KC Chiefs vs Broncos is very meaningful for both sides

For the Chiefs…

I absolutely hate classifying anything as a “must-win”, particularly when it’s by definition not, but this certainly feels like a must-win or must-dominate type of game for the Chiefs. After the loss to the Bengals, K.C. needs to bounce back in a big way for multiple reasons. And in theory, they have the perfect opponent to do it against, but the self-imposed pressure that we saw last week from the team needs to be a thing of the past if they want to accomplish it.

The Chiefs, in all reality, hold the keys to their own playoff-seeding destiny more so than any other playoff contender as we mentioned earlier. An extremely soft schedule the rest of the way bodes well for the Chiefs’ chances of ending the regular season at 14-3 or 13-4, but a couple of mental nights off could certainly derail their seeding even further than last week’s showing did. But let’s look at a couple of people who may have “failed” to bring home the W last week that historically cut the Broncos to shreds.

It all starts with Travis Kelce. Sure, he had a big fumble last week in the fourth quarter, but is any sane Chiefs fan really caught up in that? What a great rebound game for him to be coming into this weekend. In 15 games in his career, Kelce has 90 catches for 1,176 yards and 6 TD. That’s a First Team All-Pro caliber season in just 15 games against a team that has perennially had defenses in the top 10 in the league rankings. The Broncos are like Kelce’s lucky socks.

What about Harrison Butker? You guessed it: never missed a field goal against Denver. He’s actually averaging 10.9 points per game against Denver in his career which is laugh-out-loud funny when you think about it. Sure he’s 22 for 25 on extra points but that’s one of those things that you just kind of have to brush off and move on from. Take the good with the bad with Butker – if he puts 10 or 11 points on Denver this week the Chiefs should cruise.

The road to 5-0, and ultimately 14-3 and the AFC’s top seed, starts in Denver this weekend. There is no need for the team to put any additional pressure on themselves, though. If the offense doesn’t put up 40 points, remember what the Broncos’ defense has done thus far.

Now, if the Chiefs’ defense makes Russell Wilson look like 2013 Peyton Manning, I’m smashing the panic button and I think most of us should. But the odds of that happening are about as long as the odds of Denver making a Super Bowl run. Lucky for the Chiefs they’re in the exact opposite boat.