((𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇@𝐇𝐃!))𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
Chiefs vs. Broncos: Time, odds, prediction, keys, watch, live stream for 'Thursday Night Football'
Kansas City is a big favorite as it faces off against AFC West rival Denver
Week 6 of the NFL season is upon us, and the Thursday Night Football matchup pits two old AFC West rivals against each other as the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs play host to the Denver Broncos.
Patrick Mahomes and Co. have won four consecutive games since losing the season-opener to the Detroit Lions, while Sean Payton's boys got their only win with a massive comeback victory against the Bears two weeks ago, then dropped a home game against Zach Wilson and the Jets last week. Kansas City looks like it will have Travis Kelce for this matchup despite his suffering an ankle injury last week, and that's bad news for a Broncos team that hasn't been able to stop anybody on offense all year long.
Can Kansas City extend its winning streak, or will Denver pull off the upset? We'll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here's a look at how you can watch the game.
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Oct. 12 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, MO)
Stream: Amazon Prime Video
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Chiefs -10.5; O/U 47 (via SportsLine consensus odds)
When the Broncos have the ball
How well you think Russell Wilson is playing this season likely depends on what you're looking at. On the surface, Wilson's numbers look quite good, and pretty close to in line with what we saw for much of his career in Seattle: He's completed 66.9% of his passes at an average of 7.4 yards per attempt, throwing 11 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions, giving him a 106.1 passer rating. He even checks in a respectable 14th in Tru Media's EPA/dropback.
But those numbers belie the reality that Wilson has been a liability when the game is still in the balance. In contests where the game was within one score, Wilson has steadfastly refused to push the ball downfield, and it has considerably hampered Denver's offense. He's averaged just 4.5 air yards per attempt in those situations, according to Tru Media, nearly a full yard less than the next-closest quarterback. He's also taken a sack on more than 10% of his dropbacks. As a result, despite completing 71.6% of his passes in one-score games, his average dropback has generated -0.08 EPA for the Broncos, a figure on par with that of Ryan Tannehill in similar situations.
In other words, Wilson has largely put the Broncos in disadvantageous situations with overly conservative play while games are still in the balance, then dialed up the aggression later and saved his overall numbers in the process. But against the Chiefs, that is not going to cut it -- especially not given that their defense is actually playing at the highest level of the Patrick Mahomes era, while Denver's own defense sits in the basement in just about every metric.
