Broncos Head to Arrowhead and Week 12 Picks!

The Broncos head to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night for a matchup with the Chiefs. How big is this game? Well, Denver is 8-3 and the Chiefs are 7-4. A Broncos win would give them a two-game lead on the Chiefs and they would own the tiebreaker due to a sweep of the season series. A Chiefs win ties them with the Broncos for first place in the AFC West, and the Chiefs would have the advantage down the stretch with the schedule. If the Chiefs were to beat the Cardinals in Arizona the next week, then they would have a good chance of winning the division. This game is very important for the Broncos because they have tough road tests in back-to-back weeks on December 14th at the Chargers and Monday night December 22nd at the Bengals. A Broncos win would certainly help them in their chances for locking up a fourth straight AFC West crown. One thing that I was looking at in preparation for this game was the fact that Denver always seems to play at Kansas City after November 1st-especially in crucial years. Here is a list of such games and the results:

1992-Loss (Dan Reeves last game as Denver head coach and Denver was eliminated from the playoff race on the last day of the season)

1997- Loss (Pete Stoyanovich nails a 54-yarder at the gun to win it)

1998-Win (The Chiefs were bad, but the Broncos cruised with Elway injured and Bubby Brister starting)

2000- Loss (Terrible loss in freezing temperatures killed Denver's chances to win the West and they had to settle for a Wild Card berth instead)

2001-Loss (An awful overtime loss effectively ended Denver's playoff hopes)

2004-Loss (Denver still made the playoffs but this game but their hopes in serious doubt because they no longer controlled their own destiny)

2005-Loss (A tough loss, but the Broncos still rebounded to win the division)

2006- Loss (First ever Thanksgiving night game was the end of the Jake Plummer era in Denver)

2009-Win (Broncos won in a rout, but KC got revenge in final game of season at Mile High)

2011-Win (Tebow Time struck again)

2012-Win (Peyton Manning and the Broncos gutted out a 17-9 win over a hapless Chiefs squad)

2013-Win (Manning's best game as a Bronco as Denver rallied from down 21-7 to win 35-28)

2014-????

KANSAS CITY (+2) over Denver: I think a few things are going against Denver is this game. One, the Broncos are banged up on defense. Aqib Talib, Kayvon Webster, and Brandon Marshall are all hurt. It will be tough to deal with Jamaal Charles and the Chiefs with a beat up defense. Second, we know how the Broncos have struggled on the road, and this is the loudest crowd they will face. Third, the Chiefs will be emotional with the news of Eric Berry possibly having a cancerous mass in his chest. It just seems like too much to overcome for the Broncos

Final Score: Chiefs-27 Broncos-17

Here are the rest of the picks for Week 13:


Last Week's Record: 10-5
Overall Record: 91-79-6
(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)


Washington (+10) over INDY: The Colts will cruise, but I will take a shot at a late backdoor cover.

HOUSTON (-5) over Tennessee: Take the Texans and J.J. Watt at home to abuse Zach Mettenberger and the Titans.

BUFFALO (-2) over Cleveland: The Bills ride the emotion of playing in front of their home fans after last week's epic snowstorm.

San Diego (+6) over BALTIMORE: The game of the day in the AFC. The Chargers keep it close and the Ravens win it late

New York Giants (-3) over JACKSONVILLE: Tom Coughlin gets revenge on his old team.

Cincy (-3) over TAMPA BAY: The Bengals keep rolling over the crappy teams.

ST. LOUIS (-7) over Oakland: The Rams take care of business at home.

New Orleans (+5) over PITTSBURGH: You really can't trust the Saints right now, but I think they pull the upset here on the road. Why? Because no one is giving them a chance and the Steelers are very susceptible at home against below average teams.

Carolina (+3) over MINNESOTA: I think the Panthers put it together and find a way to win this game.

Arizona (-2) over ATLANTA: You can't trust the Falcons or Mike Smith at this point. Take the better team on the road.

New England (+3) over GREEN BAY: Great, great game on Sunday. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady going head-to-head. The Pats in Lambeau on Thanksgiving weekend. Awesome matchup and I will take the Patriots until they lose.

Miami (-6) over NY JETS: Easy pick here. The Jets are a nightmare and go back to Geno Smith at QB. The Dolphins are 6-5 and have legitimate playoff hopes, and they won't mess around here in this spot.