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The Denver Broncos (7-3) nearly had the perfect Bye Week when the Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) first lost on Sunday, followed by the Oakland Raiders (8-2) who probably would have lost too had the officiating not been as bad as its been all year.
That said, if the Broncos win this week they will have full command of second place in the AFC West. If they can keep pace with the Raiders, then that Week 17 matchup could be for all of the marbles.
Game time
Kickoff is set for Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 6:30 a.m. Mile High time at Sports Authority Field in Denver, Colorado.
TV schedule and TV channels
The game will be broadcast on NBC after being flexed to Sunday Night and will be covered by Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color analyst), and Michele Tafoya (sideline reporting).
Online stream
NFL Game Pass offers live audio and re-airs after the game.
DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket has expanded its online streaming service. Verizon subscribers can watch games live with the NFL Mobile app (subscription required, and usual TV blackout rules apply even online).
For more information about streaming Broncos games, check out our comprehensive online streaming guide.
Radio
The game will broadcast nationally on WastwoodOne with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and James Lofton (color analyst).
Colorado can listen on KOA (850 AM) or The Fox (133.5 FM) with Dave Logan (play-by-play), Ed McCaffrey (color analyst) and Andy Lindahl (sideline reporting).
Spanish radio KNVR (1150 AM) will also broadcast the game with Javier Olivias (play-by-play) and Carlos Valdez (color analyst).
Odds
The Broncos opened 3.5 favorites over the Chiefs and that line has stayed put all throughout the week.
Participation
A nearly fully active roster for the first time since opening day is something the Broncos will enjoy in this game. The same cannot be said of the Chiefs who will be the walking wounded heading into this critical road division matchup.
Here’s the final participation report from Friday.
| Player | Pos. | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Kreiter | LS | Calf | LIMITED | DNP | DNP | OUT |
| Matt Paradis | C | Hips | LIMITED | DNP | FULL | |
| Aqib Talib | CB | Low Back | LIMITED | LIMITED | FULL | |
| T.J. Ward | S | Hamstring | LIMITED | LIMITED | FULL | |
| Derek Wolfe | DE | Elbow | LIMITED | LIMITED | FULL | |
| Andy Janovich | FB | Hand | FULL | FULL | FULL | |
| Trevor Siemian | QB | Left Shoulder | FULL | FULL | FULL | |
| Billy Winn | DE | Hip | FULL | FULL | FULL |
Quotable
The key for the Broncos in this game is to be sure tacklers. Having those kinds of mental lapses will result in a very long day for the defense. Gary Kubiak knows full well how important it will be for them to get ball carriers down quickly.
“What they do is get the ball in guys’ hands,” Kubiak said. “They have a lot of specialty-type players and use bubble screens and those types of things. Alex [Smith] does a good job of getting the ball in their hands. They’re really dangerous after the catch. I think their yards after the catch are very high in this league. It’s something we’ll have to contend with. We’ll have to tackle really well.”
Predictions
My natural tendency will be to guzzle some koolaid and predict Trevor Siemian and the Broncos offense will come out and light up the Chiefs secondary. “Lighting up” a defense has only happen in one half this season, so I’m going to go with reality of our situation in Denver.
The Broncos defense will do its job to keep the score within reach and the Broncos offense will do just enough to eek out another win against a playoff contender.
Prediction: Broncos 17, Chiefs 16