Denver @ Kansas City preview
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 17, 2019 ) Kansas City 30, Denver 6
Drew Lock grew up dreaming of playing at Arrowhead Stadium, but he was always playing for the home team. The Denver Broncos rookie will start against his hometown team when he faces the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Chiefs are trying for a ninth consecutive victory over the Broncos, and they’ve already wrapped up their fourth straight division title. Kansas City is still angling for a first-round bye, though, and sits one game behind New England - over which it earned the head-to-head tiebreaker last week - for the No. 2 seed. The Broncos have won Lock’s first two starts as the rookie from Missouri has put up solid numbers. Now he goes up against a Chiefs' defense that is coming off an impressive performance in which it limited the Patriots to 278 total yards.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Kansas City -10. O/U: 45.5
ABOUT THE BRONCOS (5-8): Denver relied on a strong defense early in the season, but it didn’t have the offense to keep pace. Lock has breathed some life into the offense and spread the ball around in last week’s 38-24 victory at Houston, throwing touchdowns to three different players. Denver’s run defense has been questionable of late, allowing an average of 164.3 rushing yards over the past three games, but that might not be a concern against the pass-happy Chiefs.
ABOUT THE CHIEFS (9-4): Kansas City’s offense hasn’t been quite as effective as usual over the past three games, but the Chiefs are always a powder keg waiting to explode. The Chiefs have had a tough time establishing the run, but Patrick Mahomes is always dangerous, and he has plenty of weapons at his disposal. Kansas City’s defense has been just as volatile, five times surrendering more than 400 total yards, but the Chiefs limited Denver to 205 yards in a 30-6 win in Week 7.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Kansas City TE Travis Kelce needs 11 receiving yards to become the first tight end in history with four straight 1,000-yard seasons.
2. Lock passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns last week, becoming the first rookie in the Super Bowl era to pass for 300 yards and three touchdowns in his first road start.
3. Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman’s six touchdown receptions are tied for third among rookies.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 27, Broncos 20