Atwater: ‘Chiefs are going to punch us in the mouth; Broncos have to fight right back’

In his weekly spot on Broncos Country Tonight, Steve Atwater was asked how the players flip their mindset from the debacle last weekend against the Saints to playing the best team in the NFL this Sunday.

And the Hall-of-Fame safety straight up admitted he didn’t know ;)

“Oh man, I don’t know. I’m glad I don’t have to play anymore,” he laughed. “That’s a monumental task playing the Chiefs.”

But even if the most optimistic analyst in Broncos Country isn’t feeling too confident about getting a win at Arrowhead this weekend (because, be honest, who is?), Atwater is hopeful Drew Lock and the offense will at least pick up where they left off against Miami and compete.

And not just compete, but fight for everything.

“Chiefs aren’t going to have any mercy on us,” Atwater said. “We have to know they’re going to punch us in the mouth, and we have to fight them right back.”

But then Atwater’s eternal optimism just couldn’t help itself.

“Who knows, man? Especially in division games,” he said, getting a little pumped up. “We’ve got Drew Lock back, Jerry Jeudy is running those smooth routes, Tim Patrick is doing his thing, Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon are out there, the line is looking real good now. We definitely have a chance to do something special. No better way to redeem last week than going to Kansas City and getting a win there.”

I don’t know what Steve Atwater is drinking (it’s A LOT more than Orange & Blue Kool-Aid) but I want some.

And his answer to Ryan Edwards final question - “what is the mentality of the defense when you know you have a rookie wide receiver starting as quarterback?” - shows why No. 27 is in the Hall of Fame.

“I would just really make sure we focus on what we have to do,” he said. “Everyone is watching to see how we’re going to play. Are we going to give full effort or shut down because odds are against us?”

And then Atwater’s advice clearly extended to a general mentality that the Broncos should adopt for these final five games, no matter the insurmountable odds.

“Win, lose or draw, I want my opponent to come over to me and say, ‘hey man, you did a helluva job’ - and I want my teammates to say the same thing,” Atwater said. “I don’t want to let my teammates down. I don’t want them to say, ‘man, you let us down, you didn’t give it your all.’ I’m going to show my teammates, show my coaches, show the city of Denver and all of Broncos Country, that I am a player and I’m going to give it my all on every single play.”

I would like to vote that Steve Atwater gives the pre-game speech to the Broncos for the next five weeks.