A rock meets a hard place on Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense battles the Denver Broncos’ defense, two of the best units in the NFL.
The Chiefs are currently on the outside looking in at the NFL’s playoff picture, but they’re still the Super Bowl favorites, according to Vegas. Maybe that changes this week, as a win by the Broncos could seriously damage KC’s chances.
The Broncos lead the AFC West at 8-2, trailed by the Chargers at 7-3, and then the Chiefs are at 5-4. They have won the division for nine straight years. Week 11’s meeting is just the first of two, but the Broncos could create a distance of three and a half games in the standings, plus an early jump on the tiebreaker, with just six games left, after including the meeting in Missouri. That puts a lot of urgency on this game for the Chiefs.
KC will have to cook against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Despite Denver’s defense getting just eight takeaways on the year, the Broncos have allowed the third-fewest yards and points per game. That’s come on the back of a league-leading 46 sacks, 14 more than the next best team.
“There are ways we want to use to beat the pressure; we feel like we have a good plan,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said on Thursday. “It’s just about two good teams going at it, and I think that’s what everyone wants.”
Most of America, outside of Colorado, likes to see Patrick Mahomes light it up. The star quarterback is back to his incredible ways, leading his offense to be top 10 in both yards and points scored a game. But that Kansas City offense had hoped to be even better than they are now, with stronger weapons around Mahomes like Rashee Rice.
“We feel like, internally as an offense, we like some things we’re doing and we want to grow from that,” Nagy shared. “Especially this time of the year, with the weather changing, you can’t be one-dimensional. You’ve always got to be able to run the football. We like where we’re at and we want to keep it going.”
The Chiefs’ run game is middle of the pack, but it will be critical on Sunday as they try to keep the Broncos’ pass rush on edge. Additionally, KC has the advantage of playing Denver with a banged-up Pat Surtain II, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. That will let Mahomes attack a part of the Broncos defense that has been so strong.