Denver Broncos (12-3) @ Kansas City Chiefs (6-9)
Thursday, December 25, 8:15 PM ET
The mighty Chiefs have fallen badly this season. The reigning AFC champions and the NFL’s top dynasty over the last eight years is completely out of the playoffs right now, and worse.
The Chiefs are dealing with injuries on top of insult, especially at the quarterback position. Patrick Mahomes is out with a torn ACL. Gardner Minshew tore his ACL on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs are trotting out Chris Oladokun for this matchup on Thursday against the Denver Broncos, a team that’s going to be playing ticked off after a brutal loss at home to the Jaguars.
The Broncos were on an 11-game winning streak prior to their loss to Jacksonville in Week 16. They’d been playing great as a team, especially in the 4th quarter, but they just didn’t have enough Mile High Magic to beat the Jaguars.
The issues for the Broncos right now are, shockingly, on the defensive side of the ball. They’re a bit banged up there, and they haven’t been able to force turnovers consistently this season. Against a 3rd-string quarterback, they’ll be treating the 50-yard line as the end zone this week and looking to get that disgusting taste of defeat out of their mouths.
The Broncos are 12.5-point favorites with the Chiefs rolling out their third-string QB for this one. Just like last year, the Broncos can’t take it lightly going up against backups. They’ve got to take care of business, and I think we’ll see them bounce back.
Prediction: Broncos win 35-6