Denver Broncos looking to start a new streak vs. Kansas City

The Denver Broncos are looking to start a new streak when they face off against the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in 2019.

The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs are going to face off on Sunday for the second time this season, but the Chiefs might be surprised at how different the Broncos look this time around.

Back in week seven, the Broncos hosted the Kansas City Chiefs for what appeared to be the team’s biggest game of the season.

Denver had recently ended a four-game losing streak to open the season with a victory on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers followed by a shutout victory at home over the Tennessee Titans.

The Broncos seemed to be on a positive trajectory before everything hit the fan in a Thursday night matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes went down early in the game with an injury, but the Broncos were unable to take advantage and ended up suffering one of the most embarrassing home losses in recent memory.

That loss came with Joe Flacco at quarterback, and Flacco would only play one more game for the Broncos before landing on IR with a neck injury.

The Broncos may have a similar two-game winning streak going into this game against Kansas City like they had earlier in the season, but this team has a completely different vibe. Drew Lock is the captain of the ship now.

The Broncos have lost every game to the Kansas City Chiefs since week two of the 2015 regular season. They’ve won a Super Bowl more recently than they’ve beaten the Chiefs.

The Chiefs have outscored the Broncos by 100 points — 235-135 — since that week two game in 2015 and although the Broncos have gotten close on a number of occasions (overtime in 2016, down to the wire in late 2017, and missed TD throw to win the game in 2018) the Chiefs have had the upper hand for eight straight games.

What goes up must come down, right?

The Broncos are hoping for a new streak to begin against the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon, or at least for the current streak we’re witnessing to end. The Chiefs have the Broncos’ number for half a regular season’s worth of games, and even with some of the worst teams the Broncos have had in franchise history, they’ve come close to stealing a couple of wins in there.

Why not this group? Why not this game?

The Broncos are riding a completely new wave of confidence heading into this game against Kansas City with rookie quarterback Drew Lock providing a major spark in his first two starts.

The Broncos have seen an emergence of late from rookie tight end Noah Fant, and their offense is generally getting healthy. Right tackle Ja’Wuan James played a clean half of football against the Houston Texans and will hopefully be able to increase his reps against the Chiefs.

The Broncos’ defense, although having to deal with a number of injuries this year, has played very well under Vic Fangio.

This is going to be the toughest game this young Broncos team is going to get in 2019. This is the Broncos’ Super Bowl, all told. The Broncos don’t get to play in the playoffs (most likely) this season, so this is their opportunity to treat a game like it’s do or die.

They won’t get to play the Chiefs again until next year. The players drafted in 2016 haven’t experienced a win against Kansas City, home or away.

There’s so much riding on this game and while the Broncos may not have a 38-3 cushion against the Chiefs like they had against the Houston Texans, they’ve shown they have the ability to win tough, tight games this season.

This is going to be a hard-fought divisional matchup and the Broncos have to come ready to play. They have to come ready to break this current streak the Chiefs are on.

The Broncos need to send a message with this game that the AFC West isn’t going to be easy for Kansas City to win in 2020 and going forward.