Indisputably, the biggest and most important game of the 2026 season thus far for both the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos is Sunday afternoon at Mile High Stadium. A win for the Chiefs would effectively end any hopes that the Broncos have of repeating as AFC West champions. It would put the Chiefs at a 6-1 overall record and a commanding 4-0 slate versus division opponents.
A win for the Broncos would keep their hopes alive for the division and force the Chiefs into a very close race the rest of the season. These teams' first bout came in Week 1 when Kansas City laid it on Denver 31-10 at Arrowhead on opening night. Kenneth Walker III exploded in his Chiefs' debut for nearly 200 scrimmage yards and two scores.
Aside from the Seattle game, Walker has been carving opponents up left and right to the tune of firmly being in the Offensive Player of the Year discussion, as well as getting a hint of MVP chatter. As for the Broncos their team strengths has been and remains its defense and late-game execution.
Each of these AFC contenders has been dealing with a fair amount of injury scares among their roster. But as the smoke clears and the games become more important as the season goes on, the Chiefs and the Broncos seem to be getting healthier and gearing up for what should be an all-out brawl for division supremacy.
Kansas City and Denver prepare for battle and AFC West supremacy
Despite the Josh Simmons fiasco seemingly continuing until the end of time, Kansas City should stand to benefit from the returns of right tackle Jaylon Moore from a concussion and wide receiver Rashee Rice from a hamstring injury.
And while it's not yet known if he will gear up on Sunday, last year's second-round pick, defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, was able to join his teammates on the practice field this week in a limited capacity as he continues to work back from a torn ACL.
As for Denver's side of it, they are adding and subtracting to the defense. While neither d-tackle Zach Allen nor safety Talanoa Hufanga participated in practice Wednesday, and their status for the game remains up in the air, cornerback Pat Surtain II practiced in full capacity and is set to make his first on-field appearance since Week 4.
Neither of these two squads is fully healthy; no team is this many games into the year. But injuries be damned, all anybody cares about is who leaves this game victorious and who leaves this game dejected. Let's hope that the near full-capacity Chiefs can sweep Denver this year and take back their rightful place atop the AFC West.
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