Fresh off a big victory against the Cincinnati Bengals Long Sleeve Nick Allegretti Jersey , the Kansas City Chiefs stay home for another week and take on a familiar adversary: the Denver Broncos.Here are five things to watch during the game:1. Dueling blowoutsMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsBoth of these teams are coming off blowout victories in the previous week — and as it happens, the final score of both games was 45-10.That seemed like an odd coincidence to me, so naturally, I wondered what kind of history there is for this kind of situation.The RundownSubscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.It turns out that since the 1970 merger, there have been only four games in which both teams won their previous game by 35 or more points — the most recent in 1986.In 1972, the Dolphins beat the Jets 28-24 in Week 10.(That Miami team, of course, is the one that went undefeated through the Super Bowl that season).In 1973, the Falcons defeated the 49ers 17-3 in Week 7.In Week 9 of 1977, the Raiders beat the Oilers 34-29, and in 1986’s Week 5, the Bears blanked the Vikings 23-0.So in a very limited sample size, half of the games saw the teams put up a fair number of points in a one-score game, and in the rest of the games, one of them walloped the other. (I didn’t really expect to learn anything from this.It was just fun to look up.I love my job!).In this game, both defenses have just given up fewer points than any other game this season.And both offenses have just put up their biggest scores of the season.(It’s the Internet, so I know some wag is going to point out that the Chiefs offense only scored 38.OK, fine.The Broncos offense only scored 31.Feel better?).You could reasonably expect both units on both teams to come out swinging.And it’s a division game.The Chiefs are 6-5 against the Broncos since Andy Reid’s arrival.Reid lost five times in a row, and has now won six straight — but only three have been relatively easy victories.In each of the last two — both with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback — the Chiefs have had to come from behind to win.So don’t look for a blowout in this game.Look for it to be an incredibly physical battle that will be played to the final whistle.2. Don’t overlook the Broncos defenseMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsAs a division rival, it’s easy for Chiefs fans to discount the Broncos.But it would be a mistake to discount the Broncos defense.The unit is, after all, the only one to hold the Chiefs to less than 30 points this season — albeit on their home field.They no longer have some of the players that made them one of the NFL’s top defenses, but there are still some very talented players on the Broncos defensive roster.This week Nick Allegretti Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , Broncos safety Justin Simmons told Denver’s KDSP that Denver knows what it needs to do.“If we want to win this game, it’s going to come down to us defensively, and we didn’t get it done in the fourth quarter,” Simmons said of the first game against the Chiefs. “This time it’s the same recipe.It’s going to come down to us — not only holding them to less points but creating more turnovers, creating more opportunities for the offense to have more time of possession and more chances to move the ball down the field. If we’re going to win in KC that’s what it’s going to take.”Simmons told KDSP that he might be playing in the slot more against the Chiefs — something that Broncos head coach Vance Joseph seemed to be hinting in remarks about Simmons on Monday.“He’s a good football player, he’s very smart,” Joseph said. “He allows us to play some base versus three-wide because he can cover the slot for the most part.He’s guy that’s valuable to us — as a leader, as a guy that can cover slots and as a blitzer that plays the ball from the high zone.”3. Organic pressureIsaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY SportsLast week, I pointed out that the Chiefs were going to have to pressure Andy Dalton without blitzing him — because Dalton isn’t good under pressure, but is good at making defenses pay for blitzing.Apparently, Bob Sutton knew that, too. As Craig Stout pointed out in his analysis of the Chiefs defense against the Bengals, Sutton blitzed Dalton exactly once — but still got a pair of sacks, a quarterback hit and 11 pressures on 33 passing attempts. Dalton slinked away from Arrowhead with a passer rating of 63.6 on the day, and the Chiefs held a good offense to just 10 points.Case Keenum isn’t quite in the same league as Dalton, but pressure will disrupt him, and like any experienced NFL quarterback, he capable of making a blitz backfire. Sutton would be wise to adopt a similar approach this week.4. Embracing the chaosRon Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsSince their backup quarterback Chad Kelly was arrested for criminal trespass in the early hours of Tuesday morning after attending teammate Von Miller’s annual Halloween party — and was subsequently cut by the team — it would be pretty easy to conclude that the Broncos are self-destructing from lack of leadership.And it’s possible that’s exactly what’s happening.But from long experience observing these kinds of incidents on NFL teams, I think it would be a mistake to assume that’s what’s going on.It’s not at all unknown for something like this to galvanize a team.It’s easy to imagine that Von Miller — embarrassed because this happened in connection with his party — to be doubly motivated to have a big game.It’s possible that Keenum — suddenly without a quarterback controversy swirling around him — could react in a similar way.In