The first game of the 2026 season for your Denver Broncos did not go according to plan.
Not that anyone in Broncos Country needs a reminder. Denver was flogged 31-10 by the Kansas City Chiefs. And the Broncos defense still hasn't tackled Kenneth Walker.
Thankfully, and hopefully, Denver gets a crack at a redo this Sunday in Denver. A win at home against Patrick Mahomes, Walker, and Kansas City would give the Broncos the lead in the AFC West.
FanDuel Sportsbook has Denver as the home underdog at +1.5 points, though that's basically a pick 'em at this point. The total sits over/under 40.5 points, with a lean toward the over at -115.
Kansas City: Sixth in total offense (380.5 yards per game), fifth in rushing offense (141.5 YPG), 11th in passing offense (239.0 YPG), 14th in scoring offense (23.8 points per game).
Denver: Thirtieth in total offense (270.0 yards per game), 24th in rushing offense (94.9 YPG), 27th in passing offense (175.1 YPG), tied for 24th in scoring offense (20.6 points per game).
Kansas City: Fourteenth in total defense (323.3 yards per game), 13th in rushing defense (99.5 YPG), 17th in passing defense (223.8 YPG), second in scoring defense (17.2 points per game).
Denver: Twenty-third in total defense (349.0 yards per game), 28th in rushing defense (133.3 YPG), 12th in passing defense (215.7 YPG), seventh in scoring defense (20.1 points per game).
Here are the MHR staff's keys to Sunday's game.
As we saw in the Thursday night win over the Seattle Seahawks, when the Broncos defense creates turnovers and the offense protects the ball, Denver wins. The Broncos have been better at creating takeaways this season, and they need to carry that over on Sunday. Force Mahomes into some rushed throws and/or punch the ball out to give Bo Nix and the offense some added possessions. On top of that, Nix and the offense need to continue to protect the ball. Win the turnover battle on Sunday, and the Broncos put themselves in a great spot to win the game. — Ian St. Clair
Mahomes is continuing to play based off who he was two years ago and not putting in the effort to stay great. I like our chances if we force him to throw on our excellent secondary. Stop Kenneth Walker and win the game. — Sadaraine
The Broncos were hanging tough in the first half in that Week 1 matchup, but the horrific tackling eventually led to big plays in the run game. The Chiefs ran away from Denver in the second half. We all remember how much we overreacted to that first game, but man, did they miss too many tackles to count, and the overreaction was warranted. Since then, however, the Broncos defense has been pretty damn good and the offense is finally waking up. Keep up that momentum, and they should take care of business this weekend. — Tim Lynch
No need to get cute. Let Jonah Coleman build off the game he had against the Arizona Cardinals. Commit to the running attack. Get the young guys involved. Coleman and RJ Harvey had great games in Phoenix. Keep that going. The passing attack will open up once teams are forced to respect the run. — Adam Malnati
Using advanced analytics, the keys to this game are simple. When the Broncos score fewer points than their opponent, they are 0-2, and when they score more, they are 5-0. Further proving this point, they are 0-1 vs. the Chiefs this season when scoring fewer points than them. However, they were 2-0 against the Chiefs last season when they scored more points than their division rivals. So, according to these advanced analytics, if they can score more points than the Chiefs in this game, they will be 6-2. — Scotty Payne
