Mile High Sports
If the Denver Broncos are going to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and end their undefeated streak, they’ll have to play their best brand of football at one of the biggest junctures of the season.
With AFC implications at stake, the Denver Broncos must play their best brand of football on Sunday on the road against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. What are the biggest keys to victory and matchups to watch for?
A hot start is crucial for the Broncos offense and rookie quarterback Bo Nix on Sunday. The Chiefs defense is one of the toughest defensive challenges the team will face all season long, and a lot of it is predicated by the pressure of Chris Jones and George Karlaftis, who have given Denver’s offense fits before.
With the Broncos entering Sunday’s game fully healthy for the most part, Nix will rely a lot on his offensive line to keep him upright against the Chiefs pass rush, which ranks 26th in the NFL in sacks, but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has them playing stingy on a down to down basis, where they’re allowing only 5.12 yards per play (7th in the NFL) through nine weeks.
“Let’s start with this, they’re playing really good defense,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “Now [Chiefs Head Coach] Andy [Reid] has done this a long time. So he knows how to win. That might vary week to week. Your roster changes, you have injuries and pieces come and go. So we as coaches kind of have to look at that. They’ve done a really good job at it. The heart of a champion—I say that. There’s a confidence level and there’s a belief that—I’ve been a part of that—where you just knew that you were in every game, or you had a chance. You take Tampa last week, going in there, [WR Mike] Evans is out and [WR Chris] Godwin you know…they played a real good game. I think it gets back to what you saw for years from the Patriots. It’s just that inner belief of, ‘Whatever we have to do.’ That’s what we’re pushing for, so we’ll be ready.”
Denver turned the ball over on their first drive in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers and last week against the Baltimore Ravens, and it put them into a hole early on. They can’t afford to do that against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs this week.
Courtland Sutton will likely be Nix’s top receiving option on Sunday, but he’ll receive a lot of attention from Kansas City’s secondary. Nix will need other receivers like Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele, and others to step up to the plate.
Now that the Chiefs have added DeAndre Hopkins into the mix, the Broncos defense will have to figure out who they’ll match up on...
