Denver Broncos preview

I will never forget the game on October 17, 1994, between Montana's Chiefs and Elway's Broncos. An instant classic, Elway drives the Broncos 39 yards ending with an Elway 4-yard touchdown run to put them up 28-24 with 1:29 left. But here comes Montana, i.e. Captain Comeback, and the Chiefs; Montana was near perfect by completing 7 of 8 passes for 75 yards. Willie Davis caught the last pass for 5 yards and takes it inside the cone for a TOUCHDOWN! CHIEFS WIN! CHIEFS WIN! 31 – 28.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SEHrFgS8s8

Coaching.

Gary Kubiak, longtime friend and backup to John Elway, turned the Texans upside down as their head coach for 7 years with a 61–64 regular season record and a 2–2 playoff record. He was hired this year to install a new offense and try and bring another ring to Denver. He served as the 49er’s QB coach in 1994, then became the Broncos Offensive Coordinator and QB coach from 1995- 2005, and was the Offensive

Coordinator with the Ravens in 2014. He won a Super Bowl with the 49er’s and two with the Broncos. He had in his Texans career. Week 1 his offense did not show well against the Baltimore Ravens and on a short week against KC will not help his cause. EDGE – Chiefs

QB.

Everyone knows who the QB of Denver is and he has given the Chiefs and their fans fits in the past. But this is a new year and Payton does not look as strong, accurate, or comfortable as before. Every year in Denver his yards per pass and yards per completion has slipped and there is no reason why this trend will not continue. Last week he did not throw a touchdown, had 1 interception, threw for 175 yards while getting sacked 4 times, and had a passer rating of 59.9. With Kansas City’s young secondary, the front 7 need to supply plenty of pressure to help keep Manning’s completions to a minimum. EDGE – Even

RB.

CJ Anderson is number one on the depth chart but is banged up and did not participate in Monday’s practice. In week 1, he had 12 carries for 29 yards and was not a threat. Ronnie Hillman is the backup and third down back and had 12 carries for 41 yards. Were these numbers attributed to a weak O-Line or a strong D-Line? It doesn’t make a difference in this game. Kansas City’s front 7 will show and crowd noise will hinder the Offense. EDGE – Chiefs Front 7

WR.

Demaryius Thomas is quick and runs great routes. He should be Manning’s primary target and will be hard to cover man on man. Emmanuel Sanders is a veteran receiver that had a good game Sunday against veteran DB’s; there is no reason why he will not flourish against a young secondary. The Chiefs secondary will have their hands full and the safeties will be critical in providing help. EDGE – Broncos

Offensive Line.

The Broncos have had a makeover all across the offensive line, which did not fare well in their first game. Sunday was the first time where the Broncos' starting five played together in a game. Kansas City’s will have to blitz constantly and show different looks and schemes to keep the O-Line off balance. Crowd noise and Kansas City’s Front 7 should provide enough confusion to record numerous sacks and penalties. Look for a lot of running plays and play action passes to keep the defense honest. EDGE – Chiefs Front 7

Defense.

The Houston Texans have a very formidable defense and this should be the second week in a row that the Chiefs face a strong defensive front. Denver’s defense allowed the offense to come away with field goals and hold on for a win, while hitting QB Flacko relentlessly. The Chiefs O-Line will have their hands full once again protecting QB Alex Smith and opening holes for RB Jamaal Charles. LB Von Miller is a beast and has to be accounted for on every play otherwise he will cause havoc in the backfield. In the MIKE position is Brandon Marshall, who has the ability to run down plays and make the O-Line nervous. Denver’s secondary is very good and DB Aqib Talib is a top tier cover guy who has the speed to stay with any Chief’s receivers one on one. Once again this week the game breaker will be TE Travis Kelce (Zeus); he is a secondary’s nightmare because of his size, speed, and hands. If you try to matchup with size, then he beats them with speed and if you matchup with speed, he beats them with size. EDGE – EVEN

Special Teams.

Don’t look for any 56 and 57 yard field goals in Kansas City, Denver will have to earn every point and this game could very well come down to a kicker. Kansas City will have the advantage in punting, punt returns, and kick returns but field goals (and extra points) may be problem and this is where it counts. EDGE – Even

Ball control and play action will be the Broncos forte this week. Manning will look for more touchdowns than field goals this week to win on the road. Fortunately for the Chiefs, Manning does not like this new offense and the O-Line will not be able to get better in 3 days. Look for the Chiefs to take advantage of turnovers and controlling the clock. FINAL SCORE – KC 20 – Denver 18