-simmering AFC West rivalry Sunday night. Lock was deemed a high-risk close contact of infected quarterback Jeff Driskel - along with the rest of the Broncos' quarterbacks - and left his team without a true QB to face New Orleans last week.The Broncos turned to a practice squad wide receiver to take most of the snaps in a 31-3 rout.“Watching it, it was a gut-wrenching feeling the whole time. It was tough,” said Lock, who grew up suburban Kansas City and starred at nearby Missouri. “It wasn't something I enjoyed. I'd much rather be out on the field helping my team out. It hurt my heart, hurt my soul, and it's just time to move on and get out there and get to Kansas City.”The Broncos (4-7) had better turn their focus to the Chiefs (10-1) rather quickly.Mahomes is coming off another impressive performance, throwing for 462 yards and three touchdowns without a pick in a 27-24 win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. He's on pace to throw for 5,087 yards, which would give him his second season among the top 10 in NFL history, along with 44 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. His passer rating of 115.5, while far from the perfect measurement of play, would be the best in his bright young career.“Mahomes is special, not just this year - ever since he's taken over the starting job in Kansas City, he's had a phenomenal short career,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said. “He's just really a great, great quarterback, and he especially excels in their system. He's really good at operating their system.”His cast of cohorts makes it a relatively easy task.Tyreek Hill has put together three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, and he's caught at least one TD pass in five straight, highlighted by a 269-yard effort with three scores against Tampa Bay. Tight end Travis Kelce is riding a streak of 106 games with at least one catch and needs a mere 22 yards receiving to reach 1,000 for the fifth straight year.Throw in the recent return of Sammy Watkins from a hamstring injury, fellow wide receivers Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson, and running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire and LeVeon Bell, and you have a seemingly unstoppable offense.“Those guys are rolling,” Watkins said, “so I'm just trying to catch up to their speed. You got everybody moving so fast, I'm like, ‘I got to catch up.’ The offense is going to continue doing what they're doing. I'm just trying to add to it.”As if it needed any more help.“The guys believe in me just as much as I believe in him. You have to have that if you want to win these football teams against these great opponents,” Mahomes said. “You have to have total confidence in each other to know we're going to give whatever we have in order to win the game, no what what that is.”QUARTERBACK QUAGMIRELock will start the 14th game of his NFL career after missing his 14th game last week. Lock and his backup, Brett Rypien, returned to practice Wednesday, but the Broncos isolated practice squad veteran Blake Bortles as a precaution. They added Kyle Shurmur, the Chiefs’ former practice squad QB and son of Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, in case any of the Broncos’ quarterbacks tested positive for the coronavirus. “Drew's going to be motivated,” Broncos tight end Noah Fant said. “I’m expecting him to come out and do good things.”PLAYOFF PICTUREThe Chiefs can clinch a playoff berth with a win, losses by the Raiders, Ravens and Colts or a handful of other results in which they tie. More importantly, they can clinch their fifth consecutive AFC West title with a win and Raiders loss or tie, or if they tie and the Raiders lose to the winless Jets.UNFAIR FIGHTThe Broncos will face Hill and Co. without their best cornerback. Bryce Callahan was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury Wednesday. Rookie cornerback Essang Bassey is in line to start opposite A.J. Bouye in the secondary.KEEPING PACEThe Chiefs remain a game behind the unbeaten Steelers for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, which takes on even more importance this season with a lone first-round bye. But that doesn't mean the Chiefs are watching the standings quite yet.“I let the coaches take care of who we play and how we play,” Watkins said. “We just control what we control.”GETTING DEFENSIVEAfter a couple of shaky performances against Carolina and Las Vegas, the Chiefs' defense had one of its best games of the season against Tampa Bay. It picked off Brady twice and held the Buccaneers until some mop-up points late in the game.“They do a great job of bringing pressures,” Lock said. “All defenses do, but it just so happens the Chiefs do it really well.”