It’s an early rivalry week in the football season for the Kansas City area, apparently.

To open his press conference Friday afternoon, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy appropriately labeled the Chiefs-Broncos matchup ahead of his first game on the Kansas City sidelines since 2022.

“Chiefs versus the Broncos, an old-school AFC West blood match here,” Bieniemy said.

There’s plenty to focus on in the game, but the Chiefs’ offense — led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his first game back from knee surgery — has an especially stiff challenge to begin the season. The Broncos were a top-3 defense last year in points and yards allowed.

Both Bieniemy and head coach Andy Reid understand why the Denver defense has been one of the NFL’s best. It starts with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

“Vance is a sharp guy, and he’s got a nice package full of blitzes that he has,“ Reid told reporters during his press conference on Thursday. ”I’m sure he’ll unload a few of them.“

“You want to be able to play fast and not stagger yourself down to where you can’t function with a ghost,” Reid continued. “He’s got plenty of things he can throw at you for sure.”

Up front, the Broncos deploy a talented group of pass rushers led by outside linebacker Nik Bonitto; he has 27.5 sacks over the last two regular seasons.

Bonitto will be joined by defensive lineman Zach Allen and outside linebacker Jonah Elliss as priorities for the Chiefs to handle on pass downs. Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who totaled eight sacks last year, is currently on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.

For Bieniemy, one word stands out above all else this week.

“Protect, protect, protect,” Bieniemy said. “We know [Bonitto] can get after it, we know Zach Allen can get after it… I know the kid, Cooper, is not playing, who is an outstanding player. The kid, Elliss, is pretty damn good… They’re good on the line; they’re good on the second level with the backers and, obviously, they have some guys in the back end that can play.”

“We will be challenged,” Bieniemy stated. “VJ does a great job, but we want to find a way to make sure we can secure victory, any which way we can.”