Did Broncos catch the Chiefs at the wrong time?

The Denver Broncos have a chance to completely turn their season around this Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Following an encouraging 3-0 start to the season, the Broncos dropped four games in a row but since then, have won three of the last four. That has set them up with a battle against the Chiefs where a victory could put them in first place in the AFC West.

As I discussed earlier, this is possibly the biggest game for the Broncos since winning Super Bowl 50. The game has been flexed into the Sunday Night Football position and will be one of the marquee matchups of Week 13.

But it’s not going to come easily and though the Broncos have a chance to get into first place, they will have to play a perfect game to beat the Chiefs, for a number of reasons.

The Chiefs are starting to hit their stride

This Chiefs team is not the same as the one that has appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls and Patrick Mahomes finally looks human.

The Chiefs have been very beatable this season but since suffering an ugly 27-3 defeat to the Tennessee Titans, they have won four games in a row. Each of those four wins has been a little more impressive than the one before it, showing the team might be getting its mojo back.

The Chiefs have beaten the Broncos 11 times in a row

Broncos fans know this all too well. They haven’t seen their team beat the Chiefs since 2015. They have lost in their last five trips to Arrowhead Stadium, which has notoriously been one of the most difficult places for the Broncos to play.

Andy Reid after a bye week

Perhaps the most important factor in this matchup is this one: As a head coach, Andy Reid has a 19-3 record following a bye week. The Chiefs are coming off of their bye and as stated, are rolling in the right direction. Having an extra week to rest and get ready for this game could be critical.

While it’s exciting that the Broncos are in this position, especially given how bad they have looked at times during this season, they probably couldn’t have asked for a worse time to face the Chiefs.

Kansas City is still considered by some to be one of the league’s best teams and what better time for them to prove that than in a national television spotlight in primetime?

The Broncos haven’t beaten the Chiefs a single time in six years and Reid is close to unbeatable after the bye week. Those are some serious hurdles for the Broncos to overcome.

But what a story it will be if they can do it.