The AFC West is currently one of two divisions in the league that currently has three teams in playoff position. The Oakland Raiders occupy the AFC's No. 1 seed heading into Week 12, while the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos are in the wild card spots.
Kansas City and Denver will square of this Sunday night, with the winner holding the tiebreaker over the loser until at least Week 16, when they play each other again at Arrowhead Stadium. Considering they have nearly identical chances to make the playoffs at this point, per Football Outsiders, this game could go a long way toward giving the winner a leg up.
Both teams enter the game with identical 7-3 records, a game ahead of the AFC's seventh-place team, the Miami Dolphins. They even have identical 4-1 home records and 3-2 road marks. They've arrived at those records in pretty much the same way as well, as they both pair below-average offenses with considerably above-average defenses.
Alex Smith and Trevor Siemian will have their hands full with the opposing pass rush and secondary, and the result could come down to whichever of them handles that situation better.
Who will that be? We'll find out Sunday night, starting at around 8:30 p.m.
How to Watch
What: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
When: Sunday, Nov. 6, 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
TV: NBC
Stream: Verizon NFL Mobile App, NBC NFL stream, NBC SNF All Access
Online: NFL GamePass (after midnight)
Odds: The Broncos are 3.5-point favorites (via SportsLine)
Injury report
Chiefs
- LB Dee Ford (Hamstring) -- Out
- DL Jaye Howard (Hip) -- Out
- WR Jeremy Maclin (Groin) -- Out
- LB Derrick Johnson (Achilles) -- Questionable
- CB Steven Nelson (Neck) -- Questionable
- CB Marcus Peters (Hip) -- Questionable
- DT Dontari Poe (Back) -- Questionable
- DE Kendall Reyes (Knee) -- Questionable
Broncos
- LS Casey Kreiter (Calf) -- Out
Prisco's Pick
This is a big game in the division. The Chiefs haven't played well the past three weeks, and lost to Tampa Bay at home. The Broncos are coming off a bye and should be rested and getting guys back healthy. This will be won by the Denver defense.
The pick: Broncos 20, Chiefs 14