Broncos' win over Chargers tightens up competitive AFC West
DENVER (AP) â The Kansas City Chiefs see similarities in this yearâs team to the one that won the Super Bowl two years ago. After a stumbling start theyâre getting their health and mojo back and rolling into December.
They also see the rest of the AFC West closing in on them like Joey Bosa, Bradley Chubb and Maxx Crosby breathing down Patrick Mahomesâ neck.
Coming off a bye, the Chiefs (7-4) are riding a four-game winning streak, but the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders are all just a game back at 6-5.
âThe AFC is still wide open,â offered safety Derwin James Jr. after his Chargers lost 28-13 at Denver on Sunday. âWeâre 6-5 right now and everyone in the AFC West pretty much has the same record as us. Everything we want is still there.â
Indeed, the Chiefs could be looking up at the Broncos next Sunday night if they lose to Denver for the first time since Sept. 17, 2015.
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âNo matter what happens, weâve got to find a way to leave Arrowhead with a win,â safety Justin Simmons said after the Broncos rode rookie Pat Surtain IIâs pair of interceptions to a pivotal win, their third in four games.
Denverâs victory Sunday means every team in the division has a winning record.
It also gave the Broncos hope of ending their long playoff drought despite losing four in a row in October, and seeing almost 10,000 empty seats at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday coming off their lackluster performance against Philadelphia on the heels of a signature win at Dallas.
âThe message before going into todayâs game was like, âThis is it. This is the season,ââ Simmons said. âYou hate to think about it like that, but if we donât win today, our season is on the line. Weâve got to get a win.
âAnd I think that came out. Guys were playing with a lot of passion and energy. Weâve got to make sure we carry that over to next week. We canât have a Dallas week. We had a good game at Dallas and we came back the next week and laid an egg against Philly.â
The Chiefs could still run away with the division like theyâve done before, but Kansas City has the toughest remaining schedule with opponents a combined 36-29-1.
They play each of their AFC West rivals in the next three weeks and finish up at Denver following games against the Steelers (5-5-1) at home and Bengals (7-4) on the road.
The Broncosâ remaining opponents are 33-32-1, but thatâs only because winless Detroit (0-10-1) visits Denver in two weeks. Everybody else on their schedule has a winning record, including Cincinnati at home. And, like Kansas City, Denver has four divisional showdowns remaining.
The Chargers have two losing teams left to play: the Giants (4-7) at home and the Texans (2-9) on the road. They also visit Cincinnati and their opponentsâ cumulative record is 32-34.
The Raiders have one losing team remaining, Washington (4-6) at home next week, before back-to-back games at Kansas City and Cleveland. Their opponents are a combined 35-32.
While the Chiefs are getting healthier, the Broncos are getting more banged up.
With starting tackles Garett Bolles (COVID-19) and Bobby Massie (ankle) out, they started Calvin Anderson and Cam Fleming against the Chargers, and Anderson (knee) had to be replaced by practice squad call-up Quinn Bailey shortly after Netane Muti went in for left guard Dalton Risner (back).
Rookie Quinn Meinerz was already starting at right guard due to injuries, so the Broncos had four backup linemen boring holes for the ground game and protecting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater â who left in the first half with a right shin injury and was replaced by an inefficient Drew Lock before returning for the second half.
âTeddy is tough,â Broncos coach Vic Fangio said. âThis is unquestioned.â
Behind their patchwork line and ailing QB, the Broncos converted 8 of 11 third downsâtheir best third-down percentage in a single game since at least 1991 when the statistic was first trackedâand rumbled for 147 yards on the ground.
âI thought those guys did a great job,â Fangio said. â... Unfortunately, we seem to have the patent on losing guys no matter how hard we try not to. Iâm anticipating that the tide will turn at some point.â
Just like theyâre expecting their luck to turn against the Chiefs, whoâve beaten then 11 consecutive times.
âToday wasnât perfect,â Simmons said. âBut, man, it mattered to guys out there today. It mattered to come find a way to win the football game, and ... whatever that was, thatâs what we have to do from here on out.
âAfter tomorrow, this game is over. Weâre not going to talk about it. The next time weâll look at this is when we play the Chargers down the road. After tonight, weâre all in on the Chiefs, and weâve got to find a way to leave Arrowhead with a win. I canât emphasize that enough.â
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