It’s round #2 for the Broncos and Chiefs (2-10). As we are often times forced to remember, the Broncos lost their first game of the season in Kansas City to a previously winless Chiefs team. The Chiefs then went on to lose 7 in a row before picking up a win last week against the Raiders. The Broncos are out for revenge, and they want to secure their first place standing in the AFC West. The Broncos have won their last 3 consecutive road games, but lost their last home game to the 3-8 Raiders. The Broncos have won their last 7 home games against the Chiefs. Both teams are full of rookies, and there are quite a few similarities between Jay Cutler and Chiefs’ QB Tyler Thigpen. I would be very disappointed if the Broncos lost this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised with the way the team has played this season. My Prediction: Broncos 36 Chiefs 21. 

Offense

Broncos - The Broncos offense gave up 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles in their week 4 loss. Since then, Cutler has minimized his turnovers, and the running game has been more of a threat. Cutler has plenty of options in the air, and Peyton Hillis will be starting in the backfield. Selvin Young returns to action this week, so he will be sharing carries with Hillis. These two guys could potentially have a big game against the Chiefs run defense which is ranked 31st in the league. Cutler is a barometer for this team. When he throws the ball away and gets down on himself, the rest of the offense takes a big hit. In the team’s 7 wins, Cutler averaged 2 TDs and almost 310 yards passing. In their 5 losses, Cutler averaged 2 turnovers and 246 yards passing.                

Chiefs- Denver’s defense will meet a new Chiefs offense. If you thought they looked good back in week 4, take a look at them now. Out with Damon Huard and in with Tyler Thigpen. Thiggy can run just as well as Cutler, and he is proving himself to be the Chiefs QB of the future. In fact, he leads all NFL QBs in rushing yards. Larry Johnson had almost 200 yards rushing and 2 TDs in week 4. When these two teams last played, the Chiefs relied on the run, and only passed on third downs. Now, the Chiefs are running a spread offense and giving Thigpen more chances to throw the ball. Tony Gonzalez has been on fire lately with over 100 yards receiving in the last two games. This team found gaps in the Broncos defense last time, and they are very capable of doing that again.  

Defense

Broncos - Creating turnovers helped this team win in New York, and that’s exactly what this defense needs to do for the rest of the season. Nate Webster is back in the lineup and there’s a possibility of D.J. Williams returning to action. In week 4 the Broncos were still testing their 3-4 alignment which allowed Larry Johnson to go off. Now, they are content with sticking to the 4-3 formation. Johnson does have a tendency to fumble the ball, so this defense needs to take advantage of his carelessness. The secondary has their work cut out for them with Gonzalez, Dwayne Bowe, and Mark Bradley looking for open slots down field. As defensive players start to return from injuries, there will be more leadership on the field which will hopefully be enough to provide a nice springboard into the playoffs.    

Chiefs - The Chiefs are just as bad as the Broncos are on defense. The Chiefs are a young team. Rookies Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr will be responsible for stopping the Broncos high powered passing offense. They do have veteran safeties, Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page helping them out, but it has been the pass rush defense (or lack thereof) that has hurt the Chiefs. They have the lowest sack total in the league (6), so the Broncos offensive line should have a great day. This team is last in total defense, but they can create turnovers. They are tied for the lead with 13 forced fumbles recovered.           

Special Teams  

Broncos - This unit is back on track. Matt Prater connected on both of his field goals last week. Punt coverage has been exceptional, but there are still some gaps in kickoff coverage. Eddie Royal has the potential for some big run backs setting the Broncos up in great field position.

Chiefs- Dantrell Savage leads the Chiefs in returns. His long for the season is 59 yards, and he has not returned any kicks for a touchdown. Connor Barth replaced Nick Novak in kicking field goals. Novak was 6 for 10 on the season, and Novak is 8 for 8.

Coaching

Broncos - Mike Shanahan will not let his team lose at home to one of the worst teams in the league. The coaching staff did a great job of calling aggressive plays on offense and defense against the Jets. When the team is executing, and the play calling throws other teams off balance, this coaching staff looks brilliant.  

