KC Chiefs schedule: Previewing primetime games for 2022

Week 14, Chiefs @ Broncos – Sunday Night Football

It’s hard at this point to tell just how tough this matchup will be.

On the surface, it feels odd that the league would want to see the Broncos in primetime against the Chiefs, given the fact that Kansas City has reeled off 13 consecutive victories over Denver. That’s the longest active streak of domination of one opponent over another in the NFL, one that goes back to September of 2015 for the Broncos’ last win over the Chiefs.

The upside here for Denver is that George Paton put together a helluva offseason and finally solved the team’s longstanding quarterback issues with the blockbuster trade for Russell Wilson. That move alone should turn around the team’s fortunes in a number of ways and makes them far more competitive in the AFC West. However, Paton also went to work on a number of other areas.

Signing D.J. Jones and pass rusher Randy Gregory should fortify the defensive line in the wake of losses of both Von Miller (traded away at midseason in ’21) and Shelby Harris (part of the Wilson deal to Seattle). Billy Turner was signed to bolster the offensive line, and K’Waun Williams and J.R. Reed should help the secondary. The draft class also provided a nice pass rusher in Nik Bonitto and a new tight end target in Greg Dulcich.

Even when losing so many games in a row to the Chiefs, the truth is that Denver has always had a nice core of players on both sides of the ball. The issue has been quarterback all along—ever since Peyton Manning retired. With that solved. as long as Wilson stays healthy, Denver will stay relevant.