Denver Broncos: How the playoffs can be reached in 2021

2. Taking care of Kansas City Chiefs at home

The Broncos can only play the teams that are on their schedule. The Kansas City Chiefs are on the schedule twice a year as they’re in the same division. Denver has come close to beating the Chiefs in recent years but just haven’t been able to pull it off.

Unfortunately, the two teams don’t square off against each other until week 13 (@Kansas City) and then week 18 (@ home). If these matchups were sooner on the schedule, it would give the Broncos a better chance.

Nobody can predict injuries, and both teams may actually be quite healthy at that point in the year, but fatigue is also something that could play a role.

How exactly do the Broncos beat the Chiefs? Just look at what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did to them in the Super Bowl in February.

Tampa Bay’s defense didn’t allow Patrick Mahomes to get much accomplished. They got to Mahomes for three sacks and Mahomes also threw two interceptions.

The Broncos drafted Pat Surtain with the ninth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and that figures to be the next way the Broncos will try and stop tight end Travis Kelce.

Something else to think about is, is Teddy Bridgewater capable of playing mistake-free football? Both he and Drew Lock showed that they are capable of that in the preseason but the regular season is a whole different ballgame.

Keeping Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense off the field as much as possible should go a long way in getting a victory against their biggest rival.