The 5-4 Kansas City Chiefs are looking to come out of the bye week with a win that will go a long way in determining who will be crowned AFC West Champions. However, KC will have the incredibly difficult task of going on the road to face the 8-2 Denver Broncos, who are looking for their eighth consecutive victory.

Sometimes, a bye week can be a detriment to teams, but that's not the case for Chiefs coach Andy Reid. He has a 22-4 career record after bye weeks and is 9-3 during his tenure with Kansas City. Reid said that this time off is good for self-reflection and identifying areas that need improvement.

“What we try to do - and I think with technology now - it's different than it was a few years back. You're able to stay up on that,” Reid said on November 12th. “You've got these guys that kind of keep you abreast of what's going on, what your tendencies are, what you need to work on or show in certain spots and down and distances, all that… I mean, the proof is in the pudding. So, if we can do better, then it's been a good evaluation period.”

The last time the Chiefs played, they lost to the Buffalo Bills on the road, 28-21. With a defeat like that and two weeks to ruminate on the loss, KC's players have been itching to get back on the field and prove themselves.

“They're out there, and they're hearing everything and see everything with the time off,” Reid said of his players. “They understand. They're focused, locked in, ready to go, [and] ready to get back to work and get better. As a head coach, that's all you can ask for.”

If KC wants to pull off the win, they're going to have to come up with new and unique ways to attack Denver's defense. Not only do the Broncos lead the league in sacks (46), but they also rank third in yards allowed per game (270.7) and points allowed per game (17.3).

“I think they have five really good defensive linemen that can all win in different ways. And they have guys that rotate in and play well,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday. “They know what their scheme is. They know how to get after the quarterback. So, for us, it's just having great protection schemes, changing up the looks for them so they can't just tee off, and then just going out there and getting the ball in my hands whenever I need to and then take shots whenever I need to as well.”

Though the Broncos won their last matchup, a Thursday Night Football game against the 2-7 Las Vegas Raiders, the offense was underwhelming in that contest. Denver was held to 220 total yards and just ten points while taking 11 penalties for 78 yards.

“Obviously, we’ve got to clean up the penalties. We’ve got to clean up some of the execution, and that is an ongoing thing that probably never ends,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said after the win over the Raiders. “Right now, we're a team sitting at eight wins. I think we're the only team sitting there. Yet, we're constantly looking internally. It was a tough night offensively, obviously. I give them credit. They did some things differently that we hadn't seen… So we'll look at that tape, and we'll learn from it. We always will.”

Quarterback Bo Nix struggled in the game against Vegas, throwing two interceptions while being held to just 150 passing yards. The good news is that Sean Payton believes Nix's recent issues are correctable.

“I think one of his great strengths is not taking sacks, and so is the clock in his head relative to that sense of urgency,” Payton told reporters on Monday. “I think that's a much easier problem to correct than the latter, which is taking the sacks… Obviously, we recognize here are the things we’ve got to continue to work on to improve.”

The Broncos might be in first place in the AFC West, but the 7-3 Los Angeles Chargers and the Chiefs are breathing down their necks. With four divisional matchups in the final eight weeks of the season, Denver knows this game could ultimately determine who wins the AFC West.

“I know it's going to be a really important game for - I would say - both teams, honestly. We're trying to keep our lead in the division, and they're trying to keep stacking these wins to get up there. So, it's going to be a big game for both teams,” said Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto earlier this week. “This division has been run by the Chiefs for so many years now. If we want to be that team to win the division and reach the goals that we said we want, we're going to have to go through them and beat them. We're excited for the opportunity.”

Prediction for Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) @ Denver Broncos

In the matchup between an unstoppable force and an immovable object, Denver's top-ranked pass rush will probably make life uncomfortable for Patrick Mahomes, who has only been sacked 17 times this season. The Broncos will want to lean on their ninth-ranked rushing attack to generate yards, but the Chiefs are preparing for that and will try to make Bo Nix beat them with his arm. Considering KC is seventh in passing yards allowed per game (187.2) and tied for the second-fewest passing touchdowns given up this season (nine), Nix will probably struggle. At the end of the day, it would be foolish to bet against Patrick Mahomes in a divisional matchup.

Prediction: Chiefs 23 - 20 Broncos

How to watch Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) @ Denver Broncos

Chiefs @ Broncos starts at 4:25 p.m. EDT at Empower Field at Mile High. You can watch it on CBS or stream it via the Paramount+ app or YouTube TV.

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