The Broncos can’t treat Patrick Mahomes as a declining quarterback

Patrick Mahomes is back to playing at a high level for the 5-1 Chiefs, and the midday show says the Broncos can’t afford to treat him as a declining quarterback on Sunday.

For most of the last decade, Patrick Mahomes was the villain in Broncos Country. He beat Denver over and over, won the AFC West eight straight years and collected Super Bowl rings while the Broncos cycled through quarterbacks and coaches. Last season, that changed. Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in Week 15, Kansas City finished 6-11, and Denver won the division. With Mahomes out of the picture, some Broncos fans seemed to forget how dangerous he can be.

He has reminded everyone this season. Through six games, Mahomes has thrown for 1,474 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 64.9% of his passes. The Chiefs are 5-1, and their only loss came against Seattle. On Sunday, he brings that team to Empower Field at Mile High with first place in the AFC West on the line.

On a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, Cecil Lammey kept his game plan for the Broncos defense short.

“Go get Mahomes,” Lammey said.

Denver has the pass rush to do it. The Broncos have been among the league leaders in sacks all season, and the defense has carried the team through stretches when the offense couldn’t move the ball. Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen have been the biggest problems for opposing quarterbacks, and the depth behind them has helped cover for Jonathan Cooper’s absence. If Denver wants to take control of the division, its best chance is making Mahomes uncomfortable from the first snap.

Lammey wasn’t interested in the idea that Mahomes has slipped.

“I do not buy into the ‘He’s in decline. He’s not the same. He’s coming back from injury. He’s still a little banged up,'” Lammey said.

That narrative has followed Mahomes since the injury. His numbers dipped last season even before he got hurt, and there were real questions about how he’d look after a major knee reconstruction. In the opener against Denver, Andy Reid protected him by running Kenneth Walker 23 times for 173 yards. Kansas City still won 31-10, and Mahomes has looked sharper each week since.

Lammey acknowledged that some of the concerns may have merit. He just doesn’t think they change how Denver should prepare.

“Some of that may be true, but I am never gonna think that about that guy. ‘Cause he can still kill you, he can still get you,” Lammey said.

That’s the right way for the Broncos to approach Sunday. Mahomes doesn’t need to be at his peak to beat a defense that gives him time or loses track of him when a play breaks down. He has made a career out of extending plays, throwing from odd angles and finding receivers after the coverage falls apart. A pass rush that gets close but doesn’t finish can actually help him, because it pushes him into the scramble situations where he does some of his best work.

That means the Broncos’ rushers have to stay disciplined. They need to keep him in the pocket, collapse it from the inside and bring him down when they get there. The defense also has to deal with Walker first. If Kansas City runs the ball as easily as it did in September, the pass rush won’t get many chances.

The stakes are clear. A win would move Denver to 6-2, drop Kansas City to 5-2 and even the season series. A loss would leave the Broncos a game and a half back with the Chiefs holding the head-to-head edge.

The Broncos took the division from Kansas City last season, but Mahomes was on the sideline for the end of it. Lammey wants the defense to show on Sunday that Denver can beat the Chiefs with Mahomes on the field, too.

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