The Denver Broncos have all the makings of being able to take down the Chiefs and capture the AFC West in the 2025 NFL Season. I truly struggle to see how Denver doesn't have a better roster than Kansas City.
The years of having draft picks at the bottom of each round in the NFL Draft is absolutely catching up to this franchise, and the Broncos have since hit on a ton of picks and have rebuilt this roster the right way heading into 2025.
Well, the Chiefs have not been nearly as dominant as they were in the early Patrick Mahomes years, and a couple of key statistics could allow the Denver Broncos to expose this team in a massive way in 2025.
The Chiefs struggle to throw and defend the deep pass
Here is Price Carter from Arrowhead addict on the Kansas City Chiefs' struggles in completing the deep pass and defending it:
Per Next Gen Stats, Patrick Mahomes ranked 33rd in the NFL in the percentage of pass attempts that traveled more than 20 yards downfield (by air yards). The Chiefs were tied for 24th with the Carolina Panthers with 5.1 yards per play. Among qualified passers, Patrick Mahomes ranked 25th out of 26 in ADOT (average depth of target). The stats go on and on about the need for the Chiefs' offense to get back to generating explosive plays. Last year, the Chiefs ranked 23rd in 20+ yard completions allowed with 52. They ranked 27th in 40+ yard completions. Both numbers are among the worst rates in the league, alongside some of the worst defenses (Panthers, Bengals, and Jaguars). While the Chiefs have been predominantly a defensive team the last two seasons, and have ranked top 10 in yards allowed and top 5 in points allowed, the defense has a problem with explosive passes allowed. - Price Carter
These are some horrible issues for the Chiefs to have, plain and simple. In 2024, Denver ranked 13th in 20+ yard passing plays with 52. This is honestly a great statistic for the team, seeing as they were working with a rookie QB and had limited talent on offense.
There is reason to believe that the Broncos could really have their way with the Chiefs' defense in their downfield passing in 2025. Furthermore, the Chiefs do struggle to complete the deep pass as well, and with the Broncos clearly having the best secondary on paper in the NFL, we could see this offense struggle to operate at an efficient level when the two teams play in 2025.
The Denver Broncos do have an opportunity to expose the Chiefs and retake the division in 2025.