Peyton Manning (18) motions at the line of scrimmage in the second half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos won 17-9. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

It may be a 12-3 team against a 2-13 team, but this is an important one for both the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs. If Houston loses to Indianapolis and the Broncos win, the Broncos secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC. If the Chiefs lose, they secure themselves the No. 1 overall draft pick. The Broncos have 12 or more wins eight times in franchise history. Of the previous seven times, they have gone to the AFC Championship three times and won the Super Bowl two times. The last time these two teams met in week 12, the Broncos beat the Chiefs 17-9. The Chiefs own a 56-48 advantage over the Broncos all-time, but the Broncos have a 32-30 record against the Chiefs when playing in Denver. Kickoff is set for 2:25 p.m. MST on CBS with Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts calling the game.

Offense

Broncos: Romeo Crennel usually does a pretty good job of throwing Peyton Manning off. In the last meeting, Manning went 22-for-37 for 282 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Broncos didn’t get on the scoreboard until there was 18 seconds left in the first half, and the team put up its lowest point total all season. This was the first game that Knowshon Moreno filled in for Willis McGahee and he had 20 carries for 85 yards. Finding an increasing role in the offense has been tight end Jacob Tamme. He’s actually the key to the Broncos finding out how defenses play them. The Broncos are 2nd in points per game (29.5) and 4th in third down conversions.

Chiefs: The Chiefs have the 3rd best rusher in the league, but that doesn’t matter when you can’t hold onto the ball. For the first time in NFL history, the Chiefs ran for 352 yards (226 yards from Jamaal Charles), and lost 20-13 to the Indianapolis Colts. The team had three turnovers including two in the red zone. Ranked last in points per game (13.9), the Chiefs are also last in red zone touchdown percentage and 1st in turnovers (37). The Chiefs are 5th in rushing, but 31st in passing. In nine games, Brady Quinn had just 2 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Charles ran for 107 yards on 23 carries against the Broncos in week 12.

Defense

Broncos: It’s all about stopping the run on Sunday. In the last meeting, the Broncos forced the Chiefs to go 3-for-14 on third down, but Charles still ran up and over the Broncos’ defense. The key to containing Charles is to force the Chiefs to play form behind. With a 2+ touchdown lead in the second half, the Chiefs will be forced to throw. With good pressure, Quinn will make mistakes and the defense can blow this game wide open. The Broncos are 3rd in yards allowed and 1st in third down defense.

Chiefs: The Chiefs’ defense can get stops, they just can’t create turnovers. The turnover margin. That’s how teams have been able to crush the Chiefs’ season. The Chiefs are giving up 25.8 points per game, they have a league low 7 interceptions, and they’re 29th in sacks with 27 on the year. It’s a wonder three of their players made this year’s Pro Bowl roster (Tamba Hali, Eric Berry, and Derrick Johnson). They are 26th against the rush and 9th against the pass.

Special Teams

Broncos: This is a great time for special teams to clean up its act. Trindon Holliday really needs to work on hanging onto the football. He’s fumbled both a punt and a kickoff, and he’s dropped two other punts this season. The Broncos have been able to recover some, but still, it was a fumbled punt that kept the San Francisco 49ers out of the Super Bowl last season. Now is the time to tighten up.

Chiefs: If there’s one positive to the Chiefs having a terrible offense, it’s the fact that punter Dustin Colquitt gets the chance to shine. On Sunday he tied the season record for placing the most punts inside the 20-yard line (42). Arizona Cardinals’ punter Dave Zastudil then broke the record on Sunday. This is either Colquitt’s or Zastudil’s title to win in week 17. It’s a small consolation prize for being on a 2-13 team and a 5-10 team, respectively.

Coaching

Broncos: John Fox has done a great job of keeping his team focused all season. Now the Super Bowl favorites, Fox is keeping it business as usual and not letting the hype get in. With a win on Sunday, Fox will have 100-career victories (including post season) which will make him the 40th coach to hit such a mark.

Chiefs: Romeo Crennel is likely coaching his last game with the Chiefs, and his goal is to do it from the sideline. Wait, isn’t that where a head coach is supposed to stand? Life his team, Crennel was in pain. He had fluid drained from his knee Wednesday and is now on crutches.

