Miles
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- Mar 18, 2019
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The Broncos' regular-season opener isn't for another few months, but over the next few weeks, DenverBroncos.com will take an early look at each game on the Broncos' 2020 schedule. We don't know how injuries could impact each contest, but we'll present the pressing storylines, matchups, questions and more.
It's never too early to start talking football.
We continue with Denver's Week 13 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Storyline to monitor:
If all goes to plan in Denver, this won't be the last prime-time matchup between Drew Lock and Patrick Mahomes. Lock, who is entering his first full season as a starter, could be poised for a breakout campaign after John Elway and Co. loaded the offense with new talent. In this matchup on "Sunday Night Football," he'll have his best chance of the season to show off how far he's come as a Year 2 player.
Lock would surely take a sophomore campaign that matches that of Mahomes, who threw for 50 touchdowns and won the league MVP award in his first full season as a starter. To accomplish that, Lock will need to have a better showing in this prime-time game in his hometown of Kansas City.
Depending on the outcome of the Week 7 game between these two teams, this will either be a chance for the Broncos to sweep the season series for the first time since 2014 or for Denver to snap a 10-game losing streak to Kansas City. We're certainly hoping for the former.
Player to watch:
TE Travis Kelce
In the Broncos' last trip to Arrowhead, five-time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce turned in his best game of the season. In several inches of snow, Kelce caught a season-high 11 passes for 142 yards as he consistently found separation against Denver's secondary. He's enjoyed plenty of success against the Broncos during his career, as he's averaged 6.5 catches for 86.2 yards in 11 games vs. Denver. On four occasions, Kelce has posted more than 100 yards in a contest against the Broncos. Slowing the Chiefs is no easy task, as defenses must corral Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and now rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. But slowing those players doesn't matter much if Kelce picks up first downs at will. Denver must have a plan to combat Kelce in this "Sunday Night Football" matchup.
I'm also interested to see what happens if Tyrann Mathieu is lined up against Courtland Sutton again. Last season, Mathieu made a stellar defensive play to knock the ball away from Sutton in the end zone to prevent a touchdown, and Sutton said earlier this offseason that he's still steaming about the missed score. Will Sutton make up for it during this matchup in Kansas City?