Reviews and Previews – AFC West To The Chiefs?

Dec 20, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) looks on after turning the ball over on downs against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Heinz Field. The Steelers won the game 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Winter is officially here and the snow is falling in Colorado. You know what else is falling here? The Broncos’ AFC West title hopes.

Pretty much all of my coworkers and friends are down in the dumps this Christmas because their team can’t find a way to hold on and win games that they control at half time. Denver is finding it difficult to make the necessary adjustments to build on leads in the second half.

For the third straight game, Denver has failed to score points in the third and fourth quarters. It would be easy to point out that Osweiler has limitations. We know that already, but he is good enough to lead this team deep into the playoffs. The real issue here is an issue that we used to see in Chiefs’ games from more often. The Broncos are not running the ball well.

The past two weeks the Broncos have run the ball less than 20 times each game while Osweiler is throwing more than 40 times. That is not a recipe for success with a young quarterback. We’ve seen this in Kansas City right? Remember when our head coach had no idea that Jamaal Charles had only 10 touches the entire game? These losses are on Gary Kubiak, and if they give up the AFC West lead, then that will be on him too.

Last week, Chiefs’ ESPN correspondent Adam Teicher suggested that for Kansas City to get its first playoff win in 22 years, the Chiefs do not want to win the AFC West. I understand that it would be a nice comfort to go on the road to face a “bad” AFC South champion in Houston, Jacksonville or Indianapolis.

However, I believe that the Chiefs may be the most balanced team in the entire NFL. A balanced team will beat one that is as imbalanced as the Denver Broncos. If the Chiefs win the AFC West, then most likely the Chiefs will be the third seed facing the sixth seed and at home. The No. 6 seed would be Denver since they lost to Pittsburgh this past week. Denver looks vulnerable and definitely beatable this entire season. I would argue that the Chiefs would have a better matchup at home against Denver than on the road at Houston.

Next: Going over Week 15 in the West