Coming off their ten straight wins, the Denver Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17 match-up that is the last obstacle between the Broncos and the first-round bye that they so desperately covet. 
The Chiefs come into Denver at 2-13, and with the terribly underachieving season that they have had, the only thing that the Chiefs and their fans have to look forward to is the first overall draft choice in a draft where there isn’t a QB worthy of the No. 1 overall pick, even though that is Kansas City’s greatest need. Regardless, the Chiefs come in Denver fighting for nothing except pride, whereas the Broncos have a heck of a lot to fight for.
Denver is 12-3 and a win away from receiving a first-round bye in the playoffs, and maybe even home advantage throughout the playoffs if the Texans also lose. Having said that, this game is huge. It’s the difference between playing in the first week of the playoffs or having the first week off to prepare for the divisional round. Coming off ten straight wins, the Broncos are absolutely red hot in all phases of the game. Coming off a 34-12 win against the Browns in which the offense clicked better than they have in weeks, and where the defense absolutely dominated behind Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil, having 3.5 sacks between the two and a total of 6 for the whole team on the day. As well as the Denver offense and defense did last week, the special teams could improve that much more. There were two fumbles by the Broncos on special teams, something that head coach John Fox wants to see improve.
A tune up in all three phases of the ball shouldn’t be too difficult against a struggling Chiefs team. The Chiefs have lost 3 straight, 11 of their last 12, and are 2-13 overall. There is no consistency at the QB position for Kansas City, and the only bright spot for the team is Jamaal Charles, who had 226 yards on 22 carries against the Colts last year. In the Broncos prior match-up with the Chiefs, Charles had 107 yards on 23 carries. The only hope the Chiefs have is if they can get Charles into a rhythm and he has a career day.
The only way that the Broncos lose this game, is if they beat themselves with turnovers and inconsistency. The Chiefs will try establish the run during the entire game with Jamaal Charles, but I don’t see the Chiefs upsetting the Broncos. The Broncos will be obtaining that first-round bye in the playoffs and with some help from the Colts, maybe even home advantage throughout the playoffs.
GAME PREDICTION: Broncos 31, Chiefs 17
Anthony Rodriguez
Anthony is the Founder, Administrator, Editor and Publisher of Lightning Rod Sports. Originally from California, Anthony has been raised in the Rocky Mountains and Denver area for most of his life. Anthony works with the Emmy-winning student-run T.V. newscast at MSU Denver, The Met Report, as the Assistant General Manager, formerly the Sports Producer, as well as Lead Anchor and Production Assistant. He is currently the Play-by-Play Announcer, Color Commentator, and Production Assistant for the Metro State Broadcast Network, and calls games for Metro State soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball as a “Voice of the Roadrunners.” In addition to that work with the Metro State Broadcast Network, Anthony also hosts the monthly 30-minute magazine show called "The Roadrunner Review" which airs on Altitude Sports and Entertainment. He hosts the bi-weekly "KMet Sports Show" on KMET Radio at MyMetMedia.com/KMETSportsShow. He is also the Founder, Administrator, Editor, and Columnist for his own Denver Sports website, LightningRodSports.com. Anthony is also part of the Social Media team at Examiner.com, and has worked with the Altitude Radio Network for the Avalanche and Nuggets. Anthony is a former Producer for Mile High Sports Radio, as well as a former Sports-Talk show host on the LightningRod Radio Network.
