Nathaniel Hackett is gone. Now the Broncos (4-11) are looking to finish out their season on a positive note. Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver takes on the Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
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Fourth-quarter updates
No fourth-quarter magic (2:05 p.m.): Denver's offense couldn't capitalize on its final offensive drive and snap its 14-game losing streak to Kansas City. The Chiefs forced fourth-and-2 on Denver's 45-yard line. Russell Wilson was sacked. — Joe Nguyen
Russ' runnin' (1:50 p.m.): Russell Wilson ran in his second touchdown of the game, a 4-yard scramble to the right side, to cut the Chiefs' lead to 27-24.
This is the third time in Wilson's career that the QB has rushed for at least two touchdowns. His first time since Sept. 22, 2019. — Joe Nguyen
Saved by the penalty (1:45 p.m.): Russell Wilson appeared to have thrown another interception on fourth down, but the Chiefs get pegged for illegal hands to the face to bail No. 3 out and give Denver a first down. — Kyle Newman
Deficit grows (1:35 p.m.): Patrick Mahomes tosses another TD pass to Jerick McKinnon, this one for three yards, and the Chiefs pull ahead 27-17. Now Wilson is going to have to air it out to get the Broncos back in the game. The makeshift, banged-up offensive line has not done well in these pass-heavy situations over the past month. — Kyle Newman
Bad pass (1:29 p.m.): Russell Wilson throws an ill-advised interception to L'Jarius Sneed, who runs it back deep into Denver territory. The game has shifted quickly over the past couple plays with Mahomes' TD pass and now Wilson's INT. — Kyle Newman
Another lead change (1:26 p.m.): First play of the fourth quarter: Patrick Mahomes 17-yard TD pass to Blake Bell. The fourth lead change of the day puts KC back in front, 20-17. — Kyle Newman
Third-quarter analysis — Broncos 17, Chiefs 13
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Broncos lead, Chiefs threatening. Imagine if this game meant something beyond Kansas City's playoff positioning. Even still, a stingy effort from Denver so far. Now, can they actually finish the job and put the 14-game losing streak to Kansas City to bed?
Mark Kiszla, columnist: Chiefs are a better football team than the Broncos. But maybe not as much better as their 14-game winning streak would suggest. Can see KC overcoming 17-13 deficit over Broncos to win this game. Don't see Chiefs winning the Super Bowl in February.
Kyle Newman, beat writer: Broncos lead 17-13. Can the fort hold? It would be the franchise's biggest win this year, and one of the biggest wins since Super Bowl 50. Russell Wilson will need to play a critical part; he can't put the onus solely on the defense.
Third-quarter updates
Sutton's incredible catch called off (1:18 p.m.): Courtland Sutton came down with an incredible 40-yard catch against double coverage. A questionable offensive pass interference call brought it back. — Joe Nguyen
The pass interference call on Courtland Sutton that negated a 44-yard catch on third down looked … thin. — Kyle Newman
Broncos defense stands tall (1:13 p.m.): Building on the offense's momentum, the Broncos defense forced a three-and-out on the Chiefs' next drive. Denver will begin with the ball on its own 16-yard line after the punt. — Joe Nguyen
Albert O. sighting (1:09 p.m.): The Broncos marched 63 yards on six plays, capped off by a 25-yard Russell Wilson touchdown pass to Albert Okwuegbunam. Broncos retake the lead, 17-13. — Joe Nguyen
Albert Okwuegbunam reels in his first TD of the year, a 25-yard catch, and the Broncos lead 17-13 midway through the third quarter. Justin Outten and his assistants are going nuts up in the box. If the Chiefs keep letting the Broncos hang around, the Arrowhead crowd might be in for a big letdown. — Kyle Newman
Big run (1:05 p.m.): The Broncos' run game had been stagnant until that last play. Latavius Murray rumbled down the middle for a 19-yard gain. He followed it up with a 5-yard gain on the next play. — Joe Nguyen
Dalton Risner injury (1:04 p.m.): Left guard Dalton Risner is now out of the game, with Quinn Bailey in as his substitute. A banged up Broncos offensive line just keeps taking shots. — Matt Schubert
Risner is questionable to return with an elbow injury. — Kyle Newman
Three-and-out (12:48 p.m.): Three-and-out for Kansas City to start the second half gives the Broncos a chance to take the lead on their first possession of the third quarter. — Matt Schubert
Halftime analysis — Chiefs 13, Broncos 10
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: The Fightin' Rosburgs are in it. Russell Wilson moved into third place all-time in QB rushing yards with a 16-yard TD scamper and the Broncos survived a strip sack of Wilson and brilliant throw from Patrick Mahomes by blocking a field goal attempt. Chiefs get the ball to start the third quarter. If Denver's defense gets a stop, the masses at Arrowhead will start to get a little nervous.
