The 5-4 Kansas City Chiefs won’t be in a playoff spot in the AFC standings when their game against the 8-2 Denver Broncos kicks off Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made it clear on Wednesday that winning the AFC West is “always our first goal.”
Thus, one would think Mahomes views the Denver contest as a must-win game for the Chiefs’ overall objectives.
“Obviously, if you lose this game, with [the Broncos] having the tiebreaker and, what would that be, four games ahead of us? It’d be tough to go back and get that one,” Mahomes said about the division race, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “All you can do is just handle this week. That’s all you can really worry about. We still play a lot of great football teams, but like I said, I feel like if we play our best, we can beat anybody.”
Most recently, the Chiefs lost 28-21 to the Buffalo Bills before their Week 10 bye. Prior to that, they had won five of six games after starting the season 0-2.
Meanwhile, the Broncos’ offense has faced widespread criticism this fall despite the team’s record. In a piece published Thursday morning, The Athletic’s Mike Jones called Denver a “pretender.”
“Their first-half opponents owned a combined 23-48-1 record, and yet, the Broncos’ average margin of victory is just 6.2 points. Four of those contests were decided by 3 points or fewer,” Jones wrote. “On one hand, four fourth-quarter comebacks show resilience, but the continued offensive struggles and erratic play from (quarterback) Bo Nix are concerning.”
Jones considers the Chiefs a championship contender. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Chiefs as the overall betting favorites at +600 odds to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026.
Kansas City has secured nine straight division titles under head coach Andy Reid from 2016 through last season. On Wednesday, Mahomes encouraged his teammates to avoid focusing on whether that streak might be ending.
“I think you understand that this game is important,” Mahomes added about the upcoming matchup versus Denver. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s a divisional game and they’re always important, but with them having the lead and us needing to go out there and win to have a chance to win the division, I think guys understand that. But at the same time, all we can do is have a great day today. We’re going to have a great week of practice, put that together and then go out there and play our best football. I think if we play our best football, we can win against anybody, so we have to go out there with that mindset of let’s play our best football this weekend.”
Some NFL insiders believe the Chiefs will play their “best football” in Denver. As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had Kansas City as a 3.5-point road favorite against the Broncos.
We are officially at the point where it’s time to worry about Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta playing in Week 11.
LaPorta popped up on the injury report on Wednesday with a back issue and did not take part in practice.
Then, on Thursday, LaPorta was once again a non-participant, which puts him in real danger of not playing on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
We weren’t ready to hit the panic button on Wednesday because one missed practice isn’t a big deal, especially for a top-tier talent and veteran like LaPorta.
However, we’re now venturing into troubling waters after a second straight “DNP” on Thursday.
LaPorta isn’t the only injury at tight end the Lions are dealing with, as his backup, Brock Wright, is dealing with a back issue. However, Wright was upgraded to a limited session on Thursday.
Another troubling sign for LaPorta’s status is the fact that the Lions added another tight end to its practice squad in Anthony Firkser, which could mean Detroit is expecting LaPorta to sit out.
Along with Firkser and Wright, the Lions have Zach Horton on the practice squad and Ross Dwelley on the 53-man roster.
Wright is the next man up on the depth chart if LaPorta doesn’t play, and one of Firkser or Horton would be in line for an elevation in that scenario.
If Wright and LaPorta sit, the Lions could call up both Firkser and Horton to fill in behind Dwelley.