In a rare turnabout, Kansas City Chiefs fans went from rooting for the Denver Broncos (gross) to now rooting against them in back-to-back weeks. It seems to be a joyous time around the kingdom as the Chiefs are once again in the driver seat of the AFC West and are now ready to take on their divisional foe.
But the question nobody seems to be asking is, “Should we be worried about the Broncos?” The Chiefs have beat Denver 11 straight times – that’s right the Broncos haven’t won in almost six years. After dominating us during the Peyton Manning years, the tables turned and the Chiefs have kept the donkeys in their place. The streak looks to continue this Sunday night at Arrowhead.
Just because the Chiefs have an impressive win streak going, doesn’t mean they should overlook their opponent though. The Broncos started the season 3-0….against 3 winless teams, and then quickly fell back to earth by going 3-5 the rest of the way. But two of those wins were surprising blowouts against two teams considered to be pretty good: the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers.
How much worry should the KC Chiefs hold about the Denver Broncos?
The Chiefs handled their business against the Cowboys too but struggled early in the season against the Chargers. Things have changed since then, and I think the Chargers will experience a similar outcome that they had against Denver when they face the Chiefs again in a few weeks. Still, the Denver wins were impressive and showed that their defense especially has some fight in it, despite trading away Von Miller.
On the flip side, the Broncos have been in some ugly losses. They were blown out by the Ravens, beaten by the now not-good Steelers, and lost to the Raiders, and also barely lost to the also not-great Browns. It’s honestly kind of hard to tell who these Broncos are.
That should give the Chiefs some caution as they prepare this week. The Broncos that lost 24-7 to the Ravens could show up, or the Broncos that outscored Dallas 30-0 for three quarters could show up. Against the Chiefs, I’m leaning more towards the former, than the latter, but they can’t overlook this game. It could easily be the upset of the week and a typical trap game.
Probably the biggest factor in this game will be the quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater has been playing really well for Denver, but he did get hurt on an ugly sack last week. He missed the entire second quarter before coming back in. Drew Lock played like Drew Lock in relief. Teddy is on track to play this week, but he’s going to be obviously hobbled. Neither quarterback scenario should make Broncos fans feel good against a surging Chiefs defense.
As for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes will be going up against a Denver defense that has been pretty good. Especially rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Overall I still feel like this will be an easy win for the Chiefs, but it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. The Broncos can play. The Chiefs need to put their foot on the gas and never look back.