The 5-4 Denver Broncos continue their surprising season on the road against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Following last week’s blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Sean Payton’s squad has a chance to make a statement here.

As for the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, they withstood a tough test at home this past Monday night in an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Patrick Mahomes and Co. find themselves at 8-0 and very much looking like the best team in the AFC.

While Kansas City is pretty much guaranteed of a playoff spot as the team enters the second half of its season, Denver will be battling for one moving forward. This is an absolutely huge rivalry game within the AFC West.

Here, I preview the Broncos at Chiefs matchup with a look at the point spread, game information and some top storylines. I will also provide a final prediction at the end.

Broncos At Chiefs Preview: Point Spread, TV Information And More

• Date: Sunday, November 10
• Time: 1:00 PM ET
• TV: CBS
• Point Spread: Chiefs (-7.5)

Top Storylines For Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs Matchup

There is a lot to look at here. Will Denver make a statement on the road against the best team in the NFL? Patrick Mahomes has not necessarily played his best football this season despite Kansas City’s success.

Meanwhile, the likes of newcomers such as running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins have done their thing in Kansas City. Will rookie quarterback Bo Nix have his Broncos ready to go here? These are among the top storylines for Sunday’s divisional matchup inside Arrowhead Stadium.

Bo Nix Faces Most Difficult Task Of Career Against The Chiefs

This rookie first-round pick out of Oregon has been absolutely awesome through nine career starts. The season opened slowly for Nix, with him throwing zero touchdowns compared to four interceptions in his first three starts. Since then, Nix has accounted for 10 total touchdowns with just two picks.

“There’s still so many learning moments for him,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game, via the team’s official website. “In other words, each week is another class for another test, and I like the way he’s progressing.”

Even with Denver having been blown by the score of 41-10 by the Ravens last week, Nix continued to show some stuff. Sure, Denver is a major road underdog in this one. But nothing has stopped Nix from displaying continued maturity this season. It’s going to be interesting to see how he performs.

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New Faces On The Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City signed Marquise Brown this past offseason to add a reinforcement for Mahomes and Co. It did not pan out. He will not play a single snap this season due to a dislocated shoulder. Running back Isiah Pacheco is currently on injured reserve and has missed the past six games.

This led to general manager Brett Veach continuing his always-active ways. He decided to reunite with running back Kareem Hunt earlier in the season. A bit later, the front office head acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a lopsided trade with the Tennessee Titans.

Both additions have worked out swimmingly. Hunt has put up 465 total yards in five games with the Chiefs. He played a huge role in last week’s narrow win over Tampa Bay. That included being relied on big time with the game on the line late. As for Hopkins, he caught eight passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

This duo will not only play a role in Kansas City’s hopes for a three-peat, but they will also be relied on big time come Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes Questionable Start For The Chiefs

Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL right now. This has been the case for more than the past half-decade. There is no questioning what the three-time Super Bowl champion has done.

Does this mean Mahomes has played his best in 2024? No. He heads into Week 10 having thrown 11 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. Those are not Mahomes-like stats. The question here is whether he can continue his dominance in November. The future Hall of Famer has thrown 54 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions in November throughout his career. The Chiefs are also 18-3 in those games.

Mahomes will have a difficult go of it against a Patrick Surtain-led defense that has yielded the six-fewest passing yards on a per-game basis. I am interested to see what happens on this front.

Statement Game For Sean Payton And The Denver Broncos

At 5-4, Denver has surprised the masses. If the season were to end today, the Broncos would sneak into the playoffs as the seventh seed. There are a whole plethora of teams jockeying for position in that regard.

The question here is whether Payton will have his team ready to rebound after last week’s lackluster performance.

“There’s a little bit of UFC to our league,” Payton said earlier in the week, via the Broncos’ official website. “Each week — I don’t care who you’re playing — if you’re not careful, you can catch one in the chin. But you’ve got to get back up, and you’ve got to get back to work.”

A win here would be absolutely huge for the Broncos. After taking on the Atlanta Falcons next week, they have relatively easy matchups against the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns heading into their Week 14 bye. The time is now for Denver to regain its momentum.

Denver Broncos At Kansas City Chiefs Prediction

I see this playing out as close affair. Six of the Chiefs’ eight wins have been decided by one score. They are not dominating teams like we’ve seen in the past. I also expect Denver to put up a big fight after last week’s performance.

Even then, the Chiefs are undefeated for a reason. Look for this to be a close game throughout, with Mahomes doing his thing late to put Kansas City to 9-0 on the season.

Kansas City Chiefs: 27

Denver Broncos: 23