There’s a burr under the Broncos’ saddle. And it hurts so good.

They not only know the story that angers them by heart, but allow the insult of this narrative burn in their veins.

Recommended Stories
▶

Kansas City has a real championship-caliber quarterback. Denver does not. These Broncos aren’t good. They’re a fluke, a one-year wonder, riding the good fortune of winning close games, luck that’s doomed to crap out.

Yeah, that derogatory narrative qualifies as fighting words in Broncos Country.

But those words aren’t mine.

The sentiment that Denver isn’t regarded as a serious championship contender was uttered bluntly Wednesday by receiver Courtland Sutton when I asked him if the Broncos and Chiefs should now be considered as equals in the upcoming heavyweight bout for control of the AFC West.

“Yes, we may have won the division last year. But there still doesn’t feel as if there’s this respect (that) the Broncos are a really good football team,” said Sutton, repeating what he regards as the national narrative about the Broncos. “I think people are still thinking that we rode off a high (in 2025) and there’s this fluke of what happened last year.”

Despite a noticeable decline in his key statistics, including passing yards and touchdown passes in each of the past three seasons, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is considered football royalty.

And Bo Nix is the cause of hand-wringing after repeatedly being accused this autumn of being the greatest hindrance to Denver’s lofty dream of making a deep playoff run.

Despite ending a reign that saw the Chiefs turn the AFC West into their personal kingdom of glory from 2016-24, the Broncos aren’t considered a legit Super Bowl threat outside of Colorado.

According to the computer-generated analytics of ESPN’s Power Index, with a 5-2 record, Denver is currently ranked no better than the league’s 14th-best team, just ahead of the 2-5 Houston Texans.

Can you handle the truth, Broncos Country?

Nobody in NFL Nation will truly take this Denver team seriously if it flops at home and loses for the second time in this still-young season to Kansas City.

If the Chiefs were to win the AFC West nine years out of 10, with a single interruption in the reign, what would the Broncos look like?

A fluke.

“I think teams in our league start with Goal 1: win the division. Goal 2 is best playoff seed. And Goal 3 is win a championship,” Denver coach Sean Payton said.

So I asked him: Can the Broncos win the AFC West if they get swept in the home-and-away season series against Kansas City?

“It’s another way of asking if this is a must-win game to win the division,” Payton replied. “And I would say it probably isn’t, because there’s so much season left.”

With all due respect to my good buddy Mr. Crabbypants, I must strongly disagree with Payton.

Yes, there is much football yet to be played between now and when playoff football heats up in the January cold. In a brutal sport that’s often unfair, the Broncos’ place in the conference standings, as well as the fortunes of any other AFC team on a championship quest, could be adversely affected by devastating injuries, blown calls and bad bounces of the football.

The idea of there being statement games in the NFL is probably talked about too loosely. But this showdown against Kansas City will tell us a lot about the Broncos.

Either Denver will take control of the division with a victory.

Or the Broncos will be exposed as wannabes in defeat.

A loss won’t erase them from the Super Bowl hunt.

A victory, however, will put them squarely back in the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference playoff field.

“We’ve got to show up each week and go show everybody and prove to ourselves that we are who we said we are … and last year wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t just a flash in the dark,” Sutton said.

“It’s one of those things that we have to stand up and stand on 10 toes: We are who we say we are, week in and week-out. And this week, it’s against the Chiefs.”

After getting any sense of entitlement knocked out of them during a 31-10 season-opening loss in Kansas City, do you know what might be the most encouraging change that has emerged in the vibe of this Denver team while it battled through a tough gauntlet of early-season games?

The Broncos have ditched any notion they have arrived.

They’re again angry outsiders, fighting for every shred of respect.