Broncos beat Chiefs 22-19 on Lutz's last-second field goal, extending win streak to 8 games

DENVER (AP) — Wil Lutz lined up for a 35-yard field goal to beat the Chiefs on Sunday and couldn't help but think back to last year at Kansas City, when his kick was blocked as time expired in the same situation.

“I was kind of like, shoot, here we are," said Lutz, who nailed the game-winner this time, his fifth field goal of the day, pushing the Denver Broncos past the Chiefs 22-19 for their eighth straight victory. “I've been waiting for a game like that.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton said last November's 16-14 heartbreaker at Arrowhead Stadium galvanized his team, which went on a 5-2 run to reach the playoffs, and Lutz concurred: “If you look back at the last year-and-a-half since that game, this team has come together and found ways to win close games.”

The Broncos (9-2) all but buried the Chiefs (5-5) in the AFC West, which Kansas City has won every year since 2016. Chiefs coach Andy Reid fell to 27-5 following a bye week, counting the playoffs and his time with Philadelphia.

“We've just got a resilient team that believes we're going to win, and at the end of the game when it's close, that belief goes a long way,” QB Bo Nix said after the Broncos improved to 7-2 in one-score games this season.

Nix set up the game-winning kick with a 32-yard strike to Troy Franklin that got Denver to the Kansas City 15 with under a minute remaining.

Patrick Mahomes gave Kansas City its only lead on a 21-yard touchdown toss to Travis Kelce — the veteran tight end's 84th career TD, one more than previous Chiefs franchise record-holder Priest Holmes. That put the Chiefs up 19-16, but Harrison Butker's extra point was blocked by Frank Crum.

The Broncos tied it at 19-all on Lutz's 54-yarder with 4:10 remaining.

Denver's defense forced Kansas City to go three-and-out when Ja'Quan McMillian sacked Mahomes on third-and-10 from the Chiefs 36. That was the second sack by McMillian, who also had six tackles, including two for loss, two quarterback hits, a pass breakup and an interception.

“Game ball,” Payton said.

The Broncos chewed up the final 2:59 by driving 58 yards in 10 plays. They won their 11th straight game at Empower Field, where they haven't lost since October 2024, and they beat KC here for the third consecutive time.

Kelce's TD followed a 46-yard pass-interference flag at the Denver 29 on cornerback Riley Moss on an underthrown pass from Mahomes to Hollywood Brown. That came on third-and-19. Moss said afterward he's going to wear boxing gloves at practice to break what's become his bad habit of grabbing defenders on deep throws.

The Broncos' eight-game winning streak is their longest since 2012, when Peyton Manning led Denver to 11 consecutive victories. As a result, the Chiefs' nine-year reign atop the AFC West is in jeopardy.

Jaleel McLaughlin, playing in place of injured starter J.K. Dobbins, who underwent season-ending foot surgery last week, bullied his way in from 4 yards out to break a 6-6 tie in the third quarter.

The Chiefs seized the momentum, however, when Mahomes found Tyquan Thornton for a 61-yard gain to the Denver 11. That set up Kareem Hunt's 2-yard run that tied it at 13. That was KC's first touchdown at Empower Field in 11 quarters.

A year after going 12-0 in one-score games, including the playoffs, the Chiefs are 0-5 in such situations this season.

“It sucks,” Mahomes said. “Don’t get me wrong. You got to feel that, but you got to be able to kind of use that energy to push it into the next week, into the rest of the season, and all you can focus on is the next game. You get another opportunity to go out there and prove yourself.

“We’ve been losing these close games recently, but we’ve played some good football in spurts,” Mahomes said. “It’s just about being more consistent, and until we go out there and do it, all you can do is just keep saying, keep practicing and getting better and better and push yourself to go out there and do it on game day.”

The Chiefs have won the division every year since 2016 but have their work cut out just to make the playoffs now, and the Los Angeles Chargers fell two games behind Denver, which hasn't won the division since 2015, thanks to their 35-6 loss at Jacksonville on Sunday.

“I just think about us,” Broncos edge rusher Jonathon Cooper said. “We're 9-2 going into the bye, get a chance to rest our bodies, get some people back, get some health going and just keep this momentum going into the playoffs.”

Chiefs: LG Kingsley Suamataia sustained a concussion.

Broncos: Rookie WR Pat Bryant was evaluated for a concussion after his 48-yard catch with 26 seconds left in the third quarter but returned. ... The Broncos were without CB Pat Surtain II (pectoral), ILB Alex Singleton (testicular cancer) and Dobbins (left foot).

Chiefs: Visit the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.

Broncos: After a bye, visit the Washington Commanders on Nov. 30.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian, right, sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the second half an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts after being sacked during the second half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos place kicker Wil Lutz (3) is congratulated by teammate Jarrett Stidham, right, after celebrates making a 35-yard field goal to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos place kicker Wil Lutz (3) makes a field goal during the first half an NFL football game Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Kansas City Chiefs place kicker Harrison Butker celebrates making a 31-yard field goal during the first half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix throws during the second half an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) calls a play during the first half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk's space exploration company has filed preliminary paperwork to sell shares to the public, according to two sources familiar with the filing, a blockbuster offering that would likely rank as the biggest ever and could make its founder the world's first trillionaire.

A SpaceX IPO promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street events of the year, with several investment banks lining up to help raise tens of billions to fund Musk's ambitions to set up a base on the moon, put datacenters the size of several football fields in orbit and possibly one day send a man to Mars.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the confidential registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SpaceX did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Exactly how much SpaceX plans to raise has not been disclosed but the figure is reportedly as much as $75 billion. At that level, the offering would easily eclipse the $29 billion that Saudi Aramco raised in its IPO in 2019.

The offering, coming possibly in June, could value all the shares of SpaceX at $1.5 trillion, nearly double what the company was valued in December when some minority owners sold their stakes, according to research firm Pitchbook, before an acquisition that increased its size.

Musk owns 42% of the SpaceX now, according to Pitchbook, though that figure will change with the IPO when new owners are issued shares. In any case, he is likely to pierce the trillion dollar mark because he is already close. Forbes magazine estimates Musk's net worth at roughly $823 billion.

In addition to making reusable rockets to hurl astronauts and hardware into orbit, SpaceX owns Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company. The company also recently brought under its roof two other Musk businesses, social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and artificial intelligence business, xAI, in a controversial transaction because both the seller and the buyer were controlled by him.

SpaceX has become the biggest commercial launch company in its industry, responsible for sending payloads into orbit for customers across the globe, but has also benefited from big taxpayer spending. That has raised conflicts of interest issues given that Musk was the biggest donor to President Donald Trump's campaign and is still a big backer.

In the past five years, SpaceX won $6 billion in contracts from NASA, the Defense Department and other U.S. government agencies, according to USAspending.gov.

Among current SpaceX owners is Donald Trump Jr, the president's oldest son. He owns a shares through 1789 Capital. That venture capital firm made him a partner shortly after his father won the presidency for a second time and has been buying up federal contractors seeking to win taxpayer money ever since.

The White House and Trump himself have repeatedly denied there are any conflicts of interest between his role as president and his family's businesses.

FILE - A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

FILE - Elon Musk attends the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)