Close Calls: Are the Broncos PRIMED to Outlast Mahomes and the Chiefs for AFC West Dominance?

Close Calls: Are the Broncos PRIMED to Outlast Mahomes and the Chiefs for AFC West Dominance?

It’s Broncos week and they have won four games by a combined total of nine points. Sounds familiar. Today on Locked on Chiefs from the land of the free and the home of the Chiefs. This is the Locked on Chiefs podcast. Chiefs Kingdom. Welcome back for another episode of Locked on Chiefs, your daily podcast covering the kids chiefs, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every single day. And just so you know, we are now the number one sports podcast network in the world. Thank you all for that. We really do appreciate it. And thank you for always making Lockdown Chiefs your first listen of the day. Don’t forget, we’re free and available on all platforms. I am Chris Clark from Chief’s Corner. This is Ryan Tracy from RGR Football and Rogue Analytics as well as NFL 33. We’re going to be talking about the pro protection plan. How do they protect Patrick Mahomes? Is Denver’s offense dangerous? That is a big question, but the Broncos are the 2024 Chiefs. That’s where we’re going to start. And as I said in the intro, they’ve won four games by a combined score of nine points. That sounds eerily familiar to a lot of Chiefs fans from last year, but to me, it’s a lot different story for the Broncos than it was for Kansas City last year. It is. There are similarities, right? Um, this is a team that uh the offense is inconsistent. The Chiefs were inconsistent last year, right? They’re still able to put up more points. They were inconsistent. The defense is leading the way for the Broncos a lot like the defense was was higher tier last year for the Chiefs as well, right? And yet they got to the Super Bowl. There there is significant success that comes even from this formula. Maybe you call it a little bit lucky, maybe you don’t. I actually live in Colorado and the fans in Denver are losing their minds because now they’re so great yet they were complaining about how gez we’re winning close games last year. Oh, how the tide has turned. But I agree with you, the the 2025 Denver Broncos are the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs. The difference though for me though, and this is what it comes down to, is Kansas City had been there and done that. This was their third time that they were headed to the Super Bowl in a row. Uh Denver hasn’t been I mean, they’ve been playing play of football a little bit, but they really haven’t been successful since Peyton Manning left. uh sustained post postseason success, we’ll put it that way. And so to me, it’s still a completely different scenario. Like, yes, they’re winning a lot of close games. Yes, it’s sustainable for an entire season. But what Kansas City has found this year, and what Denver is likely to find maybe through the rest of the season, and maybe it’ll be next year, is that there’s going to be a reversion to the mean. Kansas City reverted to the mean this year. They took a lot of their bounces that went the other direction this year and it bit them early. And I’m not trying to make excuses for their losses. They lost their games, don’t get me wrong. That’s not what all what I’m trying to say. But there was a reversion to the mean where they got bounces that helped them last year. They didn’t get them in in their losses this year. And that’s that’s the way the cookie crumbles. It is that random. Everything can change in an instant. And I think that what you take out is the lows and the highs. The teams are still good. It’s not that it’s because you you’re winning those close games on some crazy plays or you know, I don’t want to call it luck. There’s an element of luck in this game no matter what you’re doing, but sometimes it’s about how you put your position yourself in position to take advantage of that luck. And that all goes into preparation. And I do think it is a factor in these close games. But it also tells you that like the Chiefs last year when you felt like, hey, a lot of these games could have been lost. The same thing is true for the Denver Broncos, especially this week when you only allowed yourself to put up 10 points against the worst defense in this division and arguably in the AFC against the Raiders or NFL. Well, there’s that, too. It just it’s a combination. And we’re going to go through uh the their offense next, but it’s their defense that has been really clamping down, but yet this was not a game that should have been this close, and they did it again. I think that will eventually bite them, and I think the Chiefs are the team that will bite them. I I X is is a special place. I’ll just put it that way. And just seeing some of the comments, I mean, people talking about how uh Patrick Mahomes is, you know, not the leader in the division at the quarterback position anymore. I’m just sitting here going, you’re now you’re annoying Bo Knicks who hasn’t really played any really great games in the NFL, the next best thing at quarterback. when you have the guy that has led the AFC team in the Super Bowl for the past three seasons and has won three and played in what, five out of six. Like, I don’t see how you can even try to make a comparison because the reality is is that while, okay, let’s go back for just a second. Preseason, you No, no, seriously. Preseason, you start learning, okay, what can you get away with in the NFL to an extent? Regular season, it amps up a little bit. you haven’t even started getting into the playoff scenarios as to