The Kansas City Chiefs are 5-4 coming off their bye week and have a tough matchup against the 8-2 Denver Broncos, the team that leads the American Football Conference West division.

While this season has been far from standard (0-2 start, 0-4 in one-score games), the Chiefs are still perceived as a playoff team. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a magician who thrives in the big moments, so as long as the rest of the season isn’t disastrous, Kansas City will be just fine.

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This is a huge matchup, though, and the Chiefs need to bring their A-game if they want to overcome the Broncos’ amazing defense.

Head coach Andy Reid is 22-4 lifetime coming off bye weeks, so there’s a sense of comfort for Chiefs Kingdom, but as I mentioned before, this team isn’t the usual team we’ve seen over the past decade.

All three phases of the team have played well, but the offense can be a little stagnant at times, partially because the running game has been inconsistent.

Starting running back Isiah Pacheco missed the team’s Week 9 meeting with the Buffalo Bills due to a knee injury, but before that, Pacheco hadn’t rushed for more than 58 yards in a game yet.

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Backup running back Kareem Hunt had started to build some momentum in limited touches prior to Pacheco’s injury, and he continued the momentum by tying his season-high in rushing yards (49) and scored a touchdown in the 28-21 loss to Buffalo.

ESPN’s Nate Taylor believes Hunt has been the team’s non-QB Most Valuable Player.

“Some fans might not think of Hunt, but consider this: In a limited role on offense, he has been essential to the team’s success on fourth down,” Taylor wrote Tuesday. “The Chiefs have converted 16 of their 20 attempts on fourth down, which is tied for the third-best rate in the league. Hunt has been the one to convert on 10 of those snaps. When they have converted on do-or-die plays, the Chiefs often end their possession by scoring points (54 total).”

Hunt’s effectiveness as a power-back is crucial to the Chiefs’ success on offense. He can catch passes as well, making him a reliable dual-threat running back.

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Not trading for New York Jets running back Breece Hall at the trade deadline Nov. 4 made no sense, considering the team has given up the needed draft capital for a lesser player in the past, but Kansas City feels comfortable with Hunt and Pacheco enough to pass on the impending free agent.

Expect the Chiefs/Broncos matchup to be the game of the week.