NFL experts have little reason to pick the Denver Broncos over the K.C. Chiefs.
After a week in which the Kansas City Chiefs marched into Tampa Bay and defeated the Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos started a practice squad wide receiver at quarterback, the media is taking note and sees very little room for the Broncos to pull off an upset in Week 13. In fact, it is nearly impossible to find anyone that wants to take the Broncos in this one.
The Chiefs are marching back to Kansas City for a prime time matchup with the miserable Broncos after defeating the so-called “Tompa Bay” Buccaneers in commanding fashion. While the defense seemed to stutter at the end of the game, the offense moved the ball at will. At this point, it has been difficult to contain Patrick Mahomes‘s offense and it seems unlikely that they are slowed down this week. Denver’s current defensive standings are the following: 24th in points allowed, 27th in rushing yards allowed, and 25th in turnovers forced. That being said, the Broncos have been somewhat effective against the pass, ranking 7th in the league in passing yards allowed.
Denver has been less-than-adequate on offense. While their defense has bright spots, it lacks the firepower to make up for the struggles that they have on offense. No matter how you look at it, the Broncos offense has been far from what they had expected this season after adding Melvin Gordon and Jerry Jeudy. Denver will likely reassess their struggles on offense after the season.
This week, however, many expect the Broncos to get steamrolled. The high-flying Chiefs keep winning and the Broncos seem to keep declining. The choice appears clear as to who will win this game. Here is what the experts had to say.
CBS:
Typically at this point, Will Brinson has posted his weekly picks which always includes a blurb about every game. He has neither picked on this week’s panel or posted his article. I typically turn to his work as a reflection of what CBS has to say about the weekly matchup. That being said, a portion that did not include Will Brinson or Jason La Canfora picked the winner of this game. In unison, they all agreed that Kansas City would come away with a victory at home against the the Denver Broncos.
John Breech liked the Chiefs by 14 in his article in which he didn’t find the game intriguing enough to write about. He projected a final score of 34-20.
ESPN:
The ESPN Panel agreed across the board: The Kansas City Chiefs are going to win this weekend. Typically, Seth Wickersham likes to gamble a little bit with his picks, but even he could not seriously rationalize the idea that Denver could beat the Chiefs. Of the nine members on the panel, no one decided to pick the Broncos to win the game.
FiveThirtyEight:
Thank goodness election season is over. While it likely doesn’t help FiveThirtyEight’s ratings, it certainly helps us focus on football. Each week the math nerds at their site predict the probability of each game. They gave the Chiefs a clear edge with a 88% chance of winning this week against the Denver Broncos this week.
NFL Pick Watch:
On NFL Pick Watch, there is nary a Broncos pick in sight. In fact of their hundreds of eligible “experts” including those from Broncos media markets, no one is picking Denver to beat the Chiefs. Literally 0% of experts have picked the Broncos in this week’s game. It seems like things may be dire in Denver.