December 4, 2021

By Fred Liggett
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The time has come for the Kansas City Chiefs to say goodbye to the team’s bye week and get back to work on repeating as the AFC West Division Champions. The Chiefs can make a big gain towards that goal with a win this week at home against the Denver Broncos. Starting on Sunday, Dec. 5 the Chiefs won’t get much of a break having to play all three division rivals over a 12 day period.

The Chiefs welcomed the time off as the team’s bye week happened during the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanks to a four-game winning streak and holding down first place in the AFC West the Chiefs coaches and players came into the time away from each other feeling good. The Chiefs, 7-4, only lead the division by a single game with all four teams in the division above the .500 mark. After the Broncos, the Chiefs will be tested by a visit from the Las Vegas Raiders followed just four days later with a road trip to Los Angeles to play the Chargers.

While the Chiefs are feeling good about their accomplishments after 11 games the visiting Denver Broncos feel pretty good too. Coming to KC with a 6-5 record the Broncos have experienced a season much like a teeter-totter. Starting the season on a high note with a 3-0 record they cooled off in a hurry falling to 3-4 just four weeks later. Since that low point the team has won three out of their last four games, including an impressive win at Dallas by a 30-16 count.

The Broncos team that takes the field on Sunday night may be missing a few familiar faces to Chiefs fans. For certain the Broncos will be without former All-Pro DE Von Miller as he was traded to the LA Rams on November 1st. Last week the Broncos saw QB Teddy Bridgewater miss some time due to a shin injury. RB Melvin Gordon missed practice on Wednesday and both starting offensive tackles are banged up making their status questionable for the fun in KC.

The Chiefs/Broncos rivalry goes all the way back to the start of the AFL in 1960. Many memorable moments have been played since then and with control of the AFC West on the line this week’s game was flexed from a noon start to a primetime kickoff on NBC. NFL fans will be treated to nationwide coverage provided by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. This entertaining rivalry has been good lately to the Chiefs as they have won the 11 straight against Denver. The last loss came in the 2015 season. The two teams’ last meeting was an entertaining one with the Chiefs taking a close 22-16 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.

Following the Chiefs last game, a win over Dallas, Coach Reid sent the players away while his staff huddled together to review the teams season. Reid has been legendary leading his teams to a 19-3 record after a bye week. Reid’s teams have been even better at home with an 11-1 mark. Thanks to the extra preparation time for coaches and the players performing well over the last month one can expect the Chiefs streak over Denver to continue. Chiefs fans may have to wait till late Sunday night but it’s worth it as the Chiefs defeat Denver and remain in first place. That’s What I REID Into It for this week.