Mark Kiszla, columnist: Broncos head to locker room down only 13-10. Maybe Nathaniel Hackett really was the problem. Kudos to the effort of the Fighting Rosburgs.
Kyle Newman, beat writer: Broncos have gotten some gifts this half and are down 13-10. They'll need some more gifts in the second half, plus a couple more takeaways, to snap the 14-game slide to KC.
Second-quarter updates
Missed field goal (12:31 p.m.): Trent McDuffie forced the strip sack of Russell Wilson, then fellow rookie George Karlaftis jumped on it. Patrick Mahomes immediately dumped a 27-yard pass to Justin Watson, but Harrison Butker's 51-yard attempt was partially blocked. Chiefs lead 13-10 at the half. — Kyle Newman
Stalled drive (12:24 p.m.): And just as it looks like the Broncos could go into halftime with the score tied, the Chiefs get a strip sack of Russell Wilson that ends the threat. — Matt Schubert
Damarri Mathis injury (12:20 p.m.): Damarri Mathis ruled out for the rest of the game with a concussion; he was replaced at cornerback by Lamar Jackson opposite PS2. — Kyle Newman
Chiefs retake lead (12:18 p.m.): Andy Reid dials up a perfectly timed screen pass to Jerick McKinnon, resulting in a six-yard TD pass and swinging the lead back to the Chiefs, 13-10. Russell Wilson is going to have to do a lot more than scramble for a TD after getting gifted a red zone possession to win this one. — Kyle Newman
Russ with the score (12:03 p.m.): Eric Saubert recovers a fumble on punt return thanks to a strip by Alex Singleton, and the next play, Russell Wilson runs for a 16-yard TD. Broncos now leading, 10-6. — Kyle Newman
Can't capitalize on offense. But special teams… (12:01 p.m.): The Denver offense ran six plays for 21 yards on that subsequent drive that forced a punt. But the special teams crew forced a fumble on the punt return and recovered it on the Chiefs' 16-yard line. — Joe Nguyen
Justin Simmons' interception (11:54 a.m.): Broncos safety Justin Simmons nabbed his sixth interception of the season, this one by picking off a Patrick Mahomes pass in the end zone. He just set his career high for interceptions in a season and he now moves into sole possession of No. 8 most all-time in franchise history, ahead of Louis Wright and three behind Dennis Smith with 27. — Joe Nguyen
After Brandon McManus' field goal, Justin Simmons picked off Patrick Mahomes in the end zone, then put his hand to his hear and looked at the KC crowd in celebration. It's 6-3 and the Broncos offense showed life last drive. We've got ourselves a ballgame! — Kyle Newman
That's Justin Simmons' fourth career interception against the Kansas City Chiefs and his sixth pick of the season. — Matt Schubert
On the board (11:46 a.m.): Denver had 14 plays for 48 yards on that last drive, capped off by a 49-yard field goal by Brandon McManus. Chiefs 6, Broncos 3. — Joe Nguyen
Fourth-down conversion (11:38 a.m.): The Broncos converted on fourth-and-inches on Russell Wilson's sneak to keep their drive going. — Joe Nguyen
First-quarter analysis — Chiefs 6, Broncos 0
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Broncos' production is better this week than last in at least one department: They forced a punt. Patrick Mahomes' knee is something to watch, too, after he came up limping at the end of the Chiefs' last drive.
Mark Kiszla, columnist: 6-nil Chiefs. Can we count this as moral victory? Jerry Rosburg is best Broncos HC since Vic Fangio.
Kyle Newman, beat writer: Broncos are hanging tough. If Mahomes is any way hampered by that knee, maybe underdog Denver has an outside chance of making this interesting.
First-quarter updates
Promising drive (11:35 a.m.): A promising drive has the Broncos at midfield as the first quarter comes to an end. Play caller Justin Outten with a nice play call on third down to Jerry Jeudy in motion across the backfield. — Matt Schubert
Another punt (11:22 a.m.): Slightly better second drive for the Broncos. They opened with a first down after a short pass to Courtland Sutton and a 4-yard run by Latavius Murray. But the result was the same, Denver still had to punt. — Joe Nguyen
First strike (11:15 a.m.): That didn't take long: Chiefs march 65-yards to take a 6-0 lead, but operations go wrong on the extra point. 5:42 left in opening quarter. — Kyle Newman
Travis Kelce's big day (11:12 a.m.): Travis Kelce is already priming for a big day with two catches so far, including one for a fourth-down conversion. — Kyle Newman
Three and out (11:06 a.m.): New head coach, same results. Quick three-and-out to start the game. — Joe Nguyen
Russell Wilson targets Albert Okwuegbunam on third down but it's incomplete and the Broncos quickly go three-and-out to punt the ball to Patrick Mahomes & Co.
