On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Denver Broncos. We welcome Ian St. Clair of Mile High Report— our sister SB Nation site covering the Broncos— for Five Questions with the Enemy.
1. Has the Chiefs’ down season shifted the emotional balance of the AFC West rivalry?
Broncos Country is too focused on Denver closing out the season to get the AFC West title and the No. 1 seed. There is no doubt that a sense of satisfaction comes from the Chiefs’ downfall this season. But if the Broncos don’t end the season the way they should, that feels empty. And most Denver fans expect Patrick
Mahomes and Kansas City to be back next season, where they’ve been the last nine seasons.
2. With the Chiefs no longer having anything at stake — and the Broncos fighting to secure the No. 1 seed and the AFC West — how will Denver approach this matchup?
Denver can’t mess around in this game. It doesn’t matter that Kansas City is down to its third-string quarterback and is out of the playoffs. Crazy things happen at Arrowhead in December. The Broncos have never played well in that stadium at this time of year. So they must approach this as a must-win game — which it is — and don’t take anything for granted. Denver must play a complete game, limit the miscues and mistakes, and find a way to win. The Broncos’ hopes of winning the AFC West title and securing the No. 1 seed depend on it.
3. Chiefs fans are divided over the franchise’s move from Missouri to Kansas. If something similar happened in Denver, how would fans react?
I was just thinking about how fans would react if the franchise were to leave Denver or Colorado. Let’s just say that it wouldn’t go well. Thanks, John Madden. When the Broncos were exploring areas around the Denver metro area for their new stadium development, there was serious angst over the possibility of moving the franchise out by Denver International Airport. I don’t think that was ever under consideration, thankfully. But that would have been a logistical nightmare. It wouldn’t have been in “Denver,” it would have been in Aurora. That angst was just speculation. That would explode if the franchise were ever to mention leaving Denver or Colorado.
4. If the Broncos are going to make a deep playoff run, what will be the single most important factor?
The defense must play like a dominant defense. Since the bye, Denver’s defense has had some rough games against the Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars. There is a belief that by December, Vance Joseph and his defense will be figured out. It happened last season — and was one of the factors in the Broncos getting curb-stomped by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Now it seems like it’s happening again. For Denver to make a deep run, the defense must play at the level it did before the bye and be the dominant group it is capable of being. Get that, and the rest will fall into place.
5. Denver is currently listed as a 13.5-point favorite on FanDuel. Are you comfortable with that spread, or does it feel inflated given the rivalry context?
The current spread makes sense — and I’d play the Broncos’ spread. The Chiefs are down to their third-string quarterback and just got blown out by the Tennessee Titans. The Broncos are coming off a disappointing showing against the Jaguars and are in a must-win game to keep their goal of winning the AFC West title and securing the No. 1 seed alive. I’d expect Payton to have Denver dialed in and not take this game for granted, given that it is a rivalry.
