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Chiefs vs. Broncos: The 7 most important storylines to follow

By Jordan Mannix

KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 28: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during the game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 28: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during the game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 13: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Denver Broncos throws against the Tennessee Titans in the third quarter at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on October 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Joe Flacco has regressed considerably

Joe Flacco has always been a perplexing case in the NFL. A product of the Delaware football program, a part of Division I-AA which is now known as FCS, Flacco was a pretty prolific passer in college. As such, he was highly rated coming out and drafted 18th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Over the next four years, Flacco would become a middle-of-the-pack quarterback, on average completing 61 percent of his passes for 3,454 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions per season. Most viewed him as a serviceable maybe even solid quarterback. Everything would change following the 2012 playoffs.

In those playoffs, Flacco would play absolutely out of his mind. Playing against some legitimately good teams in tough environments, including playing and beating Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the frosty winter weather of Foxborough, Flacco would throw for 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns, and zero interceptions en route to a Super Bowl win and a Super Bowl MVP award.

This playoff run changed the way Flacco was viewed, especially by his own team. Armed now with an incredibly impressive playoff run, Flacco entered the offseason and contract negotiations with some serious ammo. That resulted in him, at the time, signing the richest quarterback deal in the history of the NFL. He was the first quarterback to crack the $20 million per year mark.

The problem with this was his next six seasons, the length of the contract, he returned to more mediocre numbers. Over that timeframe he completed 63 percent of his passes for 3,435 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions per season. This wasn’t good enough and the Ravens decided to part ways after drafting Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

All this to say, here’s why he’s perplexing. He has never been an elite quarterback, yet at one point he was treated like one. Now, it’s painfully obvious he’s not elite and yet John Elway was quoted before the season as saying he believes Flacco is in the prime of his career. Honestly, with the sentiment coming from the Broncos fan base going into this season you would have thought a younger Peyton Manning had walked back through that door. Fortunately for Chiefs fans, this season hasn’t really played out that way.

Through 6 games Flacco is completing 66 percent of his passes for 239 yards, 1 touchdown and nearly an interception per game. This isn’t terrible production, but it’s far below what I’m sure the Broncos brass was expecting. Either way, Flacco doesn’t seem to be the answer and the Broncos may have found themselves in a bind with his remaining contract.

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