Arrowhead Pride
Before the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Week 9 road game against the Buffalo Bills, all of our Arrowhead Pride panelists thought the Chiefs would win. As a group, we expected a 33-26 win. That prediction had 28 points of error compared to Kansas City’s 28-21 loss. Our readers expected that more than we did. About one in five thought the Bills would send the Chiefs home with a defeat.
In Week 11, the Chiefs face the Denver Broncos on Empower Field at Mile High. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Kansas City is favored by 3.5 points.
Let’s see what the staff — and our readers — think about the matchup.
I seriously feel like having Josh Simmons back swings this game. If the Chiefs were rolling out Jaylon Moore at left tackle, I don’t think they’d be able to protect against Denver’s pass rush. We saw what it did to Kansas City last year in Arrowhead against Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia at left tackle. Moore is better, but Nik Bonitto has also leveled up to being a top-10 edge rusher.
With Simmons, the Chiefs at least have one edge protected. I still expect some rough moments for the offense. Denver’s pass rush is elite — and its secondary can play tight man coverage, which is something the Chiefs’ receivers struggle against.
Still, Denver’s offense is terrible; I don’t trust it to score at all. It is about an average rushing team, but it has had one of the worst passing games all season. Bo Nix has regressed from last year in terms of accuracy and footwork.
Considering the stakes of this game, I expect a focused Kansas City effort.
Chiefs 20, Broncos 14
I think the Denver defense is going to be the biggest challenge the Kansas City offense has faced all season. So we should be grateful that this game is happening in Week 11 rather than Week 2 — and hopeful that Josh Simmons will be back to form. I also think the Chiefs’ defense will be loaded for bear — or in this case, horse. If that’s the case, I think the road team will have a significant edge.
I’d predict Kansas City will run away with this one, but I don’t think Andy Reid will let that happen. He’s not going to want to give the Broncos any additional motivation when the teams meet again in Week 17 — or in Week 19, 20 or 21.
Chiefs 20, Broncos 10
Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos might be the biggest regular-season game of Patrick Mahomes’ career. Denver enters 8-2 — and firmly in control of the AFC West — and if the Chiefs want any realistic chance to challenge for the division, it has to start with a win here. A loss would almost certainly shut the door on another AFC West title.
Andy Reid’s track record coming off a bye speaks for...
