Broncos Face Major Obstacle in Arrowhead vs. the Chiefs
As good as the Denver Broncos have been at times this year, one thing they have not been is strong on the road against, well, ‘good’ teams. Every team in the NFL has good players, but no matter how many times we hear coaches and players give us by-the-book answers about how every team is good enough to beat every team, we all know there are some teams that just flat out aren’t that good.
The two teams the Denver Broncos have beaten on the road this season (in five games) are the Oakland Raiders (1-10) and New York Jets (2-9), clearly two of the worst teams in the NFL this season. The only three losses the Broncos have this season have come on the road at the hands of the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks, the pesky New England Patriots, and the giant-killer St. Louis Rams.
With their next big road test coming up on Sunday in Kansas City, the Broncos face a major challenge now after having beaten the Miami Dolphins in a hard fought game at home. They must now prove to the rest of the NFL — and more importantly themselves — that they can win in a playoff-type atmosphere on the road, in one of the most hostile places to play at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs are coming off of a really disappointing road loss themselves against the Oakland Raiders. They are going to be geeked up to play on their home field in front of their home crowd where they have traditionally been almost unbeatable this time of year. Even though the Chiefs nearly came back against the Broncos back in week two, that was a game the Broncos really struggled to close out in the second half, when the game was already well in hand.
I think the Broncos are a better team than the Chiefs, but usually you can throw record out the window in big rivalry games like this one. The Chiefs are 7-4, and the Broncos are 8-3. This game is pivotal not only for each team’s division title hopes, but with just one game separating many of the teams in the AFC, this could be a huge game in terms of just making the playoffs at all.
With this road game, the Broncos start a big stretch of games where they will play on the road against playoff contenders Kansas City, San Diego, and Cincinnati. I don’t know if the Broncos will run the table the rest of the way. The way they have played at times this season, I don’t know if that’s fair to expect, but I do think they really need to strap in and focus on the task at hand. In order to win in the playoffs, the Broncos have to prove their mettle on the road.
If they are able to win in Kansas City on Sunday, it will be a huge push in terms of the Broncos’ confidence as well as their pursuit of a fourth straight division title. It would bump the Broncos’ road record to 3-3 on the season, and improve their record in the AFC West to 4-0.
This is a huge game for the Broncos, who haven’t lost to the Chiefs since Peyton Manning became quarterback of the team.