Winners and Losers From the KC Chiefs' Week 6 Victory Over the Denver Broncos

In the Chiefs' fifth victory of the 2023 campaign, multiple players stood out for both good and bad reasons alike.

The Kansas City Chiefs have won their fifth game in a row after dropping the season opener, also extending their streak over the Denver Broncos to 16 games on Thursday night.

It wasn't a very pretty win for Kansas City, as the offense contributed just one offensive touchdown all night long. On the other side of the ball, however, the defense was stellar and completely shut down what has been a solid Denver offense this year. Through six weeks, Kansas City is 5-1 and has an already commanding lead in the AFC West with two more intra-division games coming up. 

With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the sixth week of the NFL season.

Winners: Travis Kelce and Harrison Butker

Harrison Butker and Travis Kelce got dedicated sections in my postgame takeaways piece, but they deserve some more love here. The former hauled in all nine of his targets for catches and contributed 124 yards to the win, which was 52 more than the next-closest Chiefs receiver. The latter extended his consecutive made field goals streak to 14 this season, including a 60-yard boot that could have been drained from 65 yards or longer. Both players stepped up and helped put the team in good positions despite some inconsistent offensive output elsewhere. 

Loser: Patrick Mahomes

It's been a very weird season for Patrick Mahomes, as the two-time NFL MVP hasn't found his form through six games even with some high moments mixed in. His raw stat line from Thursday's win — 75% completion, 306 yards and a touchdown — is fine, but he had another ugly interception and missed open receivers several times on the evening. It's hard to nitpick too much given the win, although Mahomes will be the first player to admit that he needs to be better. 

Winner: Rashee Rice

The Chiefs' second-round rookie, wide receiver Rashee Rice, continues to receive notable targets and reps on offense early in his first year on the job. Against the Broncos, he set a new career-best mark with 72 receiving yards and had an impressive 55 yards after the catch. Rice's ability to find open space, be efficient in his movements and gain chemistry with Mahomes is a positive development for the Kansas City offense. He's earned more and more snaps, which is a sentiment that head coach Andy Reid agrees with.

Losers: Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (again)

With the emergence of Rice turning into a legitimate thing, so has the underwhelming production from Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Moore had two catches for 22 yards on Thursday and was fine overall, yet it still left many wanting more (no pun intended) from a volume standpoint. Valdes-Scantling's nightmare 2023 season continued when he didn't register a single catch on just one target. Neither player is having a breakout and with the dynamic of the room set to potentially change, their time to prove themselves is running thin. 

Winner: Trent McDuffie

Second-year cornerback Trent McDuffie suffered a minor ankle injury during Thursday's game, but he returned shortly after he rolled it and continued to look great in coverage. To cap off the night, he delivered a hit on Samaje Perine that led to a game-clinching fumble recovery for the home team. After being sticky in coverage as a rookie but not making a ton of plays on the football, the 2022 first-round pick is making several efforts to do so in his sophomore campaign. 

Loser: Fancy play-calling

Reid is undoubtedly one of the most creative and brilliant offensive minds the game has ever seen, but he also has some plays that simply don't work out and likely need to be shelved. He tried out a few different looks against the Denver defense that didn't go as planned, including a play with Clyde Edwards-Helaire at fullback and even a direct snap, read option-style play with wideout Kadarius Toney. The Chiefs' control of the game gave them some leeway to experiment and no turnovers were committed, so crisis was averted when the plays broke down. That doesn't mean they need to become recurring wrinkles of a game plan moving forward, though. 

Winner: George Karlaftis

Despite dealing with a hamstring injury that limited him in practice during the week, second-year defensive end George Karlaftis had a quality game in Week 6. Recording half a sack and batting down a pair of passes, the Purdue product impacted the action on multiple possessions. Pro Football Focus credits him with four quarterback pressures on the night, which was a reflection of his burst and couple of quick wins even while hindered a bit. 

Losers: Complementary pass rushers

Charles Omenihu is eligible to come off the suspension list now that six games have been played, which is good news for the Chiefs' pass rush. With that said, it's naturally bad news for players on the outside looking in regarding the defensive line rotation. Omenihu's inside-outside versatility means veterans such as Tershawn Wharton and Malik Herring will be affected, and rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah could also lose snaps. It's a win for the team as a whole, albeit a loss for some individual players' respective workloads. 

Read More: Chiefs’ Offense Remains One of the NFL's Better Units Despite Slow Start