Can the Broncos make Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable on 3rd down?

We’ve now reached a point in Fangio’s tenure where he will start to show tendencies against division opponents. Even as young as the offense is, Dalton Risner, Noah Fant, and Drew Lock will face the Kansas City Chiefs for the third or fourth time in their NFL careers on Sunday. Kansas City is the bully in the backyard. Until the Broncos find a way to compete, it will look like a roadblock on the way back to relevance.

I’ve already reached out to Arrowhead Pride’s defensive film analyst Craig Stout to really zero in on where Lock and the rest of the offense could find success. I also spoke with AP’s Tom Childs to get more insight into Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and how fans around the AFC West consider this Broncos’ roster.

1st and 10

The first matchup between these two coincides with the worst game of the year for the Kansas City passing game. How did Fangio make Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable on 3rd down?

Childs: Variety is the spice of life, right? And that’s what Fangio does brilliantly. A mixture of 4-man pressures and some zone blitzes certainly worked. I remember there was a third down play in particular where Eric Fisher was on an island against Bradley Chubb and another Broncos defender (forgive me lesser-known player for not remembering who you were). Poor Eric and Pat didn’t stand a chance. Denver also did a great job of staying on top of the Chiefs offense - something Tampa did not do last week. Normally the Chiefs manage to adjust to teams who try to throw off their timing routes, but the game situation really didn’t call for any adjustments to be made.

2nd and 7

If you were Andy Reid, how would you attack this Broncos’ defense?

Childs: Account for future Chief Justin Simmons on every play, then work from there. It doesn’t matter what the final score is, Simmons always seems to have a good game against the Chiefs. If the Chiefs can identify his position and possibly his assignments pre snap, the Chiefs can simply attack the opposite side. With Sammy Watkins in the line-up, the Chiefs offense becomes flows so much better - making it easier to avoid certain defensive stars like Simmons.

3rd and 3

The Chiefs run defense has been porous for most of the year and they’re shaky at boundary corner. Are you concerned?

Childs: I would be lying if I would say I wasn’t concerned. After starting the season quite well , the defense has taken a step back in recent times. Tackling has been an issue throughout and the run defense has been especially poor. This hasn’t mattered too much yet because the secondary has actually been quite good outside of one or two games. and the offense is scoring for fun. My fear is that teams are getting braver when they play the Chiefs, especially when it comes to attacking them and going for fourth downs. That in itself heaps the pressure on Mahomes. We know he can handle it, but it will only take one subpar offensive performance in January to end the Chiefs season.

4th and inches

As a rival fan, do you think Drew Lock is the guy?

Childs: During the offseason, I actually took some time to go back and watch some film of Drew Lock from last year, and I must admit I was impressed. Now what I’ve seen of the Broncos this year has been limited to highlight packages and a game here and there, but I’ve seen some good traits and some bad. I think he is a perfect example of how coaching will determine if he is a success or not. He’s right on that border of being ‘the guy’ or ‘a guy’.

Extra Point

Your prediction for the game?

Childs: Sorry Broncos fans, this might get ugly. The Chiefs offense is really feeling themselves and they simply love the spotlight. After leaving about 50 points on the field in Tampa, and with all eyes on Arrowhead - Mahomes and the Legion of Zoom will be determined to put on a show and making up for some of the scoring they didn’t manage against the Bucs. Drew Lock might get his eventually, but playing keep up with the Chiefs will be an impossible task for him. Chiefs 41 Broncos 17.