The Kansas City Chiefs don't really have that juggernaut feeling to them in 2025, but things can change. The Denver Broncos host them in Week 11 and could do a lot for their chances at the AFC West title with a win.
Getting to 9-2 and sending KC down to 5-5 really makes things interesting. There is no guarantee of anything, but it is interesting to see how Patrick Mahomes has actually struggled against Vance Joseph in his three career matchups.
We're obviously not going to look at the 2018 NFL Season when the Broncos still had Joseph as the head coach, as that was seven years ago now. Since Joseph's return to the team in 2023 as the defensive coordinator, the Broncos have gone 2-2 in their matchups against the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes has also not lit up the stat sheet, and his struggles are actually notable.
Patrick Mahomes' three outings against Vance Joseph were nothing special
Patrick Mahomes has only lost one career game against the Denver Broncos in his career, but in this new era of Denver football, the Broncos have definitely made up a ton of ground here. They beat the Chiefs once in 2023, nearly beat them in Arrowhead in 2024, and obviously beat an abbreviated version of them in Week 18 last year.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and his units have really held Mahomes and the offense in check. In his three career starts, the Chiefs have scored 19, 9, an 16 points. They've yet to hit 20 points in a game in Vance Joseph's Broncos' tenure as DC, and the overall output from the Chiefs' QB is less than ideal:
82/120
812 yards
2 touchdowns
3 interceptions
82.4 passer rating
The offensive output is pretty telling, actually, as the Denver Broncos have held the Chiefs to fewer than 20 points in the 2023 and 2024 NFL Seasons. With the Broncos' defense somehow appearing to be better than it ever has been in the Joseph era, this could bring another strong performance.
However, the Broncos' offense also has to show up a bit, and it would not shock me if the team first to 20 points ended up winning this game. We could be in for another defensive battle, as Vance Joseph has had his way with Patrick Mahomes.
It's not an exaggeration that this could be the single-biggest game for the Broncos in the post-Super Bowl 50 era.