Broncos at Chiefs
After last week's loss to New England, the Denver Broncos need to win their final two games to have a hope of defending their Super Bowl title. The Broncos visit the Kansas City Chiefs, whose playoff hopes also absorbed a hit last week with 19-17 loss on a last-second field goal to Tennessee, on Sunday night.
The Broncos started the season 4-0, but have since lost six of 10 and have gone 1-3 since posting a respectable 7-3 mark. "The only playoff scenario I know is that if we don’t win, we get no chance," Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak told reporters earlier in the week. Actually that's not the case as Denver could still earn a playoff berth with a loss and miss the playoffs altogether with two more wins, a scenario that will be much clearer by the time their late Christmas Day game kicks off. Kansas City can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a tie against the Broncos or if the Ravens lose or tie.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC. LINE: Chiefs -3.5. O/U: 37.5.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS (8-6): Trevor Siemien's up-and-down campaign continued last week when he completed 25-of-40 throws for 282 yards as Denver was kept out of the end zone for the first time all season in the 16-3 defeat. The Broncos have virtually abandoned their ground game, which has fallen to 27th in the league (91.3 yards a game), as newly-acquired Justin Forsett led the team in rushing with 37 yards on 10 carries against the Patriots. Denver's defense remains strong as it ranks first in passing defense (183 yards a game), second in total defense and fourth in the NFL in points allowed (18.4).
ABOUT THE CHIEFS (10-4): With a chance to clinch a playoff berth in his grasp last week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid pushed all the wrong buttons. Reid watched his team fail to score on a fourth-and-goal try from the 1-yard line, saw Alex Smith throw an interception in the end zone late in the third quarter, and then called a timeout only to let Ryan Succop get another chance to boot what proved to be a 53-yard field goal in the game's final seconds. The Chiefs have won the past two games in this series led by all-purpose threat Tyreek Hill, who rushed for a score, caught a touchdown pass and returned a kick 87 yards for another score in Kansas City’s 30-27 overtime victory over the Broncos on Nov. 27.
EXTRA POINTS
1. RB Spencer Ware leads Kansas City with 859 yards rushing but hasn't gone over 100 yards for the past eight games and has just three rushing touchdowns on the season.
2. The only healthy tight end on the Broncos’ 53-man roster is Jeff Heuerman after Virgil Green and A.J. Derby suffered concussions last week.
3. Chiefs LB Justin Houston missed practice during the week because of swelling in his surgically repaired left knee and is questionable.