The Kansas City Chiefs are getting ready to visit the Denver Broncos on Thursday night in Week 7.
To learn more about Kansas City’s opponent, we spoke with managing editor Jon Heath over at Broncos Wire and asked him a few questions.
Chiefs Wire: What is the key behind the Broncos’ recent success?
Broncos Wire: Not much has changed on offense — Denver still hasn’t scored more than 24 points in a game this season. Several changes were made on defense, though. Shelby Harris started the year as a nose tackle, but that’s not his natural position. So the Broncos moved Harris to defensive end and benched Adam Gotsis. Then the team put Mike Purcell in at nose, and he has excelled against the run. Alexander Johnson has been starting over Josey Jewell the last two weeks as well, and that was also a big change.
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Chiefs Wire: How do you feel about Joe Flacco after six games?
Broncos Wire: He’s about what I expected him to be — a game manager. He’s not going to win games on his own, but if you give him a good defense and a strong rushing attack, he can win games (he went all the way to the Super Bowl with that kind of supporting cast in Baltimore). He’s obviously not the long-term answer at QB, but he’s been good enough.
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Chiefs Wire: What’s the best and worst thing about the new Broncos coaching staff headlined by Vic Fangio?
Broncos Wire: The best thing is probably the ability to find the best guys on defense, regardless of their draft status. Gotsis is a former second-round pick yet he’s been inactive the last two weeks. Sometimes teams hang on to players too long, and it’s good to see Fangio is not falling into that trap. The worst thing might be the offense’s inability to score. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello has them marching up and down the field, but they’re averaging just 17.7 points per game. Something needs to be fixed on offense.
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Chiefs Wire: Are there any emergent Broncos players that Chiefs fans should know about ahead of this game?
Broncos Wire: Undrafted rookie Malik Reed was thrust into a starting role after Bradley Chubb tore his ACL, and he has played well over the last two games. He’s not putting up any flashy sack numbers but he played well against the run last week and has been helping generate pressure. Von Miller calls him the next Shaq Barrett. Barrett started his career in Denver as a rotational pass rusher and now starts for the Bucs — he is currently tied for the NFL lead with nine sacks.
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Chiefs Wire: What’s your scoring prediction, and do you have any hot takes on this game?
Broncos Wire: Every time Kansas City has come to Denver in recent years, the game has been decided by four or fewer points. So my non-hot take is that it will be a close contest. Earlier this week, I made an official prediction that the Chiefs would win 28-24 but now I’m starting to second-guess myself (thinking the Broncos might have a real shot to win). I won’t flip-flop on a written prediction, though, so KC wins. Chiefs 28, Broncos 24
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