Just two weeks ago, we saw the Kansas City Chiefs at 4-0, and the Denver Broncos were 0-4, trying hard for their first win. Now, we’re in a situation where if the Broncos get the win when the two teams clash on Thursday night, they will be just a game out of first place in the AFC West and will have knocked off two division rivals in a row. The Chiefs’ offense has struggled mightily while Patrick Mahomes has limped around the pocket, unable to deliver the darts we had become accustomed to over his prior 20 starts. He has to step up against a tough D on Thursday night.
The Broncos should be relatively happy with their situation right now. They could well be 4-2 or even 5-1, but twice after clutch Joe Flacco TD drives, their defense failed to get the stops they had to, losing on a pair of last-second scores. Their defense under Vic Fangio has been good, and the 1-2 RB punch with Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman has been successful here in 2019. They’d love nothing more than to hand the Chiefs a third consecutive loss.
The spread for Thursday night favors the visiting Chiefs by three points, while the over/under is set at 48.5.
KC Hoping To Turn It Around
Mahomes had led his team to score at least 25 points over each of his NFL starts, going back to Week 17 of 2017. And then he was limping around all game against the Colts, with the offense managing just 13. They could not stop Houston’s Deshaun Watson from lighting them up last week in a 31-24 defeat, and on the other side of the ball, they only put 24 points on the board, another week under the old threshold. They have had virtually no running game, with LeSean McCoy gaining 258 yards on 48 carries, and the other two backs not even amassing 80 yards yet. How will they perform?
The Chiefs’ pass rush is a bit weaker with Chris Jones out of the lineup, so they will look the likes of Emmanuel Ogbah to try and turn it around. They added the impressive Frank Clark from Seattle, but he is not showing them any promise yet. He will need to.
Broncos Try To Stay Hot
Last-second losses against the Jaguars and Bears aside, Denver has been a solid football team this year. Their defense held the Titans without a point last week, even forcing a QB change. The key seems to be holding their opponents under 14 points, as they have won both of those games. When It comes to late-game fourth downs, they have proved effective in converting four of their five chances. Lindsay and Freeman have combined for 671 rushing yards and four scores, plus 40 receptions for 292 yards.
With Bradley Chubb out, the pass rush is a little thinner, but they still have a strong unit there. Look for Von Miller to be playing harder than we normally even see, trying to get Mahomes down.
Broncos Keep KC Struggling
Denver at +3 is the bet, folks. A limping Mahomes may not be able to get it done Thursday night.
Free Play: DEN +3
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