{"id":23297,"date":"2025-01-05T08:10:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T08:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=23297"},"modified":"2025-01-05T08:10:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T08:10:34","slug":"shocking-broncos-get-bad-news-before-pivotal-chiefs-matchup-in-week-18-chiefs-greatly-affected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=23297","title":{"rendered":"SHOCKING: Broncos Get Bad News Before Pivotal Chiefs Matchup in Week 18: Chiefs Greatly Affected"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bo<\/p>\n

The Denver Broncos have officially lost their leverage heading into their pivotal matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals.<\/p>\n

The Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, doing their part to earn a playoff berth.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Bengals also took away one of the avenues the Broncos had to back into the playoffs if Denver lost to the Chiefs in the season finale.<\/p>\n

Now, the Broncos face a legitimate must-win situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBengals finish with 5-game win streak and 9-8. Their win tonight means Broncos truly have must win tomorrow,\u201d\u00a09News\u2019 Mike Klis posted\u00a0on X on January 4. \u201cBeat the Chiefs and Broncos are in; lose to Chiefs and Broncos are out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Broncos Have Done Themselves No Favors in Playoff Push<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\"Joe<\/p>\n

Getty<\/span>Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts after a victory against the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Even the official\u00a0NFL.com Playoff Picture tracker lists the Broncos as \u201cin the hunt\u201d for a spot in the field.<\/p>\n

However, if the Broncos fail to snap their playoff drought, they only have themselves to blame.<\/p>\n

The Broncos had two chances to clinch a playoff berth, but they dropped back-to-back games, including in Week 17 to\u00a0Joe Burrow\u00a0and the Bengals. They lost to\u00a0Justin Herbert\u00a0and the\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16, allowing their AFC West rival to usurp them in the standings.<\/p>\n

NFL.com\u2019s tracker still gives the Broncos an 82% chance of making the playoffs, and for good reason.<\/p>\n

\n
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The #Bengals, with five wins in a row to end the season including one over the #Steelers, are still alive. Their to-do list:
\n\u2014 Beat Steelers \u2705
\n\u2014 Dolphins lose \u2754
\n\u2014 Broncos lose \u2753<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Chiefs are sitting several players, including starting quarterback\u00a0Patrick Mahomes.<\/p>\n

They have also listed several other key players as doubtful, some non-injury related, and could pull any usual starters who do play. That is the formula the Chiefs followed in their 2023 Week 18 showdown against the Chargers.<\/p>\n

Sean Payton\u2019s Comments a Warning for Broncos Before Facing Chiefs<\/h2>\n
\"Sean<\/p>\n

Getty<\/span>Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to Bo Nix #10 during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There was a\u00a0valuable lesson\u00a0learned in that game, though. One Broncos head coach\u00a0Sean Payton expressed during the week of practice leading up to the game versus KC.<\/p>\n

Payton was clear the Broncos \u201ccan\u2019t control\u201d the Chiefs sitting their players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a scheme offensively, there\u2019s a scheme defensively, and, sure, there\u2019ll be some different players in different positions,\u201d\u00a0Payton told reporters\u00a0on January 3. \u201cBut look, they played this same game a year ago, beat the\u00a0Chargers. So we\u2019ve got to be ready to focus on the Denver Broncos.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Chiefs were a blocked field goal away from beating the Chiefs in Week 10. They also blew a 14-3 lead in that game. The Broncos are 1-17 against the Chiefs since 2015. Their chances of beating the Chiefs are undoubtedly greater in Week 18 with\u00a0Carson Wentz\u00a0in Mahomes\u2019 place.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wentz \u2013 who has not started a game since Week 18 of the 2023 season with the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams\u00a0\u2013 was\u00a0clear about his intentions\u00a0heading into this game, though.<\/p>\n

A free agent after the season, he wants to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, want to play well and have success out there. And ultimately more than anything, get a win. That\u2019s the goal,\u201d\u00a0Wentz told reporters\u00a0on January 1. \u201cI still go out there and expect to win. I\u2019m going to prepare to go out there and win and have a good performance with this offense.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Denver Broncos have officially lost their leverage heading into their pivotal matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals defeated the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nSHOCKING: Broncos Get Bad News Before Pivotal Chiefs Matchup in Week 18: Chiefs Greatly Affected - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=23297\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SHOCKING: Broncos Get Bad News Before Pivotal Chiefs Matchup in Week 18: Chiefs Greatly Affected - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Denver Broncos have officially lost their leverage heading into their pivotal matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals. 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