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

The Chiefs offensive line will have one less pass rusher to contend with

The Chiefs offensive line has struggled, to say the least, the last few weeks. Patrick Mahomes, who sprained his ankle in the Week 1 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, has re-aggravated his injury every game for the past three weeks. Without question, he looks like a different quarterback every time it happens.

Usually with a trip to Mile High looming and the offensive line’s impending contest against the likes of Von Miller, Chiefs coaches and players would be primarily focused on protecting the quarterback. That might not be the case this Thursday.

I’d like to say first and foremost that any time an opposing player is injured that it’s unfortunate. That really should go without saying. Bradley Chubb is a great player and it’s sad for him, for his family, and ultimately for the Denver Broncos that he will miss the rest of his second season due to an ACL tear. We here at Arrowhead Addict wish him nothing but a speedy and full recovery.

That said, this undoubtedly takes some pressure off of an ailing offensive line that has had a rough stretch this season. As I mentioned before, outside of the seven sacks they got against a very poor offensive unit, the Broncos defense has struggled to create pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Here,  they will be missing one of their best pass rushers. Hopefully Mahomes can go the whole game without re-aggravating that ankle injury, and maybe put the injury behind him for the rest of the season.

The Chiefs receiving corp should be near its full strength

If we’re being realistic, this is an offensive team. The one thing they do that is better than everyone else can be found on offense. They have the best quarterback. They have the best group of skill players. They have the best offensive play caller.

I’m making this point because through the first six weeks, it seems all we’ve been talking about is the defense. We seem to forget this offense carried a historically bad defense to within a few inches of the Super Bowl. Yes, the NFL has discovered a more effective way to defend the Chiefs, but again, they’ve been short handed.

Tyreek Hill only played 29 snaps in the game against the Texans. What did he do with those snaps? He absolutely dominated, recording 5 catches for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. When were the Texans corners playing tight man coverage on Hill? Few times and far between, because you simply can’t do that to Hill on a consistent basis and not get absolutely torched.

Even in this game, however, Hill only played slightly over half the offensive snaps. If you think that doesn’t matter, re-read the prior paragraph. The point is this, Hill will likely play the full game on Thursday and it’s reported that Sammy Watkins will likely play as well. I expect Watkins will get about the same snaps as Hill this past week—about 20 to 30.

For the first time since the first quarter of Week 1, the Chiefs will be at or near full strength in their receiving corps. I know everyone is talking about how the Patriots gave them the blueprint to defend the Chiefs and blah, blah, blah. Good luck manning up on Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce, and Mecole Hardman. Seriously, good luck.

Now, this won’t solve all of our problems. The Chiefs still have some serious question marks with the play calling on both sides of the ball.