how much the game changes when you start getting into the playoffs. Like Bo Nicks isn’t going to be ready for what it’s going to be like at that level. And then you get to the level beyond that in the into the championship game in the Super Bowl. He hasn’t been in any of those games. That’s a completely different experience. Now, I’m not saying he can’t possibly get there in the future. He’ll have to go through Patrick Mahomes. I still think this thing goes through Kansas City this year, and we talked about it on on Monday’s show. I think that when you look at this and and you look at how the schedules break out, if Kansas City can start putting things together kind of like they did three weeks ago, I think that they could end up going to win the division again because they control their own destiny in the AFC West. They face the Chargers once, they face the Broncos twice, and I would think that the that the Chargers are going to lose to the Broncos at least once. So that’s a very Yeah, that’s a very likely scenario. And the Chiefs win those three games, they are virtually tied with the same record and and you don’t even have to worry about what else happens, right? So I I mean they’ve already lost to the Chargers once. I think that they possibly lose to the Chargers again on January 4th. We will see if that happens. But again, they play the Green Bay Packers. They play Jacksonville. Uh they play the Commanders who I think by then should have uh well maybe not Jaden Daniels back. So, um, a lot of questions when it comes to how this Denver Broncos team is going to play out, but that, you know, you look at the Chargers, and I know we’re focused on the Broncos, but you look at the Chargers who’ve lost both of their starting tackles as well. That’s going to cause them issues. And the reality is is I still think Kansas City controls their own destiny in this division because if they win the three games in the four games they have left in their division, I think that puts them in prime position to win the AFC West this year. I agree with you, but I will say this game could be the deciding factor. Absolutely. If you drop this game, you don’t have a chance to go catch them anymore. You have to rely on somebody else to beat them twice. And I don’t or three times at that point. I don’t see that happening. So, control your destiny right now. Yeah. And you lose your ability to really gain any of the tiebreers. I mean, that’s really going to be the bigger issue is the tiebreakers are going to be gone for you. Yep. That’s what it comes down to. When we get back, we’re going to talk about this Denver Broncos offense and questioning whether or not it’s actually dangerous after they put up 10 points against the Las Vegas Raiders. You’re a business owner. Here’s the truth. SAS promised to make work easier, but now average companies buried behind hundreds of apps that slow down your teams and simply don’t work together. That’s not SAS. That’s SAD. Software delivered as a disservice. That’s why you need Ripling. Ripling is a unified platform of global HR, payroll, IT, and finance all in one place. They helped millions of businesses replace a mesh of disconnected tools with one system designed to give leaders clarity, speed, and control. By uniting uh employees, teams, departments back and forth in one system, Ripwing removes all the bottlenecks, allows you to get the busy work out of the way. The silos that created that software are gone. And right now you can get six months for free when you go to rippling.com/lockedonfl. Learn more at ripplin.com/lockedonfl. [Music] That’s rippling.com/lockon NFL for 6 months free. Terms and conditions do apply. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the the start of the game and you just want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets that happen during the game. Everything for everyone who will score from the next point to the fourth quarter comeback. Plus, you can even combine them all into a same game parlay. Take an even bigger shot at a payout. Keeps everything excited. It keeps it up to the minute, especially when your team’s making that late push. So, right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, go ahead to fanuel.com and sign up uh over at FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA, the Denver Broncos offense. And you look at this and you look at how they’ve played so far this year, it’s been up and down. And I’m sitting here looking at their schedule. Uh first game 20 points, second game 28 points, then 20 points. uh 28 21 then 13 against the New York Jets who do have a good defense or did have a good defense until they sold away half of their team. Um and then 32 44 and then the Houston Texans they only score 18 and then the against the Raiders they score 10. I I don’t know what to make of this offense. It’s just so it’s very hot or cold. And when you look at what they could have used going into this trade season, a wide receiver would have been at the top of the list in my opinion. Uh Sutton is a good wide receiver, but that’s really all they have and I don’t see a lot that’s really helping them in that regard. Well, I I see where you where you’re coming from on the consistency part of Sutton being a consistent threat. And you got to remember in the last four weeks, Dallas is one of the worst defenses in the league. New York hasn’t been playing well and Houston’s Houston and they’ve been declining is is what it comes down to. But I will say this, there’s a panic here in in Colorado about their performance. Uh for for me