Broncos’ Will Lutz Shares Chilling Flashback He Had Before Walk-Off Kick vs Chiefs

When Denver Broncos kicker Will Lutz jogged onto the field for another 35-yarder against the Kansas City Chiefs, he already knew the storyline. One year after the Chiefs blocked his 35-yard game-winner, Lutz drilled this one as time expired to give Denver a 22-19 win, their eighth straight victory and a two-game AFC West lead.

Lutz admitted that the ghost of last season’s Arrowhead heartbreak was in his mind as he lined up the kick.

“Saw it the whole way out to the field,” Lutz said. “When you’re part of a loss like that, you don’t just forget about it. When I looked down and saw that we were on the line again, making a 35-yard field goal, I was kind of like, shoot, here we are.”

‘I’ve Been Waiting for a Game Like That’

Lutz didn’t just hit the walk-off. He was the Broncos’ offense for long stretches, going 5-for-5 on field goals, including a clutch 54-yarder late in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

“I’ve been waiting for a game like that,” he said. “We haven’t kicked a ton of field goals this year, which is not always a bad thing. It’s hard to get in a rhythm because we kick one or two field goals a game. I’ve been waiting for a game like that. It was nice to play a big part in it.”

He also pointed back to that blocked attempt in 2024 as a real pivot point for the locker room.

“I agree it was a turning point last year,” Lutz said. “I think we knew before that game last year that we had the right guys. It was never a question if we had the right guys in the locker room, it was just how are we going to respond.”

This season, Lutz has answered with multiple walk-offs — including a game-winner against the Houston Texans earlier this month — and called Sunday’s finish his third walk-off of the season, noting the “same length, similar situation” as the one that went wrong last year.

‘Special Teams Changed That Game’

Even after his own redemption moment, Lutz made it clear he saw this as a special teams win, not just a kicker win.

“Our special teams, we’ve accepted that challenge,” Lutz said. “We know we haven’t played up to par as a unit. We’ve been really good here and there, but we’ve made mistakes here and there as well.”

He said the first thing he did was find special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.

“The first thing I said to Rizzi as soon as I got in was special teams changed that game. Marv had a big return. Needed it. Kickoff coverage. Crawshaw flips the field when we needed it most.”

Marvin Mims Jr. jump-started Denver with a huge punt return, while rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw repeatedly flipped field position in a tight, penalty-filled game.

Lutz also shouted out the big man who swung the margin in Denver’s favor: offensive lineman Frank Crum, who blocked a Chiefs extra point after a Travis Kelce touchdown.

“We’ve got O-linemen blocking PATs,” Lutz said. “Frank Crum blocks a PAT that changes the game.”

That block kept the deficit at three instead of four, setting up Lutz to tie the game from 54 and then win it at the horn.

Bye Week ‘a Little Sweeter’ After Broncos’ AFC West Statement

Lutz also contrasted Sunday’s calm strike with last week’s windy struggle, when he admitted he “didn’t put a good kick on it” in brutal conditions. This time, he said, the fourth-quarter direction “set up nice,” with enough help from the wind to let him swing freely.

“It wasn’t a calm night by any means, but there was some help going that way,” Lutz said. “I was just grateful to play a larger part in a game. I think our field goal unit, the O-line blocking up front would agree with that.”

With the victory, the Broncos sit at 9-2, riding an eight-game win streak and sitting two games clear in the AFC West heading into their bye. Lutz summed up what that means in the locker room: “It makes the bye week a little sweeter.”

Denver will come out of the break with a prime-time road matchup against the Washington Commanders on November 30, carrying both the division lead and the confidence that their kicker has finally buried last year’s Chiefs nightmare.

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