Revenge Week: Keep your sights on Week 7 against the Chiefs

For whatever reason, SBNation chose the middle of June to be “Revenge Week,” and that means we are talking about some of our biggest “revenge games” on the 2019 schedule.

When Jess, Tim and I discussed this on our recent podcast, only one team really came to mind as a true “revenge” game - and that was to the Chiefs in Week 4 at home.

As I blurted out “It’s got to be the Chiefs game,” all I could really remember was that the Broncos had a shot at winning, but Case Keenum could not possibly hit the biggest wideout on the team when it counted, so the chance at a “Mile High Miracle” slipped away right alongside the Broncos’ hopes of being anything good in 2019.

And when I went back to look at the details of the game again, it was clear that the upcoming season matchup with our AFC West rival is absolutely the Broncos’ chance for revenge - and likely a little redemption.

Chiefs at Broncos on Monday Night Football in 2018

For a quick rewind back to an electric Monday night on Oct. 1 in Broncos Stadium, Denver was leading 20-13 heading into the fourth quarter, and a 46-yard Brandon McManus field goal within the first few minutes of the final quarter put Denver up by 10 points with just 12-ish minutes to go.

It had been a tough fight, but the Broncos were in control.

But then Patrick Mahomes proved why the Chiefs’ offense was so formidable, driving his team 75 yards in just over six minutes and scoring a touchdown to get within three points of the Broncos (he even switched hands while being taken down by Von Miller and completed a first down with his left hand).

Denver could only muster a three-and-out thanks to a sack on third down, so a punt back to the Chiefs at their own 40-yard line with 4:35 to go gave KC more than enough time to take advantage of an exhausted Denver defense and score another touchdown - going up 27-23 with just over a minute left in the game.

You probably remember the rest - unless you tried to erase it from your mind with multiple stiff drinks and/or hypnosis. But just so we can all re-live the suffering together, there was a glimmer of hope when Keenum completed a 4th-and-11 ball to No. 10 on a 12-yard pass, going out of bounds on Denver’s own 36 to stop the clock at just under a minute.

Then a 36-yard completion to Jeff Heuerman in Chiefs’ territory gave all of Broncos Country great hope for a comeback win.

But alas. It was not to be.

Three incompletions in a row, including an overthrow to DT nearly at the goal line, was instead the Broncos’ fate. And then on 4th-and-11, in a last-ditched effort, Keenum dumped off a 9-yard pass to Courtland Sutton, who fumbled on KC’s 19-yard line.

Instead of both teams going home 3-1, with the Broncos taking down the hottest team in the league, Chiefs went home 4-0 while the Broncos dropped to a very deflated 2-2.

Chiefs at Broncos on Thursday Night Football in 2019

This time it will be different.

Sure, Mahomes is still amazing.

Sure, the Chiefs still have Travis Kelce and probably Tyreek Hill, but the depth at those positions isn’t great and the running back room is weaker overall than before.

Sure, they added the Honey Badger, but the Chiefs’ secondary still leaves much to be desired.

So an arguably stronger Broncos squad in 2019 over its 2018 version hosting a slightly weaker 2019 Chiefs squad is easily worth four more points on the scoreboard.

And add in a coach with some game sense and a QB with an arm, and this year’s KCvsDEN rivalry easily has the potential to be a great revenge game for the Broncos.