sitting back watching local news, it’s kind of funny. But I will say this, there were there was a a big play call back uh by Troy Franklin, a guy that played in college with Bon Knicks. And I’m a Bon Knicks guy. I I liked him coming out. Was not happy to see him in the AFC West. If they click, they can still be dangerous. I think Franklin can help. I think their tight ends can get the ball moved at least some. And they had been able to run pretty well. It looks like Dobins is hurt. We don’t know the extent of that yet. I haven’t seen an official proclamation. I’m going to double check that right now. But I think making them one-dimensional is the way that you have to go about it because other than James Cook this season, the Chiefs have been on the the run compensation here. being able to at least take that away enough to force the offense into something they don’t want to do. And I think that’s exactly what you’re going to have to do for this. You guys are going to hear our preview on Friday and we’ll lay it all out there. But I do feel you can force this team to where you want them to go. And to be clear, I’m not saying that they don’t have some pieces. Franklin can be a competent wide receiver. Uh Sutton has had his time and definitely against Kansas City has had some big moments against Kansas City. He hates the Chiefs. Uh, it is what it is. I I just think you look at this offense and it’s so inconsistent week to week to week and you go back and you talk about the, you know, them beating the Dallas Cowboys and scoring a ton of points. That defense that they win against is atrocious and yet they go against a defense that’s probably as bad in the Raiders and they only score 10 points. Like if this team is not able to show consistency on offense, I have a hard time believing that they’re going to have a chance to beat Kansas City. Because I will say this, I’m not going to give my prediction right now, but I have a hard time believing that Kansas City doesn’t put up 24 points or more in this game. Yes, the Denver Broncos defense is fantastic, but this Chiefs offense has a lot of special players on it, and I just have a very big I have a very hard time seeing them not put up points two games in a row, especially when they know what the stakes are. Yeah, I I agree. And I think there’s more to come and obviously we’ll start getting the the actual practice reports this week. But um if Dobins is able to go and again we don’t have a a significant indication right now uh if he does therapy etc like that I think it changes and it balances out their offense. It makes them a little bit more dangerous. If he’s not I think it sets the Chiefs up to be able to exploit what they feel are Bo Nick’s limitations. And clearly by taking away running lanes he he didn’t scramble at all last week was negative yards. I think that’s part of what bails him out when he does have some frustrations. It does settle him down. I think George Kopus in particular is going to have an opportunity to try to get after him pretty well. I think that that is the key to really making these Broncos have to go through a different process against you than maybe they’ve had when they have been successful this year where it’s been a little bit more freewheeling in the games that I’ve seen. Yeah. And I mean, if Dobbins is able to play, it obviously changes things for the Broncos. They have been very good. They’ve been effective with him running the ball. Uh, and they’ve got a couple of other nice pieces there in in the backfield that they can use at different times. And if they’re not having to be the workhorse and then come in and just kind of spell Dobbins, that’s going to help them as well. So, I do think when you look at how this Broncos offense is, if they can keep mix upright and they are able to move the ball running and passing, obviously it’s going to be something that is going to help them in this game. But on the flip side, for the Chiefs defense going against this Broncos offense, you have to feel like you at least have a corner that can somewhat match up with Sutton to an extent with the way Jaylen Watson has played. And I’m not saying he has the same size that Sutton is, but he has better size than McDuffy does. So, that’s going to help, too. I do think that that’s a matchup that they should be uh, you know, okay with. Again, I’m not saying that he should be on him one-on-one every single snap, but I do I would expect that you take advantage of the size a little bit uh and you use that to your advantage uh and let McDuffy go off on, you know, Franklin or anybody else in the side. try to line it up that way and and use his strengths to shut down one of those guys. And you can double Sutton uh to an extent as well with with your safeties. Yeah. And I’ll tell you this, I’m going to be really really interested in how they choose to align at practice this week uh with N Williams because Null is a is a guy who’s undersized but does play physical. And I think that’s the way that you disrupt Sutton is you get in his grill. You disrupt where he wants to go with the ball and kind of ride his routes out. And that physicality can play havoc with timing. And that’s honestly I think the thing that the Broncos have been successful with. When that goes out the window, I think you have the advantage. But it’s also something that you have to make sure that you’re guarding experience versus inexperience with null Williams in particular. Yeah. And that’s I mean that’s a big question when you look at how this is going to play out. Null Williams going against