Raiders - Herm Edwards does not deserve to keep his job. His play calling abilities go down the drain as the game wears on. He gets too conservative if he has the lead, and he doesn’t utilize his stars the way he should. Edwards and Shanahan have coached against each other for many years, but give the edge to the Broncos this time around.    

Shanahan said that the Broncos’ offense put the defense in tough positions to stop a Kansas City score. He said,

“When you take a look at a game like that, people will point to the defense, and that is so far from the truth…There is a lot that goes into a football game, and everybody wants to throw it at the defense. Any offense that does that gives your defense no chance”  (Denver Post).

He does make a valid point about the Broncos offense. They did have 4 turnovers, and along with poor kickoff coverage, they allowed the Chiefs to start six drives in Denver territory. The offense only scored 1 TD after making four trips into the red zone. They did hold the Chiefs for three quarters, but that’s easy to overlook when you analyze the Broncos’ entire defensive season.

The Broncos’ defense has allowed 30+ points in the past three games, and they’ve only recorded six sacks against opposing QBs. Overall the team ranks 30th in total defense and 24th in pass defense.

Despite the offense’s performance, one would think that this defense could put a stop to the ailing Chiefs even if they were playing at Arrowhead. The Chiefs scored 33 points against the Broncos. Before Sunday’s game, they had scored 32 points combined in their 3 losses. They had experimented with 4 QBs, and Larry Johnson had 1 TD and was averaging 3.8 yards per carry in their first three games. Against the Broncos defense, Johnson exploded for 198 yds., 2 TDs, and 7.1 yds. per carry. He ran for 65 yards virtually untouched during the Chief’s first drive. The Chiefs converted 5-13 on third down, which isn’t too bad from the defense’s perspective, however, they converted on third and longs as time was winding down and after the Broncos had made two big defensive stops. Damon Huard had 5+ seconds to throw the ball on each play when no one was blitzing and Dre Bly was always 10 yards away from Dwayne Bowe when he caught the ball. Easy tackles were missed and when that happens, it keeps the Broncos offense of the field. Maybe the offense couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm because of the defense.

Anyone who thought that the Broncos offense could continue averaging 38 points per game was off their rocker. We knew it wasn’t going to keep up the entire season, and the defense needed to improve quickly for when there was an offensive collapse. We didn’t think it would happen against Kansas City, but it did. Now, is the time for the defense to step up. 

What do you think about the Broncos defensive play?  Leave a comment below.

The Broncos take on the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. After two close calls at home, Jay Cutler and the Broncos are excited to get on the road. Cutler says,

“Kind of glad we’re on the road this week, get a way from Mile High a little bit. You get on the road, and it’s kind of just us guys out there, battling against them” (Denver Post).

I’m excited to see the Broncos play away from Invesco. As an athlete, there’s nothing like having the crowd against you to motivate you to win…especially if it’s an angry Chiefs’ crowd! It will be good to see how they perform even if it is against an 0-3 Chiefs team. Denver actually has an overall losing record (45-52) against the Chiefs, but the Broncos swept them last season. They are going for their first 3 game win streak against the team since the 91′-92′ season, and Mike Shanahan is going for his 150th career win. Maybe second to the Raiders, he would love to achieve that milestone against the Chiefs. Don’t expect to see the team lose this week. I got an email from Bodog as to what unbeaten team will be the last team to lose a game in the 2008 season, and Denver ranked second behind Dallas with 3/2 odds. My prediction for week 4: Broncos – 34 Chiefs – 14. 

Offense

Broncos - They are still the #1 offense in the league, and through three games, the Broncos have never put up as many points (114). I think the most impressive stat thus far is the one sack that Jay Cutler has taken all season. Unbelievable from an offensive line with rookie Ryan Clady, and second year player, Ryan Harris at the tackle spots. Not only that, but the second string center and former Chief, Casey Wiegmann, has had to fill in for Tom Nalen. A big thanks to KC for releasing him! The running back by committee thing is still working well for the Broncos with Selvin Young and Andre Hall swapping spots on the sideline every five plays. It doesn’t matter if they carry the ball. Five plays is five plays and they’re out. Then, they throw Michael Pittman in for the tough running. He’s got 4 TDs in three games. As far as the wide receivers go, Darrell Jackson is still out due to injury, but to be honest, I kind of forgot about him. With Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and tight end Tony Scheffler, the boys know how to get points on the board. The Falcons put up 38 points against the Chiefs’ defense, so I don’t anticipate the offense having an off week this week.    

