Can KC's Struggling Offense Brutalize Bitter Broncos?

    How would you feel if your boss was fired after a bad performance, then the new boss immediately calls the old boss an inept moron, but then your new boss is just as bad, if not worse, than your old one? Would you feel confident about your new boss's ability to position you for success? Can you see where I'm going with this?

    The Denver Broncos roster must feel completely dejected right now. There is no way Sean Payton makes that clubhouse healthier than your average NFL head coach. Nobody held a gun to Sean Payton's head and told him to talk down to Nathaniel Hackett the way he did. Payton volunteered his opinion that Hackett provided Denver with "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" last season, but the Broncos are now a worse team with worse morale with Payton as their head coach. Nat Hackett now coordinates the offense for the New York Jets, the team who defeated Payton's Broncos 31-21 last Sunday.

    Revenge is sweet, and sustained success is even sweeter. It seems as if Sean Payton won't enjoy either for a very long time.

    There are positives to find if you look hard enough at Denver's season up to the this point, but they take a second to see. Denver started the season 0-2, but they only lost those games by a combined three points. Patrick Surtain II is still a legitimately great CB, and he'll be facing off with an injured Travis Kelce and a bunch of still-unproven Chiefs receivers. Russ has also improved this season, but he's still nowhere near elite.

    Last year, Wilson tied with Justin Fields for the league lead in sacks taken with 55. Only two QB's that played in more than six games compiled a lower completion percentage last season. He finished with the 10th-most interceptions thrown and the fifth-lowest QBR. Wilson's current QBR is 22nd in the NFL, and his completion percentage is 17th. Five QB's have been sacked more than Russ, and his 11/2 touchdown pass/interception ratio is one of the NFL's best. Still, these numbers indicate that Russ's ceiling is league-average at his position this year.

    KC's offense may not be firing on all cylinders, but the Broncos aren't the team to make the Kingdom fear this flaw. They're the worst defense in the league by a comfortable margin. Denver allows over 45 more total yards and over 4 more points per game than any other team in the league. Isiah Pacheco could have another outstanding game, as the Broncos also allow more than 30 more rushing yards per game than any other NFL team. Breece Hall averaged 8.0 yards per carry last week and finished the day with 177 rushing yards.

    Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes aren't losing to a grumpy Sean Payton four days after Payton got humbled by the very man he publicly insulted. They aren't losing to a Broncos franchise that hasn't beaten them since the Obama administration. They aren't losing to a team that allowed 35 points to Sam Howell's Washington Commanders, 31 to Justin Fields' Chicago Bears, 31 to Zach Wilson's New York Jets and 70 to the only good quarterback/team combo they faced, Tua Tagovailoa's Miami Dolphins. I looked at power rankings from ESPN, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Yahoo Sports, and they all ranked the Chiefs ahead of the Dolphins. KC may not drop 70 on Denver, but they should score enough to ensure victory tonight. I'm predicting a 31-17 win and a bunch of Taylor Swift references from the broadcast crew to get them through garbage time.

Back-Up Bryce Brings Banged-Up Rams to KC

Could the Los Angeles Rams really come into Arrowhead with a back-up QB and defeat the Super Bowl-caliber Chiefs today? No. Article over. See you next week. Okay no, there are intriguing aspects of this match-up to look over first. Concussion issues for the Rams' starting QB clearly poses a problem for L.A, but their defense has disappointed them this year, too.

The Rams defense allows the 10th-fewest yards per game this season, but they allow the 17th-lowest points per game. Aaron Donald only has five sacks. Bobby Wagner leads his team with 84 tackles, which is 16th league-wide. Conversely, only five guys in the league have more total tackles than KC's Nick Bolton. Only four have more sacks than Chris Jones. The Chiefs allow more passing and rushing yards per game than the Rams, but KC only allows 0.6 more points per game to their opponents.

The Chiefs enter today's game with a decisive advantage, and the quarterback situation for these banged-up Rams makes matters worse. Bryce Perkins is expected to start today in place of an injured Matthew Stafford. He's a dual-threat, athletic guy who went undrafted in 2020. Patrick Mahomes is Patrick Mahomes. He's top-three in average yards per throw, QBR and Passer Rating. He's first in yards, yards per game and touchdowns. If the season ended today, only Mahomes and Tua Tagavailoa would likely receive #1 votes for MVP.

KC will end their day as the only AFC team with nine wins if they simply avoid beating themselves. If the Rams do anything well, it's avoiding penalties. L.A has the fewest flags thrown against them and the third-fewest yards lost to penalties in the NFL. I'm predicting a clean game and a relatively comfy 31-16 victory for KC.

Can Desperate Chargers Challenge Champs of Their Division?

