The Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos open the season against each other in a massive divisional game. The stakes are already high entering another season in which the AFC West is expected to be highly competitive. Patrick Mahomes' return from injury and Denver coming in as the defending AFC West champs only add more fuel to the fire for this matchup.
Where do things stand between the Chiefs and the Broncos in their all-time rivalry series? Here are some key notes to keep in mind going into this season.
Chiefs are dominant leaders in all-time series
Monday night will be the133rd meeting between Kansas City and Denver. The Chiefs hold a rather commanding lead in the rivalry. K.C. leads the series 73-59. A major part of Kansas City's edge in the meetings in more recent seasons was due to a 16-game winning streak the Chiefs put together from 2015 to 2023.
There have been plenty of notable winning streaks in this series. Denver had actually won seven in a row over Kansas City before the Chiefs went on that 16-0 run. The Chiefs also dominated the very beginning of the rivalry in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Broncos hold current winning streak in rivalry
Andy Reid has gone a combined 17-9 against the Broncos in his tenure as Chiefs head coach. Even in a divisional matchup, some of those games in the middle portion of Reid's tenure felt like easy wins for Kansas City.
However, Denver has begun to fight back in the last three years. Denver holds a 4-2 record in the last six meetings since Reid and Sean Payton became rival head coaches within the AFC West. The Broncos swept last year's season series. In addition, Denver has won three in a row overall against Kansas City. The last Chiefs win in the series was nearly the opposite. If not for a blocked field goal, Kansas City would be staring at a longer losing streak to the Broncos entering Monday night.
Will the Chiefs end this current losing streak to a rival while extending their all-time series lead? Or will Denver get an early jump on the 2026 AFC West battle? The schedule makers did an excellent job placing this rivalry in the prime-time spotlight to close out Week 1.
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