Chiefs’ keys at Denver Broncos: Keep Lock in check; unleash the ground game again
The Chiefs (5-1) and Denver Broncos (2-3) renew AFC West acquaintances in a Week 7 contest Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.
The two teams are meeting for 121st time, but the rivalry has been in name only since 2015. Over that span, the Chiefs have won nine straight against the Broncos.
Kansas City’s rule of the AFC West under Andy Reid can be traced to the 2015 season: He and the Chiefs are a remarkable 28-4 over AFC West teams since then.
Here are four key elements to monitor in Denver nearing the midpoint of the 2020 regular season:
DEFENSE VS. LOCK
After starting the season at 0-3, the Broncos are riding momentum with wins over the New England Patriots and New York Jets.
More important from the Broncos’ point of view, they have quarterback Drew Lock back in the lineup after he missed three games with a shoulder injury.
The Chiefs know the Lee’s Summit and Mizzou product well from their Week 15 meeting last year at Arrowhead Stadium. Lock and the Broncos lost that day, but the Chiefs were uniform in offering compliments to Lock’s play.
There’s little doubt that Denver is a better team with a healthy Lock, who holds a 5-3 record as a starter, and the Chiefs won’t take him or the Broncos’ offense lightly.
“They got the quarterback back, we anticipate them getting the tight end back, maybe both running backs,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “So, it feels like, you know, they’ve won two straight games on the road, my guess is they’re pretty confident right now. So, I think we’re going to see a good football team.”
What could hurt the Chiefs, though, is depth on the edges. They’re banged up.
Defensive ends Alex Okafor (hamstring) and Taco Charlton (knee), two key members of the pass-rush rotation, missed two straight days of practice and their availability for Sunday’s game is unclear. If neihter can play, the Chiefs are down to just three healthy defensive ends: Frank Clark, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Demone Harris, who has yet to see action.
The Chiefs would do well to get a good pass rush, especially against a Broncos offense that has struggled on third down. The Broncos rank 29th in the league in third-down percentage (35.9).
Kansas City should look to duplicate its defensive effort from Monday afternoon, when the defense stalled a potent Buffalo offense, holding the Bills to 206 total yards.
To accomplish the feat against Lock, the Chiefs will try to force the Broncos’ offense into obvious passing situations and then get after the quarterback.
RIDE THE GROUND GAME
It’s no secret the Chiefs can nearly always ride the golden arm of quarterback Patrick Mahomes to victory.
At Buffalo, they showed the rest of the NFL they can win in other ways, too.
The Chiefs’ ground game racked up 245 yards and a touchdown in Week 6. Rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire paced the attack with 161 yards on 26 carries. Kansas City’s approach was dictated by how the Bills played the passing game, dropping linebackers deep and keeping safeties over the top to prevent the deep ball.
If the Broncos, who held Patriots quarterback Cam Newton to 157 yards passing and two interceptions last week, try the same strategy, the Chiefs must exploit it.
And the Chiefs have a new running back to throw in the mix: Le’Veon Bell.
How much action Bell sees against the Broncos will depend greatly on how much of the playbook he was able to absorb in the week since his signing. The Chiefs won’t put him on the field to set him up for failure.
But even if Bell sees a limited role, which would make sense given his short time to acclimate to a new offensive scheme, the Broncos know they’ll have their hands full no matter who touches the ball out of the backfield.
“Clyde Edwards-Helaire is a dual threat; he’s a good receiver out of the backfield,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said. “We all know that Le’Veon Bell has been that his entire career, and (Darrel) Williams is a damn good back, too.
“It’s almost a matter of who they put in there is a threat because this is an offense that uses the running back both in the running game and the passing game. And all three of those guys, including Darwin Thompson, are capable of filling that role for them, and they fill it well.”
Contain Lindsay, Gordon
The Chiefs shut down the Bills’ ground game in Week 6, limiting Buffalo to 84 yards rushing on 23 carries — an average of 3.7 yards per attempt.
Now, the Chiefs’ defense needs to show consistency with a second straight good outing.
If there’s an Achilles’ heel for the Chiefs, it’s the way they’ve played the run. They rank a dismal 30th yards per game allowed (145.3). But Denver hasn’t set the world on fire, ranking 25th in the league at 101 yards per game.
The Broncos project to have running backs Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon in the lineup for the first time since Week 1. Each presents a unique set of challenges, and Lindsay comes off a Week 6 performance where he gouged the Patriots for 101 yards on 23 carries.
The Chiefs contained Lindsay in their two meetings last season, holding him to 68 total yards rushing on 18 carries, and know Gordon well from his time with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Shutting down Denver’s running game early and often is a recipe for success for the Chiefs.
HANDLE BUSINESS
Forget about the Chiefs’ nine-game winning streak against Denver for a second. This is a game the Chiefs should win regardless of history.
Kansas City holds the edge in numerous offensive categories, including yards per game (417 to Denver’s 305.2), rushing (140.3-101), passing (276.7-204.2) and points per game (29.2-20).
Football, though, can be a weird animal once a game is underway, so the Chiefs can’t come out flat-footed on the road against a divisional foe seeking to end its losing ways against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Execution in all three phases of the game will help the Chiefs secure a win.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
