Broncos without suspended Kareem Jackson as they try to snap their 16-game losing streak to Chiefs
KANSAS CITY (6-1) at DENVER (2-5)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBS
OPENING LINE: Chiefs by 7½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Chiefs 5-2; Broncos 1-5-1.
SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 72-54.
LAST MEETING: Chiefs beat Broncos 19-8 at Kansas City on Oct. 12.
LAST WEEK: Chiefs beat Chargers 31-17; Broncos beat Packers 19-17.
CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (18), PASS (2), SCORING (T6)
CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (16), PASS (6), SCORING (2)
BRONCOS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (17), PASS (22), SCORING (19)
BRONCOS DEFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (32), PASS (30), SCORING (32)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Chiefs even; Broncos minus-4.
CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: LB Drue Tranquill will be under the microscope again after the Chiefs lost LB Nick Bolton to a fractured wrist last week against the Chargers. Tranquill already has played the role of the super-sub this season, when Bolton was out for three weeks with an ankle sprain.
BRONCOS PLAYER TO WATCH: Safety PJ Locke is expected to make his first career start in place of suspended safety Kareem Jackson. Locke replaced Jackson last week when the veteran was ejected for an illegal hit and sealed Denver's 19-17 win over Green Bay with his first career interception.
KEY MATCHUP: Patrick Mahomes & Co. versus Broncos secondary led by safety Justin Simmons and CB Patrick Surtain II.
KEY INJURIES: The Chiefs will be without LB Nick Bolton, who had surgery on his fractured wrist Tuesday. ... The Broncos will be without TE Greg Dulcich, who reinjured his hamstring at Kansas City two weeks ago. This marks the 13th game the second-year pro has missed because of hamstring issues.
SERIES NOTES: The Chiefs have dominated the Broncos ever since their second meeting in 2015 when the Broncos were in the midst of their Super Bowl 50 title run. Their 16-game losing streak to Kansas City is approaching the NFL's all-time futility mark set by the Buffalo Bills, who lost 20 in a row to Miami during the 1970s.
STATS AND STUFF: The Chiefs have won 16 straight against Denver going back to their road win on Nov. 15, 2015. That’s tied for the third longest against an individual opponent in NFL history. A win Sunday would tie the 49ers’ streak against the Rams from 1990-98 for second longest in history. ... Chiefs coach Andy Reid can tie Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram for the most regular-season wins (124) in franchise history. ... Patrick Mahomes is 11-0 in his career against Denver. ... Mahomes is coming off his fifth career game with at least 400 yards passing and four touchdowns. Only Peyton Manning (eight) and Dan Marino (seven) have more. ... Mahomes leads the league in completions (185) and touchdown passes (15) and is second in yards passing (2,017). ... Mahomes is 16-0 on the road against the AFC West in his career. ... The Chiefs have won 13 straight against AFC West opponents and are 44-6 against the division since 2015. ... The Chiefs are the only team in the NFL to hold every opponent to 21 points or fewer this season. ... Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce can tie Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham for the third-most QB-to-TE touchdown passes with their 51st. ... Kelce needs one TD catch to tie Jason Witten (74) for fifth most by a TE in NFL history. ... K Harrison Butker has made his first 15 field-goal attempts this season. One more would pass Morten Andersen (2002) for the best start to a season in Chiefs history. ... Although Russell Wilson has a 6-16 record as Broncos QB, he's bounced back from an awful 2022 season statistically, especially at home. In four games at Mile High, Wilson has thrown for eight TDs and no INTs and has a 105.1 passer rating at home. ... WR Courtland Sutton has touchdown catches in four of his past five games. ... The previous time the Chiefs visited Denver, WR Jerry Jeudy caught a career-best three touchdown passes. ... LB Alex Singleton has reached double digits in tackles in five consecutive games. ... LB Josey Jewell had a season-high 10 tackles last week. ... The Broncos will be without veteran safety Kareem Jackson, who is serving a two-game suspension for an illegal hit last week against Green Bay TE Luke Musgrave. It was the fifth time this season Jackson has been flagged 15 yards for a hit that violated the NFL's unnecessary roughness rules.
FANTASY TIP: RB Javonte Williams has averaged 98 yards from scrimmage in three career games against Kansas City and is coming off his best game of the season.
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