Here’s what we think will happen when the Chiefs take on the Broncos on Sunday.
Last week, the Arrowhead Pride contributors went a perfect 12-0 when each contributor picked the Chiefs to beat the Bengals. The contributor standings won’t see any shuffle this week.
FanPulse is a survey of fans across the NFL powered by SurveyMonkey. Each week, we send 32 polls to 100-plus plugged-in fans from each team.
Arrowhead Pride FanPulse predicts the Chiefs to win by 12
Mile High Report FanPulse predicts the Chiefs to win by 6
You can sign up for AP FanPulse here to take the weekly survey.
Now let’s get on to the predictions:
Shawn Barber, Chiefs 30-24
This week’s prediction location is the Pro Shop at Arrowhead Stadium.
Keys to the game
1. Stop the Run. Make the Broncos offense one-dimensional. Case Keenum has been struggling with his accuracy when any amount of pressure is put on the pocket. Make him complete passes in tight windows.
2. Broncos have a defensive MVP and a rookie pass rusher that is coming into his own. They play a lot of tight man coverage to allow pressure to get home.
3. Chiefs offense needs to be great on pass-protection communication. Take advantage of the man-to-man matchups Kelce/Hunt against Broncos linebackers/safeties
This will be an important game versus a divisional opponent.
Just like last week...we need the 12th man on defense to be loud and rowdy this Sunday. The Sea of Red should make the Chiefs’ pass rush unstoppable. The Chiefs secondary should be flying around like a bunch of madmen.
Aaron Borgmann, Chiefs 42-17
Denver proved in the last meeting that the home team is susceptible to momentary slowdowns. That was a long time ago and a mile in the sky. This team continues to improve weekly in some fashion or another. I don’t see how that slows down on a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead. This will get ugly early and the game will be over by half.
John Dixon, Chiefs 31-27
I don’t know if the Broncos’ 45-10 win against the Cardinals was a fluke or a sign that they might be getting their act together (Let’s be honest: if we believe the Chiefs 45-10 win against the Bengals is a sign the Chiefs defense is getting its act together, we have to consider that possibility — even if the Broncos’ win was against Arizona instead of Cincinnati). I don’t know if Chad Kelly’s arrest is a sign that the team is in turmoil and is about to self-destruct, or if the incident will turn out to be something the team can use to rally around. And I don’t know how many more blows the Chiefs offensive line can sustain. Here’s what I do know: This is a division game. The Chiefs are a better team. The Broncos have held the Chiefs to fewer points than any other team this season — and right now, they have their backs to the wall. And Patrick Mahomes has come back to beat the Broncos. Twice.
Matt Lane, Chiefs 41-20
This Week 4 rematch should really favor the Chiefs coming in with a fantastic home field advantage and off such a dominating performance against the Bengals last Sunday Night. Both teams are dealing with a couple injuries, the Broncos will be thinner at RB while the Chiefs IOL is a bit of a mess currently, but it shouldn’t completely derail either team.
When the Broncos are offense, the Chiefs will need to continue their defense improvement from last week and continue to swarm to the ball carriers near the LoS. Dorian O’Daniel and Jordan Lucas have both emerged as contributors since the last meeting and are bringing a fire, attitude, and speed to a defense that was severely lacking it during the first game. Dee Ford and Breeland Speaks should both be in for high quality games against the Broncos struggling OTs making a easily frazzled Case Keenum even more shaky than normal.
When the Chiefs have the ball, it really is up to Mahomes to be more comfortable with his pre-snap reads of the Broncos pressure and amoeba fronts. It’s not an easy task to put on a young QB, but he seemed generally perplexed, at times, on who was coming and who was dropping in the first Denver game and the majority of success came far out of structure. The Chiefs can always win that way but getting back into more structure will help the consistency of the offense. A few things the Chiefs will need to do to help out Young Mahomes:
1) Win vs man coverage: having Sammy Watkins backs helps a ton here, as no WR outside Hill could get open
2) Keep using Hunt outside the OTs: RPOs and sweeps should make up the bulk of the Chiefs runs
3) More man beaters: Whether slants, mesh concepts, or drags the Chiefs need to take a page out of McVay’s playbook and attack Denver horizontally to set up the vertical attack
This game should be over by the 4th Quarter baring a massive let down up the middle of the Chiefs IOL. The Chiefs simply have too much fire power and a defense playing well at home for the Broncos to match up.
