Chiefs: New Look Broncos

Laddie Morse

Sean Payton may be in his second year for the Broncos, but without QB Russell Wilson it looks like a completely different offense. The Denver Broncos are 5-and-4 on the year and prior to the game last weekend against the Ravens, they were 5-and-1. Then, however, they lost big to the Baltimore Ravens in a 41-to-10 whipping. Here’s their record for the year (so far).

The game that concerns me most is the Broncos game against the Bucs who the Chiefs just got by 30-to-24. In the Broncos game against the Bucs they went into half time with a 20-to-7 lead, and gave up zero points in the second half, and holding their QB, Baker Mayfield to an 83.3 passer rating.

Their rookie QB Bo Nix is getting better week by week, so his athletic ability to move and run is also a concern. In an article for BVMSports.com called, “Bo Nix Dominates with 33 Explosive Plays, Ranking 2nd in NFL QBs” they point out:

While I’m a person who respects the Broncos Defense, even after they allowed 41 point to Lamar Jackson and the rest of his offense, NFL.com has an article called, “NFL Fantasy 2024 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Defenses for Week 10” by Michael Florio who thinks the Broncos Defense is in a “sit-em” situation when it comes to the Chiefs.

While Michael Florio has the right idea when it comes to Fantasy Football, the strongest part of Denver’s team is their defense. PFF has an article that came out prior to this season called, “PFF Cornerback Rankings: Top 32 ahead of the 2024 NFL season” and they ranked Patrick Surtain II as the 4th best CB in the NFL saying (BTW they ranked Trent McDuffie as the 2nd best):

Here’s PFF Grades for Patrick Surtain II in each of his seasons so far:

While Patrick Surtain II can’t be considered a “new” face on defense, his performance makes all the difference in the world for them. Just like the Chiefs have a shut-down corner in Trent McDuffie, so do the Broncos have a shut-down CB in Surtain II.

A question appears about whether or not Surtain II can handle DeAndre Hopkins this Sunday at noon. We’ll find out soon enough but my money is on DHop.

Sayre Bedinger wrote a piece for Predominantlyorange.com this week called, “3 glaring problems Broncos must fix before Week 10 game vs. Chiefs” in which he says,

Bedinger goes on to point out a second glaring problem the Broncos need to fix:

Like so many, Bedinger points to the pass rush:

In all three cases, Bedinger could be talking about the Chiefs. What do you think of the coming matchup on Sunday?

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne