After a Week 5 game that I'd rather forget, our Kansas City Chiefs bounced back with a nine-point victory over the playoff-bound Buffalo Bills last week. A well-known rival now stands in the way of another KC winning streak. Do the Denver Broncos have a real chance at an upset?
Despite starting the day with a losing record, a closer look at Denver's schedule reveals some key ingredients of a successful football team. The Broncos faced off with two other AFC championship contenders in the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers to start this season, and Denver lost both games by a combined total of seven points. It doesn't much matter if Drew Lock can only put up 18 points if the Broncos defense can hold a Cam Newton-led Pats offense to just 12. The old "bend, don't break" cliche seems apt for the Broncos defense; while they fail to crack the top ten in stopping the pass or the run, Denver's 22 points allowed per game is still the 11th-lowest average in the NFL.
That should conjure in me some form of concern, even worry. It does not. Denver's offense is to blame for that. Patrick Mahomes gets some credit too, but that practically goes without saying at this point.
Only the Washington Football Team and the two New York football teams average fewer points per game than Denver. If I didn't fear Josh Allen last week, I can't pretend to fear Drew Lock and the Broncos today. It's worth noting that Denver has faced off against good or great defenses every week they didn't play the Jets this year. However, the Chiefs defense looks legit on paper now, too. Kansas City's opponents average only 21.2 points per game - 0.8 points fewer than Denver's opponents.
Even the Broncos' strengths won't stop Patrick from scoring at least enough to overcome Drew Lock and a Denver offense that's still struggling to find their footing. I expect something like a 30-20 win to keep Chiefs Kingdom calm and content.
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