Broncos vs. Chiefs: Behind Enemy Lines with Arrowhead Addict

The Denver Broncos take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the final meeting of 2018. I chat with Travis Steffen from Arrowhead Addict for his take on the Chiefs.

In what will be the most important matchup to date for the Denver Broncos, the team travels to Arrowhead to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs. It will be the final time in 2018 that these two teams will face off. The first meeting was a classic. Despite Denver’s efforts, they came up short when Patrick Mahomes led them back from a ten-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

It will not be easy winning at Arrowhead, however. When it comes to the divisional games, anything can happen. Both teams have played close games in the series history. On Any Given Sunday, it can happen. Broncos Country is hoping the team wins.

For the second time this season, we have crossed into enemy lines to chat with Arrowhead Addict. However, this time, I chat with Travis Steffan. Here is what he had to say about the state of the Kansas City Chiefs through the first seven games of the season.

Kansas City looks like they are on a mission. What has been the reason behind their success?

The Chiefs have built this offense over the last five years. Patrick Mahomes could not have come into a better situation not only in a weapons aspect but coaching as well. Andy Reid is clearly having fun getting creative with a quarterback like Mahomes. 

Do you believe Patrick Mahomes is the real deal or has it been difficult to exploit the weaknesses?

Mahomes has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Some of his success is due to weapons and scheme, but make no mistake, he’s the real deal. Every week you hear coaches and defenses talk about how they tried to throw everything they had at him to pressure or confuse him. He’s excellent at reading the field post snap and his pocket awareness and mobility have made it extremely difficult to contain him. Mahomes can make throws that very few quarterbacks in this league can make and I see him being a long time franchise quarterback for this organization. 

With the recent history of playoff purgatory, could this be the year KC breaks through?

We’ve heard all of the tests that the Chiefs have to beat before people become believers. Mahomes has exceeded all of them. The only remaining test will be the playoffs. The Chiefs organization knew they needed more than an above average quarterback to make it further in the postseason. They drafted Mahomes to be a playoff quarterback. A player that can make the big plays needed to win those games. I think this could absolutely be the year that the Chiefs get further in the post-season as long as the defense can just make a couple of stops and not lose the game for the offense. 

What will Kansas City need to do to secure the win against the Broncos?

Denver did a great job of disguising their blitz packages in the first half last time these two teams met. Luckily, Mahomes was able to figure that out and come out to carry his team when nothing was going right in the offense. Kansas City will still have some injuries along the offensive line, but if center Mitch Morse is back, I feel much more confident about the offense. Kansas City will have to tackle better against Denver this time around. It killed them in Week 4. Much of this game will come down to the inside linebackers being allowed to be more aggressive against the running game, and rookie Dorian O’Daniel getting more time against running backs in coverage. If they can clean that up and get aggressive, they should walk out with a win. 

How do you see this game playing out?

I will never predict a major victory for either team when it comes to these two playing each other. Chiefs vs. Broncos is always a great game. Even when you would think it will be a blowout, each team finds a way to keep it close. Given that the game is in Kansas City, I see the game swinging in the Chiefs’ favor. Denver’s fans made it hard for Kansas City’s offense forcing numerous false starts which the fanbase should be proud of. I think this game ends with the Chiefs being the victor but not by more than a touchdown. 

Thank You Travis for taking the time out to chat with me. If you want to see what I had to say to Travis regarding the state of the Denver Broncos, you can follow the link here.