The Kansas City Chiefs are getting ready to face the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Week 14. This is the first time these two AFC West teams have met so far this season.
To learn more about Kansas City’s opponent, we spoke with managing editor Jon Heath over at Broncos Wire and asked him a few questions.
Chiefs Wire: The Russell Wilson acquisition hasn't exactly gone according to plan. What's been the biggest problem there and is it correctable in the future?
Broncos Wire: The biggest problem? Making the trade in the first place.
Only half joking on that, but it seriously is hard to pinpoint just one main problem for it. Wilson seems to have declined from his peak, and there are other compounding factors as well. Three regular starters are missing on the offensive line, the team’s top two running backs from Week 1 are gone, three of the team’s top four receivers are injured, and Nathaniel Hackett’s offense has not done Wilson any favors.
Wilson deserves plenty of blame for some of his poor decisions and general effectiveness, but the Broncos also haven’t done a good enough job building around him and catering their offense to his strengths.
As far as being correctable, the next coaching staff might be able to get the team back to a competent level if they get the best out of Wilson. The current coaching staff has proven they’re incapable of making it work with Wilson.
Chiefs Wire: The Broncos defense is still one of the league's best without Vic Fangio. Who are some of the characters that have made that possible?
Broncos Wire: It sounds crazy to say about a staff member from a 3-9 team, but defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has received shouts as a potential head coach candidate for 2023. He’s been that good. Denver’s defense has actually improved in many areas under Evero since Fangio’s departure. He deserves a lot of credit for getting the best out of his players and fine-tuning the system that Fangio had in place.
As far as specific players, cornerback Pat Surtain has had three so-so games this year but has been nearly perfect in the nine others. He’s one of the best young CBs in the game, and it helps that he has a star safety in Justin Simmons playing behind him.
The Broncos’ two inside linebackers, Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton, have also exceeded expectations and have played extremely well. Defense is not the problem in Denver.
Chiefs Wire: Injuries have been a huge issue for the Broncos this season. Who are some of the players who have stepped up and performed well in place of injured starters?
Broncos Wire: CB Damarri Mathis has played much better than I expected in the place of injured CB Ronald Darby, and OLB Baron Browning has stepped up in the place of injured OLB Randy Gregory. Now that I say that, Mathis will probably get burned on Sunday and Browning will probably struggle to set the edge against the run, but they’ve had excellent seasons overall.
Chiefs Wire: It looks like Nathaniel Hackett may go one-and-done in Denver. If that's the case, who would you want to see as the head coach of the Broncos?
Broncos Wire: I think the team’s new ownership group might turn to an experienced candidate after they inherited a first-year coach disaster. Some of the notable coaches with experience (not including Sean Payton) are Dan Quinn, Raheem Morris and Frank Reich. Quinn was a finalist last year when John Elway and Joe Ellis helped lead a coaching search (they are now both gone) and Reich is connected to Peyton Manning, who might be called on as a consultant this offseason. I’d guess that Quinn and Reich could both be strong candidates and with the defense playing well under Evero, I think an offensive-mined Reich might be my preferred choice.
Chiefs Wire: What's the feeling in Broncos Country? Do they have any shot at getting back in the win column against Kansas City this week?
Broncos Wire: Well anything can happen any week in the NFL, right? Stranger things have happened, but fans in Denver certainly aren’t expecting an upset against the Chiefs. Right now fans are more looking forward to upcoming changes in the 2023 offseason than the next game on the team’s schedule.
