Chiefs vs. Broncos: Mahomes faces NFL's top pass rush in Denver showdown

BetMGM line: Chiefs by 4

Against the spread: Chiefs 5-4, Broncos 4-5-1.

Series record: Chiefs lead 73-57.

Last meeting: Broncos beat Chiefs 38-0 on Jan. 5, 2025, at Empower Field in Denver.

Last week: Chiefs had a bye; Broncos beat Raiders 10-7.

Chiefs offense: overall (7), rush (12), pass (5), scoring (9)

Chiefs defense: overall (6), rush (12), pass (7), scoring (4)

Broncos offense: overall (13), rush (9), pass (18), scoring (17)

Broncos defense: overall (3), rush (4), pass (6), scoring (3)

Turnover differential: Raiders minus-5; Broncos minus-3.

Chiefs player to watch

Whoever starts at left tackle. First-round pick Josh Simmons earned the job in camp and played well early in the season, then abruptly left the team to deal with a family matter. Jaylon Moore has started the last four games with respectable results. Simmons returned to the team this week, though, and it remains to be seen whether he will resume starting against the Broncos.

Broncos player to watch

ILB Justin Strnad. He started alongside Alex Singleton when Dre Greenlaw was sidelined first by a quadriceps injury and then by a one-game suspension. Now he'll play alongside Greenlaw as he steps in for Singleton, who will miss at least one game after have a cancerous testicular tumor removed last week.

Key matchup

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes versus the Denver Broncos' suffocating pass rush headlined by Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper on the outside and John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen on the inside. The Broncos' 46 sacks lead the league by a wide margin and put them on pace for an NFL-record 78. They led the league last year with a franchise-record 63 sacks.

Key injuries

Chiefs: RB Isiah Pacheco will miss another game because of a knee injury.

Broncos: Pat Surtain II will miss his third consecutive game with a strained left pectoral muscle. ... TE Nate Atkins (knee) is out again, too. ... ILB Alex Singleton is out after having surgery to remove a cancerous testicular tumor last week. ... WR-KR Marvin Mims Jr. returns from a concussion that sidelined him for two games. ... Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins will miss the game.

Series notes

After Kansas City dominated the series for a decade, the Broncos have won two of their last three meetings, both in Denver, and they were about to win at Arrowhead Stadium last season until a blocked field goal attempt as time expired.

Stats and stuff

TE Travis Kelce needs one TD to break a tie with Priest Holmes for most in Chiefs history with 84. ... Kelce has caught a pass in 183 straight games, the longest streak in franchise history. It's also the longest active streak in the NFL. ... DT Chris Jones needs four sacks to pass Neil Smith (85.5) for third-most in Chiefs history. ... Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes needs 299 yards passing to reach 35,000. He will be playing his 122nd regular-season game and would break Matt Stafford’s record (126) for fastest to reach the milestone. ... Mahomes is 36-6 against the AFC West. One of the losses was to the Chargers in their season opener. ... Mahomes has thrown for at least 250 yards in six consecutive games. ... Chiefs WR Rashee Rice has scored a TD in each of his three games this season. ... The Broncos have won their last 10 games at home, the longest such streak in the NFL. ... Denver has won seven straight games, the franchise's longest winning streak since 2012, when they won 11 consecutive games during Peyton Manning's first season in navy and orange. ... The Broncos' plus-35 sack differential is the largest by a team in the first 10 games of a season in NFL history. ... QB Bo Nix on Sunday can become the fourth QB in league history with multiple TD passes in 10 home games within his first two seasons in the NFL. ... RJ Harvey ranks first among rookie running backs with 25 receptions and is tied for third among rookies with four TD catches. ... WR Courtland Sutton has three or more catches in 11 consecutive home games. ... WR Troy Franklin aims for his fourth straight home game with a touchdown grab. ... LB Nik Bonitto had 1 1/2 sacks and two tackles for loss against the Raiders last week. He ranks third in the NFL with 9 1/2 sacks. ... DE Zach Allen has six consecutive games with at least half a sack, the longest active streak in the NFL.

Fantasy tips

Harvey has been a better producer in the passing game (four touchdown catches) than the ground game (two TDs) but he should get a heavier workload with Dobbins sidelined.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL