Around the AFC West: Broncos gain ground, Chiefs and Chargers drop

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs suffered a bad loss at home to the Houston Texans on Sunday. There are recurring themes that have emerged the last few weeks. First, Patrick Mahomes has an ankle injury that when aggravated, causes problems. The run defense is terrible, allowing almost 200 yards in four straight weeks. The linebackers cannot tackle. The offensive line is problematic given injuries to Eric Fisher and Andrew Wylie. Sammy Watkins remains injured. The Chiefs cannot run the ball. There are a lot of concerning problems that are causing losses. I do not know what the answer is, but if they continue playing this way, they will continue to lose.

To try and bring a little light to a bad situation, Tyreek Hill returned and caught two touchdown passes. That was most definitely a boost to the offense.

On the injury front, the Chiefs remain without the following players: Eric Fisher, Chris Jones, Sammy Watkins, Anthony Hitchens, Dorian O’Daniel, Andrew Wylie, Xavier Williams. To make matters worse, Kendall Fuller fractured his thumb on Sunday and it does not appear that he will play on Thursday night.

The Chiefs travel to Denver on a short week to take on the Broncos. The Broncos are coming off a shut off win against the Titans. Their defense is playing with a purpose and their offensive running game looks good. That does not bode well for the Chiefs as they are injury riddled, can’t stop the run, and have a porous offensive line to protect a hobbled quarterback. The Chiefs are also historically pretty bad on Thursday night. Given that, I think it is likely that the Chiefs drop a close one to the Broncos.

Opening line odds for the Chiefs in Week 7: -4.0.

Game time is Thursday at 7:20 p.m.