I started the season thinking the Los Angeles Chargers would supplant our Kansas City Chiefs as the champs of the AFC West. That take looks pretty damn stale already, thanks in part to the Chargers' numerous injury concerns and growing pains. Justin Herbert and his crew still have Miami, Tennessee and the other L.A team on their schedule, so these 5-4 Chargers need to win tonight to maintain realistic playoff aspirations.

An inconsistent Chargers offense could get a boost (I'm avoiding electricity puns here on purpose) from two returning receivers who already have great chemistry with the team's struggling QB. According to Adam Schefter, both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are expected to play tonight. That could be huge for Herbert, whose recent play has been undeniably disappointing. As NFL.com reported, Herbert has four straight games with a sub-90 Passer Rating and yards per attempt under six. A guy who I expected to be an MVP candidate this year now has a Passer Rating that ranks 17th among all QBs with more than one start this season, between the ratings of Andy Dalton and Jacoby Brissett. Conversely, Mahomes has dominated with his new troop of offensive weapons, and the other guys performing on his level can be counted on about half of one hand.

Honestly, the only QB consistently on Pat's level this year is, wait for it, Tua freakin' Tagavailoa. I guess Tua has a certain former Chief to thank for that, but that's a topic for another time.

The large cast of characters creating football's most unstoppable offense just grew larger with the Chiefs' acquisition and subsequent effective use of Kadarius Toney. Mahomes targeted Toney five times for four receptions and 57 yards against Jacksonville last week. Toney's impact should increase all-the-more this week because of Mecole Hardman's placement on the injured reserve list. Clearly, the timing of acquiring Toney and losing Mecole was impeccable. This should keep the NFL's #1 passing and scoring offense firing on all cylinders.

The Chiefs can and will end the Chargers' hopes at a playoff run tonight. The Chargers should put up a serious fight at home, especially considering the return of their receiving core. A desperate, motivated Justin Herbert could burn KC's imperfect secondary a few times, so I'm predicting a 34-31 shootout victory for Kansas City.

Mahomes Must Avoid Forced Fumbles To Defeat Dolphins

Today is not the day for the Kansas City Chiefs to let their guard down. The 8-4 Miami Dolphins enter this game hungry to prove themselves and add a victory over the champs to their resume. How scared should Chiefs Kingdom really be of Tua, or perhaps more accurately, of this Dolphins defense?

Starting at noon today, we'll see the #2 scoring offense in the NFL facing off against the league's #2 scoring defense. We'll also see perhaps the best cornerback in football in Miami's Xavien Howard lining up against the best deep threat in football in KC's Tyreek Hill. Facing off against an excellent secondary could translate to big games for Chiefs pass-catchers that aren't playing the role of #1 and #2 wide receiver. That means the effectiveness of Travis Kelce and Mecole Hardman could make or break the Chiefs offense today. While elite talent forces the Chiefs to adjust their offensive scheme, a history-changing global crisis will alter Miami's plan on offense.

COVID-19 is sadly blame for Miami's serious disadvantage against our Chiefs today. Said virus rendered two of Miami's three top running backs unable to play, and the third is sidelined with a shoulder injury. That clearly gives our Chiefs a major advantage in the hours to come, but this Dolphins team wins games they should not. Miami's Week 8 win over the legit Los Angeles Rams is my main piece of evidence.

Rams pressure forced a Tua fumble early in this midseason meeting that came after Miami's bye week and represents the beginning of the Tagovailoa Era for the 'Phins faithful. A Jared Goff pick shortly thereafter gave Miami the ball and good field position, and this led to Tua's first career TD pass. Then, with the game still tied, Myles Gaskin fumbled on first down within 10 yards of his own endzone. This definitely doesn't sound like the description of a game that the Dolphins won by multiple possessions, but it happened. Miami's defense forced four turnovers from Jared Goff, and Jakeem Grant ran back an 88-yard punt for a Dolphins touchdown. Every Dolphins drive in the second half of that game resulted in a punt, yet they beat the Rams by 11.

The Dolphins had a healthy Gaskin and a healthy Matt Breida that day, but Tua and that tandem combined for only 60 rushing yards. It wasn't a strong running game that helped Miami defeat one of the league's best that week. Turnovers were the reason Miami pulled that one off, and they're now tied with three other teams for the fourth-best turnover differential in the NFL. KC's +11 differential ties them with Pittsburgh for the league's best. Enjoy the fact that the Chiefs' trajectory still points to greatness, but prepare yourself for a close game today.

Prepare to be upset when Tua scrambles and makes plays by exploiting the Chiefs' imperfect core of linebackers. Prepare for impressive pass-catching tight end Mike Gesicki to frustrate the entire Kingdom by helping Tua do so. I think that duo will be enough to keep things competitive today, but I also think a well-prepared Chiefs team should beat these Dolphins more often than not. I predict a hard-fought 30-24 victory for the Chiefs. If Miami's new golden boy at QB is the real deal, this will serve as only Scene 1 in the long, enjoyable story of Patrick vs. Tua.