A day after the toughest defeat in his two seasons with the Broncos, Sean Payton said, “The sky is not falling.”

No, it isn’t. But the coach seems determined to make sure the sky won’t be teetering anytime soon for the Broncos (5-5), who remain in solid position to make the playoffs.

The Broncos lost 16-14 at Kansas City on Sunday when Wil Lutz’s chip-shot field-goal attempt of 35 yards was blocked on the final play. And on Monday, the process had begun to fix what went wrong.

“They exploited an area that we obviously felt was fixed and stronger, but not fixed enough,’’ Payton said.

On the block, the Chiefs, who remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team at 9-0, attacked the left side of Denver’s line with abandon. Several players got through. It was linebacker Leo Chenal who got the block after barreling over 6-foot-4, 312-pound offensive lineman Alex Forsyth.

The left side of the line featured, from right to left, guard Quinn Meinerz, tackle Mike McGlinchey, Forsyth, lined up at the tight end spot, and Matt Peart, lined up at the wing. After Sunday’s game, Chenal talked about a weakness in Denver’s protection he had perceived.

“I kind of knew the guy who I was rushing, he was kind of light on his toes a little bit and I was kind of getting a bit (of a) bull rush in so it was just trying to take advantage of it,’’ Chenal said of manhandling Forsyth, who’s in his second season.

Payton was asked Monday about what Chenal said about Forsyth, who was the team’s starting center for four games when Luke Wattenberg was out with an ankle injury before returning against the Chiefs.

“They felt like they had an indication relative to how (Forsyth’s) weight was balanced,’’ Payton said. “All of that is game planning, scouting and then it’s (on) us coaching and looking at the self-scout.”

Payton said the blocked field goal “isn’t on the player” and is “on all of us” and “on us as coaches.” Peart’s blocking on the play also has been called into question since he took a step outside rather than to the inside to help close the gap Chenal ended up going through.

“We’re constantly each week making corrections,’’ Payton said. “Not just with the field-goal unit, (but) with the offense, with a certain protection and with a certain coverage. When something like (the blocked field goal) happens, it could be a trick play, or it could be whatever. It’s pretty common for the team that had success with it to say, ‘Hey we saw (something).’ Credit them for that.

“I read all the comments afterwards, and I think that it’s tough to lose a game that way. … We’ve got to continue to look at, ‘Hey, are we big enough stature-wise there for that?’ And understanding how the rush was coming. It’s disappointing, and yet it’s not something that’s new when a big play is made at the end of a game.”

Payton compared the Chiefs looking for advantages to the Broncos scouting a cornerback who is “jumping on an out-and-up” and they “feel like he’s back on his heels.”

Despite the loss, entering Sunday’s home game against Atlanta (6-4), the Broncos remain in the No. 7 spot in the AFC playoff race. Seven teams will make it. Denver is one game ahead of both Indianapolis (4-6) and Cincinnati (4-6) and play host to the Colts on Dec. 15 and are on the road against the Bengals on Dec. 28 or 29.

“There’s a lot ahead obviously,’’ Payton said. “We have (seven) games left. I think this team has been resilient. The sky isn’t falling relative to our season and the schedule. We’re sitting here at 5-5. Obviously, we’d have loved to have been 6-4 with a win (Sunday), but the focus (is) just quickly to the next game.

“I like the leadership on this team. It’s an entirely different team than a year ago. It’s mentally and physically. We have to have a good week of practice here coming up for Atlanta.”

Denver had lost 41-10 at Baltimore but bounced back to play the two-time defending champions to a near standstill. Tight end Adam Trautman said Monday the Broncos must take a similar approach to “flush” their latest loss the way they did last week.

“We got destroyed by Baltimore,’’ Trautman said. “It was an embarrassing loss and we come right back to (play) the back-to-back Super Bowls champions. Obviously, we thought we played really well and we just weren’t able to finish it. But it just kind of shows the bounce back that this team shows. … You probably almost feel a little bit better after this one because you know you played well. … Obviously, it was an unfortunate ending, but we feel good going into the rest of the year.”

Of Denver’s five wins this season, none has come over a team that currently has a winning mark and the combined record of those foes is 15-34. But the Broncos, after losses to AFC heavyweights Baltimore and Kansas City, get another chance to beat a strong team when they face the Falcons, who lead the NFC South.

“We’ve got seven (games) left in the season and we got to make the most of those seven (games) if we honestly want to be a playoff team and we know that we’re capable,’’ said linebacker Justin Strnad.

During his two seasons with the Broncos, Payton has had some other tough losses. But he’s also had some exhilarating wins, including 10-9 at the New York Jets in Week 4, when Greg Zuerlein, one of the best long-range kickers in NFL history, missed a potential 50-yard winning attempt in the final minute.

Payton said after Sunday’s game the Broncos “outplayed” the Chiefs before falling short. He told his players that such things often have a way of evening out in the NFL.

“You tell them, ‘Hey, that’s going to happen periodically in your career,’’’ Payton said. “You hope that you have a few of those games that maybe you thought that you didn’t deserve to win that you did win. You have to bounce back either way.”