It's hard to tell if the Denver Broncos are legit this season. If they are, the Kansas City Chiefs may have their first real divisional rival in years. The Broncos are 5-4 with their freshly drafted quarterback Bo Nix, who gives those fans more hope than they've had in a decade. Denver also just lost by 31 points and allowed the football equivalent of a perfect game to be thrown by the opposing quarterback. The Broncos' defense looked awesome before last week's 41-10 stinker against Lamar Jackson's Ravens, and despite that, Denver still only has one win against a team with a record above 3-6.
The Broncos defense ranks sixth in passing yards and total yards allowed per game and third overall in points allowed per game. Their offense ranks in the bottom ten in each of those categories. Bo Nix's Week 7 performance against Carolina was the best of his early career, but last week against Baltimore - who allows the most passing yards per game and ninth-most points per game in the NFL - was easily his worst. It's not often you see a week-to-week difference in Passer Rating above 58 points. Broncos head coach Sean Payton is apparently a quarterbacks guru, so Nix's response to this unpredictable two weeks of play will reflect Payton's effectiveness in what is supposedly his strong-suit.
The undefeated Chiefs exhibit their weaknesses every time they take the field while still, ya know, winning all the time. The left tackle position in particular is worryingly inconsistent, which factors heavily into a Patrick Mahomes Passer Rating that ranks 18th league-wide. Whether it's Wanya Morris or rookie Kingsley Suamataia taking the lion's share of snaps at that spot today, every passing week Andy Reid gets to strategize his way around that flaw should further improve the KC offense. Despite being sacked four times last week, Mahomes had his first three-touchdown performance of the season and finished the game with his highest completion percentage of the season. The growth of future Hall of Famer DeAndre Hopkins' role in the offense also looked like it made an immediately positive impact.
This game means the world to a Denver team that's hungry for a signature win. With the enviable burden of an undefeated record, the Chiefs also have immeasurable motivation entering today's game. Despite my far-too-consistent ramblings about Mahomes' statistical mediocrity this season, his numbers on third down, in the red zone and in the fourth quarter all point to a quarterback and a team that refuse to lose. I'll take the safe bet and predict that this won't change today against a Denver team that has proven its ability to lose to teams with flaws far more damaging that Kansas City's. I'm predicting a 27-17 victory for our Chiefs - the defending and dominant rulers of the AFC West.