Not a great first drive for Justin Outten in his debut as the Broncos' play-caller. — Kyle Newman
Coin toss (11 a.m.): Chiefs win the toss and will defer. Broncos to start with the ball on offense. — Joe Nguyen
Pregame updates
New playcaller (10:57 a.m.): Denver's rolling out its third play caller of the season. NFL Network reported pregame that offensive coordinator Justin Outten will call plays for the Broncos today. Interim HC Jerry Rosburg this week intimated that they may shake up the offensive roles. Before Outten, QB coach Klint Kubiak called plays for six weeks after former head coach Nathaniel Hackett gave up duties after a November loss at Tennessee.
Rosburg made the decision to go with Outten as the primary play-caller on Wednesday, per a source. Broncos looking for an offensive spark down the stretch. Outten's been helping coordinate Denver's run game in recent weeks. Will be interesting to see how heavily they rely on it this afternoon. — Parker Gabriel
Inactives (9:33 a.m.): Denver will be without a couple of key defensive contributors against the Chiefs as both outside linebacker Baron Browning and defensive lineman D.J. Jones are inactive. Browning's been dealing with a back injury and Jones a knee issue.
Interim head coach Jerry Rosburg, a longtime special teams coordinator, is also making a change at returner. Rookie wide receiver Montrell Washington is inactive Sunday, too.
The rest of Denver's inactives: Offensive lineman Calvin Anderson (ankle), wide receiver Freddie Swain, newly acquired running back Tyler Badie and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano.
Losing Browning and Jones for the week puts Denver down four major contributors since last week as Randy Gregory and Greg Dulcich were put on injured reserve in recent days. One piece of good news for the Broncos: Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is active after being limited this week with an ankle injury. — Parker Gabriel
Scouting report (9 a.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Chiefs in Kyle Newman's scouting report.
Post predictions
Mark Kiszla, columnist: Chiefs 31, Broncos 17
I'd like to believe the firing of Nathaniel Hackett could send a big enough shock wave through the Denver locker room to fire up the Broncos against a division rival. But every time I try to take a glass half-full approach to this team, I get half a glass of bourbon on the rocks thrown back in my face. Make it 15 losses in a row to the Chiefs. And counting.
Kyle Newman, beat writer: Chiefs 38, Broncos 14
Jerry Rosburg is about to get a rude introduction by Kansas City in his debut as Denver's interim head coach. Russell Wilson throws at least two more picks, proving that the problem wasn't necessarily Nathaniel Hackett. And the gassed, worn-out Denver defense is no match for the juggernaut K.C. offense that's caught fire in December.
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Chiefs 34, Broncos 13
This has all the makings of a blowout. Not only are the Chiefs the superior team across the board, but they need to win to stay in position to potentially get the AFC's top seed. Not only that, but they watched just three weeks ago as a 27-point lead against the Broncos dwindled quickly and nearly evaporated. Kansas City hasn't been unbeatable this year and the defense has struggled at times, but they've got all the motivation in the world to start fast and keep the accelerator to the floor.
Broncos-Chiefs NFL Week 17: Must reads
It's been a bizarre few days for Denver defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
One day after his defense got ripped for the first time this season, head coach Nathaniel Hackett, among his best friends, got fired.
Then, on Tuesday, general manager George Paton and CEO Greg Penner sang Evero's praises in a news conference and said they'd like to interview him for the head coaching position.
That doesn't mean Evero is a favorite for the job — he'd be a fourth consecutive first-time head coach after three straight failures in that department and this is his first year as a coordinator — but it does reiterate what's become clear over the course of the season: Evero's star is on the rise in the NFL. Read the full story. — Parker Gabriel
In a bad year for the Broncos, linebacker Alex Singleton has had a fruitful 2022.
Signed to a one-year deal in March as perhaps a third inside linebacker, he has instead emerged as Denver's leading tackler. Not only has he posted a third consecutive season of 100-plus tackles — the past two with Philadelphia — but he's put himself in a position to land the first multi-year contract of his NFL career. Read the full story. — Parker Gabriel
: CBS 
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