Kansas City Chiefs: Getting to know the Denver Broncos before Week 13
By Cullen Jekel
Where is this Denver team in terms of progress now as compared to Week 7’s meeting against the Chiefs?
Sayre: “At the time of the Broncos and Chiefs’ last meeting, a number of key players were just coming off the injury report. Some of those players are either back on the report or have been getting in the swing of things, so I would say overall, this team has made some progress since the last meeting with the Chiefs.
Specifically, the pass rush has gotten much better, the running game has had a couple of nice games, and Lock played one of his better, more consistent games of the season his last time out against Miami.”
Through one-and-3/4 seasons, Vic Fangio is only 11-16. Is he on the hot seat?
Sayre: “If the circumstances were different, I would say yes. The fact that the Broncos have suffered an insane number of injuries this year along with COVID lead me to believe that Fangio would have to lose out in order to even potentially lose his job. When considering this question myself, I wonder if I were calling the shots, how could I possibly blame Fangio as a head coach for all that has gone on?
Fangio, for his part, has done a pretty darn good job of scheming defense all year, even if the scoreboard doesn’t show it some weeks. There are very rare occasions when the Broncos have gotten pummeled by an opposing offense, including the last time they played the Chiefs.”
On defense, who’s key to the Broncos defeating the Chiefs on Sunday night?
Sayre: “The symbiotic relationship between the pass rush and secondary are going to be key. The Broncos have to make Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable, but even when that happens, we all know that Mahomes can make chicken salad just about every play. The secondary is going to need to hold coverage longer, and the Broncos are going to have to scheme their coverage to bait Mahomes into some bad throws, if they can.”