The Broncos coach is in a delicate position with already 4 defeats and a trip to the defending champion for this Thursday Night Football.
Kick-off on the night of Thursday to Friday at 2:15 a.m.
Kansas City Chiefs (4-1) – Denver Broncos (1-4)
What if Thursday Night Football was the place of redemption for coaches in danger? That’s certainly what Sean Payton is hoping for. Last week, the pressure seemed enormous on Matt Eberflus at the helm of the Bears. The coach had not yet won a victory with Chicago this season and was scheduled to face the Commanders. Result, a victory in the manner that relieved the head coach in Illinois.
The former New Orleans technician certainly hopes for the same fate, except that the opposition seems to be of a completely different level. Denver moves to the Arrowhead side, on the field of the defending champion. In addition to being a difficult team to maneuver around, Kansas City is also the Broncos’ nemesis. It’s simple, they remain on 15 consecutive defeats against their division rival.
Break the negative streak
To find traces of a victory for Colorado players on Andy Reid’s tape, we have to go back to the 2015 season. At that time, Manning was still there and the Broncos were preparing to win the Super Bowl. Since then, water has flowed under the bridges. The Chiefs won two and especially Denver entered a long tunnel of bad results. The franchise has since had 6 coaches or interim coaches. From Peyton to Payton, the negative streak will perhaps end this Thursday.
The head coach could really use it. After his comments on the management of the team under the Nathaniel Hackett regime last year, he knew he was highly anticipated this season. Unfortunately, so far, it’s not doing much better. With four defeats in five matches (including one of 50 points), Denver is not moving forward and is currently one of the worst teams in the league. Beating the champion at home would not erase everything, but would be an incredible boost of confidence for a team that does not lack talent. It remains to find the solution against Patrick Mahomes and his family. A new defeat, on the other hand, would plunge the franchise even further into a crisis which already seems to weaken Sean Payton.
Travis Kelce present
To give themselves a chance, the Broncos will first and foremost have to tighten the defensive lines. Denver simply has the worst squad in the league in terms of yards allowed (450.6 per game) and points conceded (36.2 per game). Certainly a game with 70 points and more than 700 yards does not help the statistics, but they did not do much better against the Jets, the Commanders or the Bears. The problem is that they will be facing the league MVP. By his own admission, Patrick Mahomes is not yet in top form at the start of the season, but he knows how to win a game. In its wake, Kansas City has not lost since September 8.
The Chiefs should also be able to count on the presence of Travis Kelce. The tight end, injured in the ankle for a few days, will be present for this Thursday Night Football. He will be another threat to watch for the Broncos defense. Just like Isiah Pacheco, the young running back, who has been one of the best players in this attack since the start of the season (71 carries, 325 yards and 3 TDs + 11 receptions and 99 yards).
