Broncos’ Alex Forsyth after Chiefs block game-winning field goal attempt: “I have to be stouter”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wil Lutz thought the ball felt good off his foot.

The Broncos kicker will never know for sure.

Denver had the game on his foot — and in the care of the field goal protection group — and saw a certain win vanish in a flash of red.

Instead of a defining win, the Broncos suffered a crusher of a 16-14 loss here Sunday when Lutz’s 35-yard walk-off field goal attempt got blocked.

“It didn’t go in,” Lutz said. “That was my vantage point.”

Kansas City linebacker Leo Chenal stormed through the left side of Denver’s line as part of an overload rush. The Chiefs had five defenders lined up to the left of Broncos long-snapper Mitchell Fraboni compared to three on the right.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton said after the game he hadn’t seen the replay and all he knew was, “They got pressure off the left side.”

Chenal and linebacker Jack Cochrane blasted over reserve center Alex Forsyth, Chenal stretched out and swallowed up the Broncos’ hopes of ending the Chiefs’ unbeaten start.

“I have to be stouter,” Forysth told The Denver Post. “They had four guys on that side. But it didn’t surprise us. I have to be stouter.”

In the stunned, ringing silence of the visiting locker room, Lutz and many others struggled to find words to describe the sting.

“Nothing will make you feel better about this situation,” Lutz said. “I’ve been a part of some tough losses but this one takes the cake.”

Lutz and the Broncos field goal unit had converted on all nine field goal attempts inside 40 yards this season and had hit 32 of 33 since the start of 2023 when he arrived to the Broncos.

The lone miss: A block by Chiefs safety Justin Reid off the left edge in Denver’s Week 8 win last year.

The Broncos still won that game.

This one came down to the field goal unit at the end after a masterful offensive drive and a stout defensive effort.

“Felt like we outplayed them, but we didn’t finish,” Payton said. “We had an opportunity to right at the end. Kind of controlled the ball and we’ve got to be able to finish.

“That one will take a while. It will sting.”

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