What the Broncos can learn from the Chiefs Week 1 win against the Ravens

If the Denver Broncos want to eventually become the team to beat in the AFC West, they’ll have to overtake the current king, the Kansas City Chiefs. It likely won’t happen this year, as these teams are in different tiers right now, but the Broncos and their fans would love to beat the Chiefs, and that simply hasn’t happened much in recent history. Last year, the Broncos defeated them 24-9 and broke a 16-game losing streak against the now back-to-back Super Bowl Champions.

Hopefully that can be a sign of things to come, but this is a new year, meaning a new Chiefs team that is motivated to threepeat. In their opening game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Chiefs did what they always do and snuck out with a 27-20 win. But the Ravens played them well and showed some things that the Broncos may be able to take advantage of for their two matchups this season.

Tight End Play 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Mark Andrews, but Isaiah Likely, who did a ton of damage to the Chiefs defense. He ended with nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown, and if he was one shoe size smaller, he could have had two touchdowns. 

Greg Dulcich and Likely are essentially the same build height and weight wise, but Dulcich, according to 40-yard dash times, has a slight speed edge. If healthy, Dulcich can also prove to be a handful for a Chiefs defense that struggled to contain a similar player. 

Bo Nix's Ability to Scramble

Obviously, Bo Nix isn’t Lamar Jackson; frankly, no one is, as his rushing ability is one of one. However, Nix is also a dual-threat quarterback, and that seemed to open up some things for the Ravens offense. 

After years of poor offensive line play, it seems Sean Payton has fixed that issue, as the Broncos line is one of the better ones in the league. If the Chiefs need to worry about Nix taking off, this new and improved line will have less pressure to keep their rookie quarterback upright. 

This, combined with the potential of Dulcich, could be a great recipe for success for the Denver offence, like it was the Ravens with Jackson and Likely.

Pass-catching Running Backs

Another place the Ravens found success on offence was throwing it to Justice Hill out of the backfield, as Hill had six receptions for 52 yards. In 2023, no one threw the ball to the running backs more than the Denver Broncos, who targeted them a league-high 153 times.

Javonte Williams is an underrated pass catcher, but Jaleel McLaughlin spent a lot of time trying to become more of a threat in the passing game this offseason. Mix his explosiveness with an improved receiving game; McLaughlin could be a key part to success against the Chiefs.

Chiefs Receiving Core

Patrick Surtain II has now been rewarded for being one of the best cornerbacks in the entire NFL with a brand new $96 million contract. The Chiefs receiving core seems to have been upgraded with the edition of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice taking a second-year leap, but, not including Travis Kelce, they don’t have an elite wide out. If Rice truly has taken a jump and is their new number one guy, the Broncos can feel more than confident just sticking Surtain on him. 

Kelce, for his standards, also seemed to take a slight step back last year during the regular season. Whether age is catching up to him or they were trying to preserve him for the playoffs, maybe we can expect more regression this season after a quiet three-catch game against the Ravens. 

Elite tight ends have given the Broncos troubles in the past, but if Kelce does have a more conservative regular season, that plays nicely into the hands of the Broncos defense, who can almost eliminate a weapon with the abilities of Surtain.