Gary McKenzie, Chiefs 38-17
I think the Chiefs defense may be starting to come together a bit. Perhaps it was unfair for us to assume Anthony Hitchens would be able to master Sutton’s system on day one. I’m looking for steady improvement from the defense from week to week, and this is another opportunity for the defense to give me hope they can play at a level high enough to go deep in the playoffs.
I’m also watching Mahomes’ TD total. He needs about 3.8 passing touchdowns per game to pass Manning’s record of 55 in 2013. Mahomes didn’t play great against the Broncos the first time around. I’m curious to see how he responds, but ultimately I think he’ll answer the call and throw three TD passes.
Matt Stagner, Chiefs 24-13
There’s something different about playing division games. Maybe it’s the level of familiarity and the resulting contempt. Maybe it’s the added pressure of knowing that each game matters more in the standings. Maybe it’s the long history between the franchises. But, there’s something different this year that hasn’t been true for my lifetime. The difference that Mahomes makes can’t be overstated. Whether he throws for five touchdowns or struggles, everyone in the building and everyone watching at home will be confident that when the game is on the line, he’ll come through. The matchup is somewhat irrelevant this week. The Chiefs expect to win, and they should. The coaching advantage and quarterback advantage trump any other individual matchup.
Craig Stout, Chiefs 38-10
The last time the Chiefs and the Broncos faced each other, it took some Monday Night Magic from Pat Mahomes to pull out a victory in Denver’s “championship game.” The Broncos may have beat the snot out of the Cardinals last week, but this ain’t no “bounce-back” — Arizona’s just that bad. The Chiefs offense at home will put it on the Denver defense early, and Case Keenum will have to try to throw the Broncos back into the game, taking the Denver running game completely out of the equation. Keenum has thrown an interception in every game this year, and he’s got three games without a TD, including the last time these two teams faced. The Chiefs are just too much for the Broncos to run with, and this game is over early.
Kent Swanson, Chiefs 31-10
Could there be any more distractions in Denver right now? Trade rumors, Cowboy parties, (hilariously considered the future of the franchise) quarterbacks trespassing.
Good thing the Broncos have strong leadership to rise above the chaos. Also good thing their 2017 draft class was a huge hit that can help them rally from the six players whose game status is in question. Also good that Case Keenum is playing at such a high level.
Pete Sweeney, Chiefs 31-28
I know I’m in the minority in the fact that I believe this Denver team is coming on a bit (hello, 10-point spread), but after they were the very first team this season to slow Patrick Mahomes down, I expect the Broncos to come in once again with a sound defensive game plan. Football starts in the trenches, and I’m not 100 percent comfortable with all of the changes along the Chiefs offensive line. As of this writing, it is still unannounced as to who Patrick Mahomes’ center will be. I am not crazy enough to pick a Broncos win, but I do expect it to be closer than people think.
Joel Thorman, Chiefs 33-14
Case Keenum is Primetime Andy Dalton, which translates into very, very bad. I judge all Chiefs opponents now on whether they can score 35-plus points to win. These Broncos can’t.
Aly Trost, Chiefs 38-17
Case Keenum hasn’t had a zero-interception game yet this season, which is perfect for a rising Chiefs defense that’s tallied five picks at Arrowhead. Therefore, in addition to a Chiefs victory, I am predicting another pick-sick. Hello Ron Parker, you there? Phillip Lindsay will be the one to stop on the Bronco’s offense and if the defense can slow him down then do what they did to Blake Bortles against the Jags to Case Keenum on Sunday... they’ll have no problem getting ahead fast and early. Given all that’s happening over in Denver right now, on top of the fact that the Chiefs still have a red-hot Patrick Mahomes
Dane Van Why, Chiefs 35-17
I find it hard to believe this Broncos offense can compete with the speed and efficiency at which the Chiefs have operated with this season. That being said, I do believe the Broncos defense is still capable of slowing down Patrick Mahomes and the “Air Reid” offense, but not enough to make an impact on the outcome of this game.
Here are the staff rankings:
Since each contributor picked the Chiefs over the Bengals last week, there hasn’t been any movement in the standings.
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