short, it’s impossible to predict what effect this incident will have on the Broncos. But it will be more than interesting to see how it plays out.5. More Mahomes recordsMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsPatrick Mahomes has thrown 22 touchdown passes in the first seven games this season — a feat that only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have accomplished.If he gets three more against the Broncos — can you believe we’re calmly discussing the possibility that a Chiefs quarterback could throw three touchdown passes in an upcoming game as if it’s something that happens all the time? — he’ll have 25 in eight games.Both Brady and Manning have done that, too — but it would exceed the number thrown in eight games by Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , Aaron Rodgers and Dan Marino.That’s some pretty hefty company.It’s also worth noting that if Mahomes makes it to 25 touchdown passes on Sunday, he’ll be the youngest player to throw that many through eight games of a season.Manning has done it twice — at 28 and 37 — and Brady didn’t do it until he was 30.Those three touchdown passes would also keep him ahead of Kurt Warner’s record for touchdown passes through nine career games — and in all probability, also push him above Warner’s passer rating of 116.1 through those games. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The big boys showed up this weekend and showed those usurpers from the wild-card round how it’s done.The top two seeds from the AFC and NFC returned to action in their comfortable home settings — ice and snow and chills be darned in the AFC — and swatted aside the survivors of the opening set of games. Only the Saints struggled against the resilient defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, and even as that game wore on, New Orleans wore out Philadelphia.Sure, the Eagles had a chance to move on even after blowing an early 14-0 lead and then being dominated for nearly three quarters. But the Saints (14-3) got through it, and they’ll likely be the better for it when they host the Rams (13-4) next Sunday.It’s certainly easier on the nerves when you pretty much blow away the opposition, as the Chiefs (13-4) and Patriots (12-5) did. The Rams never seemed threatened by the Cowboys down the stretch Saturday night. But Drew Brees and company have some evaluating and adjusting to do after the banged-up Eagles nearly pulled off another stunner.Brees is certain a lesson has been learned.“We found a bunch of ways to win during the season,” Brees said after the 20-14 victory . Every game kind of stood alone, but many of them came down to third quarter, fourth quarter, second half-type comebacks and it took everybody. It took maybe a big play on offense or a big play on defense or a big play on special teams to kind of turn the tide. But they were all great team victories and it looks like that carried over into the playoffs.”One lesson, perhaps, from all four divisional-round contests: Balance is going to matter.We know these teams can light up the scoreboard; for the first time, the top four scoring clubs in the league make up the final four. But if you can’t play solid defense at some point, you’re probably doomed.“The only thing we’re thinking is get on the field and get back off the field,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said after a 41-28 romp over the Chargers. “We play defense. We know how hard it is if an offense has a long drive …and if we can go and get stops and get the (New England offense) right back out there. It’s tough as a defense, for one, to get the adjustments that are happening, to catch your breath — like, you just feel like you’re out there, you’re out there.”If there’s one defense among the final four that might not be on the field for long stretches, it could be New England when it journeys to Kansas City. Not because the Patriots are staunch Nick Allegretti Jersey nfl draft , but because the Chiefs have a tendency to make big plays, to score quickly.New England — and New Orleans — showed tremendous aptitude for long, clock-eating drives on Sunday. The Rams have their super running back in All-Pro Todd Gurley, and a dynamic offensive scheme. No matter how it’s sliced, championship weekend is going to have a shootout taste.So let’s see who can sour that taste with a huge helping of D.Maybe the Chiefs, who romped past the NFL’s hottest team, Indianapolis, 31-13. KC is adept at rushing the passer and that seemed to be its only strength without the ball. Ask Andrew Luck and Marlon Mack, though. They’ll bear witness to the Chiefs’ ability to take control on defense.Maybe the Patriots, who other than a long TD pass to Keenan Allen in the first quarter, never were pushed by Philip Rivers and the Chargers’ offense until garbage time.Maybe the Rams, who held league leader Ezekiel Elliott to 47 yards rushing in a 30-22 victory over Dallas that was more one-sided than the score shows.And maybe the Saints, who yielded 153 yards in the first quarter at New Orleans, then gave up 72 in the next two periods combined.Or maybe nobody, and these two rematches of points extravaganzas will set all kinds of records.“It’s just about the approach we are taking out there,” Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens said. “It’s not what coach is calling, it’s not what we are doing, it is how we are doing it. We are playing with aggressiveness, we are having fun, we are jumping around. It’s just a different type of feel and vibe from our defense. It is never too late, and we caught on at the right time, and these past couple weeks we are playing good ball and we just need to keep doing that.”Times four.
