The Chiefs’ Kingdom came tumbling down, a football dynasty crushed by an orange wrecking ball.

What we saw Sunday, when the Broncos beat Kansas City 22-19, was more than the biggest win in 10 years for a franchise that not only needed to revamp its roster, but rebuild a city’s faith.

And a thrilled congregation of 75,911 at Empower Field witnessed something felt like new history in the making:

The slaying of the NFL’s big red menace.

Maybe more important to long-suffering Broncomaniacs, it felt like a welcome new era of football in Denver.

“To be the best you’ve got to beat the best,” Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said. 

When kicker Wil Lutz lined up for a 35-yard field goal on the final snap of the fourth quarter, teammate Nik Bonitto knew what everybody in Denver was thinking, because he was haunted by the same horrible memory of a victory that got away last November in Kansas City.

“I still kinda had PTSD,” said Bonitto, admitting he hugged a teammate on the sideline because he was too afraid to watch Lutz do his thing under pressure.

But this time, instead of hearing an ugly thud, Denver players soaked in the roar of their home crowd as Lutz drilled his clutch kick between the uprights and straight through the heart of the Chiefs.

The pain that gnawed at Bonitto had more than 365 days to subside. And the memory of how Kansas City beat Denver in 2024, when Chiefs linebacker Leo Chanel blocked a 35-yard field goal by Lutz as the scoreboard clock expired, is a scar that can now be worn like a badge of honor by the Broncos.

“It was a learning experience,” said Courtland Sutton, whose 20-yard catch on third-and-long felt like the make-or-break moment of Denver’s game-winning drive.

Shortly after Sutton came up big, teammate Troy Franklin brought the hammer down. When an official turned a blind eye as Franklin got away with a little push against a defender with a long pass from Nix in the air, he came down with a 32-yard reception deep into K.C. territory that could make you believe maybe the Chiefs don’t always get bailed out by the refs any longer.

Yes, for die-hards in Colorado, this rivalry had been irritating, frustrating and infuriating. The triumvirate of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, coach Andy Reid and tight end Travis Kelce won all the trophies and even managed to steal a pop diva’s heart, for what seemed like forever.

But nothing in the NFL lasts forever.

The red sun is slowly setting in the AFC West, as new stars come out in the Rocky Mountains.

With a 9-2 record and a three-game lead over Kansas City in the standings, the Broncos and Chiefs alike know what the score is now.

“It’s going to be tough to get back in the division race,” said Mahomes, now more concerned about sneaking K.C. through the back door to the playoff party. 

It might be going too far to suggest the emperor has no clothes.

But the Denver defense undressed Mahomes, leaving him naked and exposed in the fourth quarter.

When it mattered most, Nix broke out of a slump that had attracted the ire of detractors on the internet and outplayed Mahomes.

“If you’re talking (bleep) about Bo online, you’re a coward. Absolute coward,” Denver tight end Adam Troutman said.

“We don’t care what other people think. We know what we have in the building and we know what (Nix) is made of. We don’t really care what people have to say, so Dragonslayer with his 7-Eleven Slurpee in his mom’s basement, I don’t give a (bleep) what he has to say, right? And Bo doesn’t, either.”

Nix rallied teammates from a 16-13 deficit Denver faced entering the final period.

Denver, as we have learned during the course of this season, almost never does anything nice and easy. The Broncos prefer games that are nice and rough. That’s how they roll.

“It gets our adrenaline going, the gotta-have-it situations,” Franklin said, “It’s almost like a rush.”

With the score tied at 19 apiece and four minutes, 10 seconds remaining in regulation, Mahomes had huddled the Chiefs 74 yards from the Denver end zone.

I’ve made the case that he rivals Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the GOAT, the best who has ever played quarterback in this league.

Denver, however, aggressively hunts that greatness, and does so without fear or hesitation.

“You’ve got to get in chase mode,” Broncos nose tackle Malcolm Roach said. “Keep running (after Mahomes) until you hit a crowd and get a whistle.”

And this time, with the biggest game played in Denver during the last 10 years on the line, the Broncos made Mahomes look mortal.

On third-and-long, Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph dialed up a cornerback blitz, sending Ja’Quan McMillian on an ambush from Mahomes’ blind side.

The GOAT never knew what hit him.

McMillian undressed Mahomes with a sack on what proved to be the Chiefs’ last offensive snap of the game.

“I jumped in the air, either to bat that ball down or get a sack,” McMillian said. “But he wasn’t getting that ball off.”

The will of the Broncos fell on Mahomes and the K.C. dynasty like a ton of orange bricks.

Pretenders or frauds no more, Denver is as for real as it gets.

Sorry, Chiefs.

Your kingdom’s done.