The Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 14 game against the Denver Broncos marks the first time these two teams will meet this season. The Chiefs are seeking their 14th consecutive win against the Broncos, while Denver is praying that the bleeding against Kansas City will stop.
With a 3-9 record, the Broncos might not look like it, but they’re a dangerous team. They’ve got every reason to make this week the most important game on the schedule with very little to lose in the long run. That combination could spell trouble for the Chiefs if they’re not at their best.
With that in mind, here are five of the things we’ll be looking for throughout the course of the game:
Third down defense
Weaknesses for both clubs are going to be put to the test in Week 14. The Chiefs have allowed opponents to convert on 40.5% of their third-down attempts this season, ranking 20th in the league. Last week, K.C. allowed a 63.64% conversion rate on third down against the Bengals. The Broncos’ offense under HC Nathaniel Hackett and QB Russell Wilson is the worst in the league on third down, converting just 27.4% of the time. Denver likely sees facing the K.C. defense as a potential advantage so they can get that third-down percentage up. The Chiefs probably see facing the Broncos as an opportunity to bounce back after a bad week of defensive football.
Travis Kelce's big day
Kelce has a tremendous history of success against the Broncos and this week should be a big one for him. He’s coming off of a bad performance where he had a turnover in Week 13 — a performance where Andy Reid admitted he could have done more to get Kelce the football. Rest assured, he’ll have a big piece of the opening game script and this game. He needs just 26 yards to reach 10,000 career receiving yards. He can also record his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season and pass Shannon Sharpe for the fourth-most all-time receiving yards by a tight end.
Pass rush should thrive
Part of the Broncos’ struggles on offense this season falls on the offensive line’s inability to protect Russell Wilson. They’ve allowed 38 total sacks this season with 37 against Wilson, which is tied for the second-most in the NFL with Giants QB Daniel Jones. The Chiefs’ pass rush is coming off their worst game since Week 6, where they had just one sack in the 57th minute of the game. This week they should be able to get those sack numbers back up, especially if injured LG Dalton Risner is made inactive ahead of kickoff.
Playing turnover free football
The Chiefs are currently going through a bit of a problem when it comes to protecting the football. Week 13 marked the team’s seventh consecutive game with a turnover, which is quite the streak for an Andy Reid-coached team. He spoke bluntly about the turnover issue on Wednesday.
“Yeah, you can’t turn the ball over,” Reid said. “We’re always constantly talking about that. I’m not sure there’s a — not necessarily one thing is happening but the ending result is a turnover so we’ve got to take care of the ball.”
Luckily, the Broncos haven’t been the greatest team at forcing turnovers this season. They have eight interceptions and five fumble recoveries on the year thus far, which is tied for the fourth-fewest turnovers in the NFL.
Return of Joe Thuney
The starting left guard for the Chiefs will be back in Week 14 after missing the past two games with an ankle injury. Thuney has allowed just 14 pressures this season, which is the second-fewest on the offensive line next to Creed Humphrey. He’s a player that tends to hide some of the issues that the team has at offensive tackle too. Last week against the Bengals, the offensive line surrendered two sacks, including one in a pivotal situation late in the fourth quarter. I have to wonder whether that sack would have happened if Thuney were in the lineup a week ago and whether there won’t be a tangible difference in play with him back this week.