Prediction: Broncos – 28 Chiefs- 12

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Can Willis McGahee average more than 3.3 yards per carry against the Chargers this time? (Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE)

There hasn’t been a bigger regular season matchup for the 6-3 Denver Broncos heading into this week’s game against the 4-5 San Diego Chargers. With a win, the Broncos could essentially have a four-game lead over the second place Chargers in the race for the best in the AFC West.The Broncos are going for their fifth consecutive win while the Chargers are trying to avenge their last meeting, a blowout loss in which the Broncos put up 35 unanswered points after being down by 24 points at halftime. Since the two teams last met, the Broncos have not lost a game while the Chargers have gone 1-2. The last time the Broncos swept the Chargers was in 2005. The Broncos own a 56-48-1 advantage over the Chargers all-time. Kickoff is set for 2:25 p.m. MDT on CBS.

Offense

Broncos: The Broncos’ passing game is on fire. It’s the running game that’s struggled as of late. The Chargers only gave up 57 yards on the ground in the first meeting. The Broncos will need Willis McGahee to put his recent struggles behind him (he fumbled twice last week), and balance out this offense. Peyton Manning has thrown for over 300 yards in six of his last seven games, and he had 309 passing yards and three touchdowns in week 6. The Broncos are 3rd in yards per game (395.1) and 2nd in points per game (30.1). Still, there’s room for improvement because the sky’s the limit with this offense.

Chargers: The story of the Chargers’ offense has been turnovers. With 12 interceptions, Philip Rivers is on pace to set a new career-high. He’s also fumbled the ball six time (losing three). The fourth quarter has been Rivers’ demise. He ranks 33rd in the league in passer rating (56.5) for the final quarter. You can tell he’s missing Vincent Jackson. Rivers connected with Antonio Gates for two touchdowns in week 6, but he threw four interceptions during the game. The opportunities for picks will present themselves for the Broncos’ defense especially with pressure coming up front. Ryan Mathews has a lot of talent, but the Chargers aren’t letting him spread his wings as he’s averaging 67.9 rushing yards per game when he’s capable of much more. The Chargers are 22nd in yards per game (334.6) and 17th in points per game (23.2).

Defense

Broncos: This is a play-making, opportunistic defense. It seems like if the offense is dragging, the defense always seems to lift them with a turnover or even a defensive score. The team is 3rd in forced fumbles and 1st in sacks. Von Miller is making a strong case for himself for being named the defensive player of the year. He’s 2nd in the league in sacks and 1st in tackles for a loss. The Broncos created six turnovers the last time they played the Chargers which is what got them back in the game. It will be interesting to see if and how much the Broncos use  linebacker D.J. Williams who is back from a 9-game suspension. Wesley Woodyard will remain at weakside linebacker.

Chargers: The best looking side of the Chargers is on defense. They’re 7th in yards allowed per game (317.0), 11th in points allowed (21.2), and 2nd in run defense. The Chargers have an experienced secondary that is very capable of making big plays. Quentin Jammer intercepted Manning in the last outing, and Eric Weddle and Antoine Cason are always a threat. Even though the Chargers have some veterans back there, they’re still giving up big plays. Five different Broncos’ receivers had catches for at least 21 yards. If there’s an opportunity to isolate Demaryius Thomas on any one of these corners, it would be in the Broncos best interest to take a shot down field.

Special Teams

Broncos: There’s no one that gets the heart pumping like Trindon Holliday. The return specialist returned a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown two weeks ago, and then returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown last week. Also give credit to the Broncos’ coverage units. They’re allowing just 3.5 yards on punt returns and 21.8 yards on kick returns.

Chargers: The Chargers had a punt blocked and recovered for a touchdown against the Buccaneers last week. The Chargers know better than anyone else that special teams can make or break a season. In 2010, the team was ranked 2nd in scoring offense and 10th in scoring defense, yet they didn’t make the playoffs.

Coaching

Broncos: It will be interesting to see how John Fox and Jack Del Rio handle D.J. Williams’ return. Will they play a little 3-4 defense? Overall, the Broncos’ coaching staff is much more talented than the Chargers’ staff and it showed when the Broncos were able to come back from 24 points down in the last meeting.

Chargers: Norv Turner is absolutely out the door at the end of the season. The Chargers wouldn’t really have anyone to call the offensive plays if he were to be fired mid-season.