Sutton is going to be a little bit of a question, but he has played in big moments already for this Chiefs team and he played well. He has shown that he belongs in the NFL. They know what his skill set is and they put him in good positions. So the question is is can you get the rest of the defense to play up to the task of facing off against this Broncos offense? And again, I said this yesterday on Monday’s show talking about how the Chiefs have to be ready for this game on defense and on offense, but on defense specifically because this is going to be a situation where they’re going to get the Broncos best possible offense that they possibly can play with. I I think the Broncos overlook the Raiders. I thought I think that they thought that they were just going to go in there and maybe they’re not going to steamroll them, but they’re going to beat it by two scores and it’s not going to be a particularly close game. And they got outplayed to a certain extent. Yes, they won the game, but to win the game by three against the Raiders, I mean, that’s it’s not a loss, but a whole lot. I mean, it’s the Raiders that they’ve been horrible this year. Like I just an 8 and2 team should not be playing down to the Raiders like that. Even if you want to talk about divisional football and and all of that. I mean say what you want. I and I get the Bills lost to the to the Dolphins. I get that. But the Bills still put up more than you know 10 points. True. And that’s what it all comes down to protection plan. How do the Chiefs protect against this Denver Broncos pass rush and protect Patrick Mahomes and get this offense going? That’s next. Today’s show is brought to you by our friends over there at Pelaton. Look folks, it’s time to break through the busiest time of the year with a brand new Pelaton crossraining tread plus that’s powered by Pelaton IQ. It’s Pelaton’s most elevated technology and equipment yet that gives you real-time guidance and it gives you endless ways to move. Whether you want to work out by yourself or if you want to work out with your favorite instructor like my personal favorite, Alex Tousant. He always gets me fired up to tackle the day. And the thing I like about Pelaton, it helps me achieve more in less times. They have features that help you plan, stay motivated, track your progress, and Pelaton IQ also provides personalized workout plans and recommendations. That’s something that I use right now during the busiest time of the year covering the NFL. They plan my workouts for me based on my mood, my vibe, and also my favorite instructors. So, make sure you check it out and use it because it also helps you correct your form in real time. And it maximizes your reps. It count your reps so that you can do it smarter, safer, and more efficient. Let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Pelaton crossraining tread plus at onepliton.com. Protection is going to be the name of the game. That is the reality of going into this game against the Broncos. They have a fantastic pass rush and we talked about this a little bit on yesterday’s show. Josh Simmons is back. Question is, is will he start? And we know Jaylen Moore would could possibly start regardless of whether or not Simmons starts because we don’t know right now if Taylor’s going to be able to go or not. Uh, I I would think that he’ll be okay based on what I saw, but we’ll see. I’m really going to be curious to how that plays out when we get start getting injury reports. I am as well because you it’s going to be critical when you look at this duo between them. You’re talking about 86 pressures and 23 sacks. I’m sorry, 21 sacks on the season at this point with Bonito hitting the quarterback dramatically more in near collisions at uh another 11 on top of that. Now, these are guys that are lighter than the linebacker type edges and they are a little bit quicker. So, it does play into the hands of both uh Jawan and uh Josh Jayen a little bit little bit less. I don’t think he quite handles speed as well as the other two do. Um the question is going to be is if a is Jan ready to go and if he is is he ready to line up actually on the line of scrimmage and not in the back field because this is the type of game with threats from speed rushers that he generally gets in trouble puts himself in trouble either leaving early or aligning incorrectly. So that’s job number one. Absolutely. And that’s that’s one of the tougher spots. But I believe the footwork of all of the Chiefs tackles is enough to protect Patrick Mahomes, especially if he’s not particularly lingering for a long time. Now, there’s a couple of X factors here. Uh Alex Singleton, one of their linebackers, just announced that he has this cancer, had surgery already. Uh I don’t know what that up, Alex. Yeah. Right. I I don’t know what that means for him in terms of availability. Um that doesn’t I would assume I would assume he’s out this week. I would assume that as well, but he played against Vegas, so what do I know? Uh well, yeah, but he had surgery right after. So from my Yeah, from what I understood of what’s going on, it’s he said he’ll he’s going to try to be back by the end of the season. Um Okay. Didn’t specify when. I would imagine after having any kind of surgery, you’re going to be out the next week. Obviously, if he’s not, that’s a completely different uh you know, kudos to you type situation. And to be clear, uh by all means, prayers up, dude. I I hope that you are able to recover in full. And that’s not what you wish on anybody. I don’t wish injury or anything to any of the