Broncos vs. Chiefs: Sunday Night Football Preview and Predictions
By AJ Olona
Sunday, Dec. 6 at 8:20 P.M. EST
NBC
Spread: Chiefs, -14.0
Both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos are coming off of matchups with NFC South opponents in Week 12. The Broncos played the New Orleans Saints while the Chiefs played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the AFC West rivals had two very different outcomes from their games in Week 12.
The Kansa City Chiefs were able to take down Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in a huge 27-24 win that wasn’t as close as the final score showed.
Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes were unable to miss against one of the better defenses in the league as Patrick Mahomes threw for 462 yards and 3 touchdowns, all of which went to Tyreek Hill. On top of his 3 trips to the endzone, Hill also finished with a career-best of 269 receiving yards on 13 catches.
The Chiefs were able to then let off the gas and coast to another win, bringing their total to 10 on the season.
On the other hand, the Denver Broncos had a much different experience in their Week 12 matchup against the Saints.
The Broncos infamously entered the game with no quarterbacks available to play due to COVID-19 restrictions.
With the Broncos not finding out that their quarterbacks were going to be held out of action until the night before the game, they were tasked with starting their practice squad wide receiver, Kendall Hinton, at quarterback. Unsurprisingly, that game did not turn out well for the Broncos, as they lost 31-3 to the Saints and only gained 112 total yards of offense on the day -- 100 of which were rushing.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos have been in a difficult situation all year. They have been without their starting quarterback for many parts of the season, and last week against the New Orleans Saints, they were without all of them. Being forced to start Kendal Hinton was unfair to the Broncos, as it inevitably turned out how everyone would have expected it to. This team has been out of the playoff hunt for some time now. They are going to need a lot of stuff to happen for them heading into this offseason for this team to be taken seriously next season and beyond.
Broncos Offense
Kendall Hinton completed 1 pass for 13 yards and 2 picks. (USA TODAY Sports)
With the Broncos returning Drew Lock to the lineup for Sunday night, we should be able to expect much more than the 13 passing yards that they received from Hinton in Week 12.
The Bronco’s offense should never have been put in the position that they were put in against the Saints. Being forced to play without any of the 4 quarterbacks was killer as no single team in the NFL would have succeeded in those circumstances.
Nonetheless, the Broncos are going to be in much better shape with actual quarterbacks available to them.
The Broncos should also be getting Phillip Lindsay back in the lineup, and expect to be competitive.
While these two teams are in two separate situations at this point in the season, expect this game to be close. While the Chiefs are 10-1 on the year, every divisional game that they have played this year has been close. Expect the Broncos to come out firing on the offensive side of the ball
Broncos Defense
While the score last week showed that the Broncos defense allowed 31 points to Taysom Hill and the Saints, they were also put in an impossible task trying to bail out their offense. Despite this game, the Broncos have been solid. While they are not amongst the top defenses in the league by any means, they have played better than expected.
Malik Reed also returned to practice this week and is on track to play against the Chiefs,
They have been solid against the pass and the run and should be expected to hold up against Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes.
Kansas City Chiefs
The 49ers season is a real story of what if. From early on they have been hit with a lot of injuries to key players and that hasn’t been helped by being in the most competitive division in the NFL and having a tough schedule.
A quick look and you will see that other than a poor defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, all the other defeats for the 49ers this season have come against teams with winning records, such as the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and Miami Dolphins.
This has left them in a really tough position, but they have hung in most games well and will now fancy a late push for the postseason.
Chiefs Offense
Tyreek Hill finished Week 12 with 269 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. (Doug Murray/AP)
To put things simply, Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the league.
If last week against the Buccaneers was any indication of how well the Chiefs offense is going to play down the stretch, the rest of the NFL should be terrified.
Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill exploded in the first half against the Buccaneers, heading into halftime with a 2-7 lead. With weapons like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce available in the passing game — both players are over 1,000 yards on the year-- it allows for the Chiefs to be unstoppable. Not to mention Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell in the backfield with Mahomes.
While the Broncos should put up a better fight than the Buccaneers did last week, it is going to be hard for any team to stop this number one scoring Chiefs offense.
Chiefs Defense
At times the Chiefs have looked like a top defensive team in the season that feeds off of the situations that their offense puts them in. With huge games against the Jets, Bills, Patriots and Ravens, the Chiefs have looked dominant on both sides of the ball.
However, the defense has also had some lows, evident in their matchups against the Bucs, the Panthers and the Raiders both times.
While the Broncos are not an intimidating group on offense, the game is going to be how well the Chiefs can play on offense. Expect the Broncos to have more success than they did last week. Much, much more.
The Prediction
While the first matchup between these two did not end well for the Broncos, expect more fight in them this time around.
They are coming off an embarrassing loss where most of the players and coaches don’t believe they should have even had to play. They are looking to prove that they are much more of an offensive unit than 112 total yards. There is no better of an opportunity to prove that than against the reigning Super Bowl champions, and their long time divisional foe.
With the spread being set at -14 for the Chiefs, don’t expect them to cover. This game is going to be much closer than everyone expects.
SHAWN’S PREDICTION: Chiefs 34 - 19
AJ’S PREDICTION: Chiefs 31 - 27
CADE’S PREDICTION: Chiefs 42 - 0
TIM’S PREDICTION: Chiefs 31 - 21
Follow AJ on Twitter @age_lona