Prediction: Broncos – 34 Chargers- 21

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Outside linebacker Wesley Woodyard (52) celebrates with free safety Jim Leonhard (36) after Leonhard intercepted a pass during the second quarter against the San Diego Chargers. (Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE)

Sunday night’s matchup up features the 3-3 Denver Broncos against the 2-4 New Orleans Saints. The Broncos are coming off of their bye week and trying to win two straight for the first time all season. Meanwhile, the Saints are coming in with two straight wins after losing their first four. The Broncos own a 7-2 advantage all-time (4-1 at home, 3-1 away). The last time these two teams met was in September ’08 and the Broncos beat the Saints 34-32. The Broncos are tied for the NFL’s second best record (17-6) in games immediately following the bye week. For the 13th straight week, the Broncos will have a network’s No. 1 broadcasting crew calling the game. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.. MDT on NBC.

Offense

Broncos: It’s all about putting 60 minutes of good football together in all three phases. The offense has had the biggest issue with that, stumbling out of the gates since the season started. In four out of their first six games, the Broncos haven’t put up any points in the first quarter. They have just 15 points total in the first quarter all season which is troublesome because the first quarter is the quarter that the Broncos have held onto the ball the longest. There’s no better way to change that than by going up against the NFL’s worst defense which is giving up 465.5 yards per game. The Broncos offense is ranked 6th putting up 384.7 yards per game. If any of that second half momentum from the Chargers game can carry over, the Broncos should be fine. Starting the game by letting Peyton Manning make the calls is the first step.

Saints: It’s not their offense that’s their bread and butter. It’s Drew Brees that feeds the team. Brees has this entire team on his shoulders right now with a poorly performing defense and the league’s worst rushing attack. The Saints are No. 1 in passing at 335.2 yards per game, and they’re putting up 29.3 points per game which is good enough for 3rd in the league. If it’s a third down situation, you can bet Brees is passing the ball. All season long when the Saints have been in anything longer than a 3rd and 3, they’ve passed the ball 100% of the time. Brees already has 2,097 passing yards and 18 interceptions. The Saints have seven touchdowns of 20 yards or more which is tied for first place in the NFL. Marques Colston is leading the team in receiving while Pierre Thomas is leading the team in rushing with just 35.7 yards per game.

Defense

Broncos: The Broncos defense has given up some huge plays on third down this season. Now they face the 2nd best third down offense (48.2%). The Broncos are ranked 10th in passing defense. The next best pass defense that the Saints have seen this season is the 12th ranked Atlanta Falcons. Usually when a team is one-dimensional, it’s easier to stop them. This isn’t the case for the Saints. The Broncos could be without starting cornerback Tracy Porter who was suffering from seizure-related symptoms and was held out of week 6. Chris Harris and Tony Carter would replace Porter, and those two men combined for four takeaways in week 6. The Broncos have to limit the big pass plays. Brees is capable of leading slow, high play volume drives, but that will give the Broncos more of a chance to pressure him and create turnovers.

Saints: The Saints are 31st in rush defense and 30th in pass defense. This team could easily give up 40 points to the Broncos between Manning and Willis McGahee. They’re giving up 160.3 rushing yards per game which tells us that if the Broncos can get their ground game going, they can limit Brees’ time on the field. Curtis Lofton leads the team in tackles (59), Junior Galette leads the team in sacks (4.0), and three players have one interception on the season. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma is back in the lineup for just the second week after serving his Bountygate-related suspension.

Special Teams

Broncos: Trindon Holliday will get another shot to return punts despite his fumble in week 6. Britton Colquitt’s leg is as important as ever to make Brees work a full field.

Saints: The Saints’ return unit has some jets. We all know what Darren Sproles can do. He’s averaging 28.7 yards per kick return, and has a long of 48 yards. On kickoffs, it’s best if Matt Prater just boots it into the end zone. Saints’ kicker Garrett Hartley is 7-for-9 on field goals with misses from beyond 30 and 40 yards.

Coaching

Broncos: John Fox is very familiar with Brees and the Saints from his days in the same division when he was with the Carolina Panthers. He’s drilled it into his players’ heads that the stats and the win-loss record doesn’t tell the whole story. This is an explosive team on film, and one that’s gaining momentum.

Saints: Interim head coach Joe Vitt is back for the first time since serving a 6-game suspension. Vitt is Sean Payton’s right hand man, and will likely get this defense under control. Vitt knew all along which game he was coming back for, so you can be sure that he spent plenty of time scouting the Broncos from his couch.

Prediction: Broncos – 39 Saints- 28

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