players. So, um, that said, it changes it because the other way that you protect Patrick is by attacking that hole and running the dang ball more than you have recently. And you should have PCO back, which I think will help in that regard. But the other thing that I will say that I think is going to be huge in this game that if you would have asked me before the season, I would have been really nervous. Uh, Kings of Suumati has kind of gotten to a point where I’ve eliminated my worries. I’m not going to say like completely. Don’t jinx it. Yeah. Sorry. Uh I I I will say though he has played so well like it’s not I’m not obviously saying that he’s in the same mold of as Joe Tuni obviously not going there but he has played so well that he has made it feel like it’s not a huge step back which is a huge compliment to Suamati for stepping in and playing a brand new position to him and playing it well and getting it to the point where you really don’t feel it like Kansas City hasn’t felt the step down like you thought you were going to feel the step down because the other reality was when you look back at last year it was they couldn’t do anything at left tackle, right? And so Joe Tuni moved out there and then you had a hole at right at left at left guard. Now you’ve kind of feel like you got both those positions taken care of, especially if Simmons is able to step back in and play and play well. And shout out to Joe Tuni. He’s one of the few players at the at a guard position that’s played over 600 snaps already this year. He’s the top rated, top graded guard in the league. So, more power to you. Kingsley being able to even be in the same breath with him at this point is a bonus at this point in the season, my book. I thought maybe he would round into shape by about this time and let the the by-week, you know, give him a little breather and maybe he could settle down, but he is ahead of schedule, especially after the position change. And that that only allows the tackle situation to clarify itself more. So, I agree he’s doing well, but you got to let him be him. And again, that goes back to running the ball more in my book. No, it it absolutely does. And I think the other thing that it says about him is that if he’s able to do this switching positions in his second year, I think the sky’s is the limit. I’m not again I’m not going to get ahead of myself and say he can become you know super allp pro Joe Tuni but he is playing very well and all you really need is above average play at that position between Simmons and and Creed Humphrey and you’re going to have a good offensive line. So I I think that that’s really what you have to look at and I think that if you can continue to get him uh comfortable in that position and the other part of it is you look at what happened to him last week. He got hurt last week. He came out for a couple of plays last week, but he would ended up going back into the game. That’s what you want to see from your offensive lineman. I’m not saying play through, you know, injuries that are going to hurt your team, don’t get me wrong, but he showed toughness, which is exactly what you need to see moving from left tackle to guard. And he has exceeded my expectations by far and continues to show that I think that this is going to be a great pick by Vich long term. So, the protection is going to be very important in this game. Uh, obviously, I hope Simmons can play uh because I think that really helps the left side of the line. Uh, nothing against Jaylen Moore, but I think Simmons would be much better there if he’s able to go. Uh, but the other side of it, it comes down to I don’t know about Taylor. And while I expect that he’ll play with an ankle injury and a knee injury, is he going to be effective in this game? That’s the question. And if he isn’t effective in this game, you don’t have a you don’t really feel great about your backup if you have to have Jaylen Moore as your left tackle. You’re absolutely right. We should know more tomorrow. Matt Derrick’s going to be with us. He’s going to break it down from inside the building. And later in the week, we’re going to talk about this matchup because the guy we didn’t mention that Kingsley is going to play quite a bit is Zack Allen. That’s a whole other topic because he’s putting up as much pressure as the other two are. And we will get to him later in the week. That is going to be it for us today. Thank you all for listening to the Lockdown Chiefs podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network in the world. Thank you all again for that. We really do appreciate that and we will talk to you tomorrow.

Kansas City Chiefs face a critical rivalry test as the Denver Broncos surge into contention, winning tight games behind a relentless defense and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Are the Broncos true contenders, or will the Chiefs’ championship pedigree prevail when it matters most?

Chris Clark and Ryan Tracy break down the AFC West power shift, spotlighting Patrick Mahomes’ leadership, the Chiefs’ path to reclaiming division dominance, and Denver’s offensive inconsistencies—especially after their 10-point output against the struggling Raiders. The hosts dissect Kansas City’s protection plan for Mahomes, injury updates for key linemen like Josh Simmons and Jawaan Taylor, and debate whether Bo Nix can handle playoff pressure. With tiebreakers and postseason seeding on the line, every matchup against the Broncos and Chargers now carries championship implications.

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