The Kansas City Chiefs started their season with struggles, including a first-game injury to their star receiver Xavier Worthy. However, they seemed to turn things around and get back on track towards a playoff spot, only to suffer a disappointing loss to the AFC’s Buffalo Bills.
That’s left the Chiefs with a winning record, but only by one game, and they’ll now face the team leading their division: the Denver Broncos. Denver, coached by Sean Payton, has surged to 8-2 overall, behind a red-hot seven-game winning streak.
Now the Chiefs will visit them on Sunday afternoon, and Patrick Mahomes recognizes the challenge he and his team face. The three-time Super Bowl winner shared his thoughts about what it could mean for the Chiefs should the Broncos add another win to their record in the crucial AFC West.
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During the press conference, Mahomes spoke about making some errors in the loss to the Bills and also mentioned there were positives in that effort to take into the bye week.
“We did a lot of good things,” he said, adding, “It’s just about being consistent on a week-to-week basis.”
Asked about the significance of the upcoming Broncos game, Mahomes discussed how much is at stake for the Chiefs.
“They’re first in the division and they have a couple games on us, so it’s huge for the division and that’s always our first goal, is winning the division,” he said during the Chiefs’ weekly press conference.
“It’s a really good football team, so we have to go out there and play our best football. I don’t think we’ve done that yet,” Mahomes said, adding they needed to “find a way to win in a hostile environment against a great football team.”
“I think you understand this game is important. That’s the biggest thing. It’s a divisional game and they’re always important, but with them having the lead on us, needing to go out there and win to have a chance to win the division, I think the guys understand that,” he said regarding the upcoming matchup.
Mahomes stressed that his team needed to continue their great week at practice and play great football on Sunday.
The Chiefs currently sit three games back from the Broncos, and a win would go a long way towards their goal of potentially claiming the division once again. Adding to the challenge of this upcoming game is the Broncos’ perfect 5-0 record at their home stadium.
Only seven teams make it into the AFC Playoffs. Kansas City is currently on the cusp of missing the postseason unless they win their division to gain automatic entry or earn an AFC Wild Card spot with a good-enough record. There are several other hungry AFC squads also vying for one of the three Wild Card spots, including the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Obviously, if you lose this game with them having the tiebreaker, and what would that be, four games ahead of us? It’d be tough to go back and get that one. All you can do is just handle this week,” he said.
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