A Broncos win over the Chiefs would be monumental

The Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs at 5-2, and a win would even the season series and put the Broncos in first place in the AFC West.

It seems like every week brings a new ‘most important game’ for the Broncos. This week, the label actually fits.

On Sunday, Kansas City comes to Empower Field at Mile High for the second meeting between the AFC West rivals this season. The first one, the season opener on Monday Night Football at Arrowhead, was one of the worst nights of Denver’s year. The Broncos lost 31-10. Bo Nix threw an interception and fumbled three times, and the offense looked lost under first-time play caller Davis Webb.

A lot has changed since then. Denver started 2-2, then won three straight against the Chargers, Seahawks and Cardinals to get to 5-2. The Chiefs come in at 5-1. Their only loss came against Seattle, the same team Denver beat 17-14 in overtime on Thursday Night Football.

On a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, Cecil Lammey said he expects the pressure inside the building to be high this week.

“The stress level has to be really high at Broncos Park powered by CommonSpirit because of the gravitas of this game,” Lammey said.

There’s a reason for that. A win would move Denver to 6-2, push Kansas City to 5-2 and even the season series at a game apiece. The Broncos would be in first place in the division with more than half the season left. The Seattle result could also matter later. Both teams have played the Seahawks, Denver beat them and Kansas City didn’t, which gives the Broncos an edge in common opponents if the division race comes down to tiebreakers.

Lammey didn’t downplay what’s at stake.

“This game’s absolutely huge. It’s monumental man. You wanna take control of the AFC West, you wanna put yourself in position to get that number one seed again? You win this game,” Lammey said.

Last season, Denver won the division, earned the AFC’s top seed and reached the AFC Championship game. Repeating that starts with getting through Kansas City. A loss would drop the Broncos to 5-3, leave them a game and a half behind the Chiefs and give Kansas City a sweep of the season series. Before Halloween is over, the division would be slipping away again.

Lammey was careful not to go too far.

“This game is huge. Not a must-win, but definitely one of those fulcrum moments in the season, like how does it teeter after this contest. Beating Arizona’s one thing. Beating KC, totally different,” Lammey said.

The Arizona point matters. Denver’s last win came against a Cardinals team that was 2-4 coming in, and the week before that, people were openly discussing whether Nix should be benched. The win streak helped, but it hasn’t settled the questions about this offense. The Broncos have trailed at some point in every game this season. Their offense has ranked near the bottom of the league in yards and points for most of the year. Their defense, which ranks third in sacks, has carried them through most of the close games.

Kansas City will be a much harder test. Patrick Mahomes is no longer playing his first game back from a torn ACL and LCL. In the opener, Andy Reid protected him by running Kenneth Walker 23 times for 173 yards. Denver has to tackle better than it did that night, and it can’t afford to fall behind early again. Coming back from a deficit worked against Jacksonville and the Rams. Against Mahomes, it’s a lot riskier.

For Nix, the game is a chance to answer the doubts that have followed him all season. The first meeting was the worst game of his career. A clean, steady performance against the same opponent at home would go a long way toward changing how people talk about him.

Lammey isn’t calling Sunday a must-win. He’s calling it the game that will show which way Denver’s season is headed. A win would leave the Broncos in control of the division. A loss would hand that control back to Kansas City.

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