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Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Kansas City Chiefs backup Matt Moore stepped in for injured starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes and led the team to a dominant win in Denver over the Broncos on Thursday Night Football. Moore completed 10 of 19 passes for 117 yards and a score in the 30-6 win at Empower Field at Mile High. Mahomes sustained a knee injury in the second quarter during a quarterback sneak.
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"Excited for the win, division opponent, road game, all things that are hard to do," Moore told reporters. "At the same time, a guy like Patrick gets hurt. It can be deflating. Obviously, he's a huge part of this team, huge part of the league. You just hate to see that."
The Chiefs (5-2) sacked Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco nine times in the win. Denver and Kansas City combined for just 476 total yards.
The Broncos (2-5) scored on the game's opening drive, with Royce Freeman reaching the end zone on a 3-yard rushing touchdown -- but failed to convert a 2-point conversion, resulting in a 6-0 lead.
Mahomes led an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive on the Chiefs' first possession, hitting rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman on a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs a 7-6 edge. Harrison Butker made two consecutive field goals before the Chiefs took control of the game in the second quarter.
Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens sacked Flacco and forced a fumble in the quarter, which was recovered by Reggie Ragland and returned for a 5-yard score, opening the Chiefs' lead to 20-6.
Moore found Tyreek Hill for a 57-yard score in the third quarter for the final touchdown of the game. Butker hit his third field goal in the fourth frame, converting on a 39-yard try.
"It's disappointing to not be ultimately competitive out there -- we were competitive for a while. That was 13-6 there for a while in lieu of the field position they had," Broncos coach Vic Fangio said. "You're not going to win many games 2-of-14 on third down, and they scored a defensive touchdown. That's an uphill battle."
Hitchens, Frank Clark and Alex Okafor each recorded two sacks in the win. Ragland, Emmanuel Ogbah and Armani Watts also recorded sacks for the Chiefs. Mahomes completed 10 of 11 passes for 76 yards and a score before leaving the game. Flacco completed 21 of 34 passes for 213 yards in the loss.
"We knew [Flacco] would hold onto the ball a little longer than other quarterbacks, but we were just going out there and doing what we do best," Ragland said. "We are just doing what got us here, what got us in this situation and what got us into the league. Just playing football and having fun, that's the main thing. You can't do too much. Just have fun with it, and that's what we did."
Both teams return to action Oct. 27. The Chiefs will host the Green Bay Packers at 8:20 p.m. EDT at Arrowhead Stadium and the Broncos travel to battle the Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium.
