Chiefs And Broncos Will Look To Shore Up Defensive Issues

Broncos vs. Chiefs, 1:00 ET

Sometimes the best teams in the league are also the ones that don't pass the eye test. A lot of things change week-to-week, but as you watch the games and make new decisions on the teams, you start to determine what you want to do with them the following week. If you watched these two teams, the Broncos and Chiefs, last week, you'd probably have made some key decisions that could impact the way you handicap this game. I'll try and help with my thoughts as we break this one down a bit. 

The Broncos were destroyed last week. I mean it got ugly very quickly. Let's start with their season from the beginning though. Denver started the season with a loss against the Seahawks. That was understandable as Bo Nix went into one of the toughest stadiums to play for his first career start. They lost the game 26-20 which wasn't terrible. In the next game they faced a good defense in the Steelers and neither team made a ton of progress with Pittsburgh losing the game 13-6. Their most impressive win came in Week 3 as they went into Tampa Bay and won 26-7. Nix looked very good in this game and it was arguably his best game of the year. They won the next two games, taking down the Jets (getting lucky that the Jets missed a game-winning field goal), and easily beating the Raiders. They lost a close game to the Chargers before beating both the Saints and the Panthers. Last week, though, the Ravens destroyed the Broncos. A normally good Denver defense allowed 41 points. They were gashed both on the ground and through the air. We know the Chiefs' defense is good, but they've looked a bit shaky at times and are coming off of a short week. Nix will likely have a better chance to attack them through the air. 

DENVER, COLORADO - AUGUST 18: Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos talks with quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham #8 and Bo Nix #10 in the first half during the preseason game against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field At Mile High on August 18, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Getty Images)

Kansas City is still undefeated and I wrote about them on Monday. To be honest, the win last week was actually a credit to the Buccaneers more than it was to the Chiefs. Tampa marched down field and tied up the game, and for whatever reason decided to kick the extra point instead of going for two and looking to win the game. If they go for two and get it, they likely win the game. If they miss the conversion, they still lose the game. To me, we've seen enough of Patrick Mahomes to know that you'd rather go for the 50/50 shot of getting the conversion instead of a 50/50 shot of a coin flip. The Broncos defense is pretty good against the pass, but the way Kansas City mixes up plays, it will be hard for them to fully shut down the Chiefs offense. You aren't much better off running the ball against Denver, but to the credit of the Chiefs, they have gotten a good boost from Kareem Hunt. 

I mentioned in my other article that the Giants would be a good team to put in a teaser, and I like the Chiefs to be the other leg of that. If you drop both of them down to even money or -0.5 favorites, I think you're positioning yourself for a strong win. You could also do a moneyline parlay of the teams. Realistically though, I think this is probably going to be an under game. Both teams do have good defenses, and in divisional battles you typically get lower scores. I'll back under 42. 

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