As the (5-4) Kansas City Chiefs prepare for Sunday’s showdown with the (8–2) Denver Broncos, the message from Chiefs’ leaders is clear: the Broncos’ defense is the real deal, and everything starts with the defensive
line.
Head Coach Andy Reid sees it as a strength of their defense.
“They’ve got a good defense, but I mean, that D-line — it starts with them,” Reid said. “It’s a nice challenge for our offensive line.”
But Reid and his players don’t mind facing that test.
“It gives you another opportunity to continue to grow as a group and look forward to that challenge,” Reid said. “That’s what this is all about. You love that — you love that you get to play a good football team.”
In his own availability at the podium Wednesday, quarterback Patrick Mahomes echoed Reid’s respect for Denver’s defensive front.
“I think they have five really good defensive linemen,” he acknowledged. “They can all win in different ways, and they rotate guys in that play well too. They know what their scheme is. They know how to get after the quarterback.”
This is why the Chiefs’ offensive plan must prioritize decisiveness and variation.
“For us, it’s just having great protection schemes, changing up the looks for them so they can’t just tee off,” Mahomes explained. “And then getting the ball out of my hands when I need to, and taking shots whenever I need to as well.”
The Broncos’ outside linebacker Nik Bonitto — who is now the league’s third-ranked sack artist — will be someone the Chiefs will be watching closely.
“[He’s a] great pass rusher,” observed Mahomes. “He’s someone that can really get to the quarterback. He’s smart, he does a lot of spying on me as well. They’ve got guys everywhere that can make plays — Zach Allen inside, [Jonathan] Cooper on the other side.”
Mahomes recognizes that at any moment, any one of these players can disrupt the whole game.
“[You must] get the ball out of your hands, try not to take sacks and let the game come to you,” he said.
Wide receiver Hollywood Brown thinks this Chiefs’ success will depend on what Kansas City does in preparation — especially because of Denver’s ability to dictate the game’s tempo.
“[We have to] just put the detail in during the week,” he remarked. “Stay ahead of detail, really. So when we go out there, we can fly around, play fast [and] play physical. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”
With Denver holding an 8–2 record and the lead in the AFC West, the Chiefs enter the game knowing execution has to be sharp across the board. Reid welcomes the challenge. Mahomes respects the depth of Denver’s front. Brown believes that details and physicality will make the difference.
But there’s one area in which they agree: beating the division’s top team means matching Denver’s defensive intensity — and then exceeding it.