Chiefs- Where to start? The Chiefs have the QB by committee thing going on right now, but not by choice. Brodie Croyle is out for at least two more weeks, so last week they let third stringer Tyler Thigpen play after 11-year veteran backup Damon Huard performed poorly. So, what can Herm Edwards do? The only thing he can at this point. Go back to the backup. Huard will get the start. Who finishes? I don’t know, maybe a running back. They should just keep the ball on the ground the entire game anyway. The Larry Johnson of old would’ve carried this team on his shoulders, but this season, he’s lucky if can carry the ball. Dudes got two fumbles already. Dwayne Bowe leads the team in receiving yards and TDs and Tony Gonzalez can always be a threat. Other than that, it’s a stale offense that’s 30th in the league in total offensive production. At least they’re not the worst offense in the state. Good Lord, Missouri! 

Defense

Broncos – Now is the time for the Broncos to tweak their defense. They’re going up against a struggling offense so lets find out what works. They tested the waters with the 3-4 alignment last week against the Saints, but that still didn’t help the pass rush. The Broncos only have 5 sacks in 3 games this year, and I know that Elvis Dumervil is itching to get his first take down beind the line of scrimmage. It’ll come against this Chiefs young offensive line. Using the 3-4 allowed linebacker Jamie Winborn some time on the field, but the Broncos will mainly stick to their 4-3 alignment. D.J. Williams leads the team and is second in the league in tackles with 28 (23 solo, 5 ast.), yet this defensive unit could not stop a baby stroller from rolling down the street right now. This Chiefs team should open themselves up for the Broncos to get into some kind of defensive rhythm because they’ll need it in week 5 against Tampa Bay. What? I’m not looking ahead already. 

Chiefs - This is one area in the standings where the Chiefs out perform the Broncos. Not by much, though. I’m pretty sure that Patrick Surtain is missing the pressure that the Chiefs could put on the QB at one time. They lost that when Jared Allen moved two states north. Their rush defense is nearly last in the league. Wasn’t Glenn Dorsey supposed to do something about that. They did have an awesome draft. Thus far, the team’s got 2 sacks, 0 interceptions, and their leading tackler, Tank Tyler has just 16 total tackles. The Broncos should have a field day on offense, and if they don’t get into the endzone at least four times, I’ll be surprised.

Special Teams  

Broncos - Matt Prater remains perfect on the season making 5 of 5 field goals. Last week against the Saints he did a great job of not letting Reggie Bush return kicks. He sent 6 of 8 kickoffs into the endzone with 4 of them being touchbacks. That needs to happen for the rest of the season. Brett Kern continues to do well punting the ball with an average of 49.4 yards per kick. The special teams coverage did a nice job on Reggie Bush last week. B.J. Sams isn’t Reggie Bush or Devin Hester, but because guys have broken lose in the first two weeks, the Broncos’ special teams cannot rest easy. 

Chiefs - Nick Novak is 1 for 2 on field goal attempts, but let’s face it…this game isn’t going to come down to field goals. Sams is averaging 20.0 yard per kickoff and 8.3 yards per punt. They’re allowing 23.6 yards on kick returns and 6.1 yards on punt returns. Not much to say about the Chiefs special teams except that I’m sure Novak wishes he could get onto the field more. 

Coaching

Broncos – Definitely give the coaching edge to Mike Shanahan. He’s doing things with a team that the league didn’t even acknowledge before the season started. Don’t expect a conservative game plan in Kansas City. He’s willing to call big plays in risky situations. If he goes to Las Vegas anytime soon, you know he’s coming back with a thicker wallet.  

Chiefs - Herm Edwards is a hated man in KC right now. His calls are too conservative probably because his team is so young that he is still trying to evaluate what they are capable of. I don’t know why I’m trying to justify this train wreck that is the Chiefs. One thing is certain: fans are getting upset!