The Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) will soon travel to take on the Denver Broncos (7-3) in a game that was recently flexed to be nationally televised on Sunday Night Football.
It's a battle of two of the top teams in the best division in football—the AFC West, which has three teams ranked in the top seven of the latest NFL Power Rankings.
So there's a lot on the line as these two historic rivals face off on the national stage.
Here are 10 stats to know heading into Sunday's game:
1. The Chiefs have been pretty good recently against division opponents
The Chiefs are currently in the midst of a seven-game winning streak against division opponents, including having won nine of their last 10.
Last year in Denver, the Chiefs won 29-13 after forcing quarterback Peyton Manning to throw four interceptions, which resulted in the first ever 0.0 passer rating of his career.
2. The Chiefs defense is still built around takeaways
The Chiefs still lead the NFL with 23 takeaways this season, including seven that have come inside the red zone, which also leads the league.
The Chiefs have scored 72 points off of those takeaways, which rank second in the league to the Broncos. The Broncos have scored 93 points this year off their 20 takeaways, which have them in a tie for second in the league in that category. 3. Showdown of two of the league's best pass rushers (if healthy)
Even with the time he missed last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after leaving early because of a hamstring injury, linebacker Dee Ford is still tied for the league lead with 10 sacks this season.
While Ford's status for Sunday is to be determined, we do expect to see the Broncos' All-Pro, Von Miler, who is currently second in the league with 9.5 sacks.
Miller has 8.5 sacks in his 10-game career against the Chiefs, including at least one in four straight games.
4. The benchmark in the Broncos' losses this season
The Broncos have allowed 21 or more points in four games this season, and they lost three of those games.
They've had four games in which they've allowed between 17 and 20 points, and they've won each of those games. 5. The Broncos' offensive weapons
The Broncos are led on the outside by the tandem of veterans Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, who together account for more than 50 percent of the targets for the Broncos passing game this season.
Sanders has caught 54 passes on 95 targets with three touchdowns, while Thomas has caught 55 passes on 85 targets with five touchdowns.
No other receiver on the Broncos has more than 31 targets, 215 yards receiving or one touchdown.
On the ground, the Broncos lost starter C.J. Anderson back in October to a knee injury, and so the rookie fourth-round pick out of Utah, Devontae Booker, has stepped in at running back in his place.
Booker has carried the ball 104 times for 396 yards with two touchdowns this season.
Quarterback Trevor Siemian has completed 60.1 percent of his passes for an average of 213 yards per game with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, four of which have come in the last three weeks. 6. The Chiefs lead the all-time series
The Chiefs are 57-54 in the all-time series against the Broncos, and almost half of those games (51) have finished within one score of each other. 7. Turnovers are almost always the key statistic to determine success
Since Andy Reid and company took over prior to the 2013 season, the Chiefs are 27-5 in games in which they win the turnover battle against their opponent, including going 6-0 this season.
In his career, quarterback Alex Smith is 18-40 when throwing an interception in a game, but 57-20-1 when not throwing an interception.
8. The other key statistics: third-down conversions and red zone efficiency
|
Chiefs and Broncos in Key Categories | ||||
|
|
3rd Down Conversions (NFL Average) |
NFL Rank |
Red Zone Scoring (NFL Average) |
NFL Rank |
|
Chiefs Offense |
35.6% (40%) |
25th |
41.2% (56%) |
31 |
|
Chiefs Defense |
46.7% (40%) |
30th |
50.0% (56%) |
T-5th |
|
Broncos Offense |
38.3% (40%) |
18th |
48.5% (56%) |
26th |
|
Broncos Defense |
37.9% (40%) |
10th |
51.6% (56%) |
10th |
9. Tyreek Hill continues to lead AFC in punt returns
Rookie fifth-round pick Tyreek Hill leads the AFC and ranks second in the NFL by averaging 15.8 yards per punt return so far this season.
What's even more impressive is that Hill has put up those numbers without returning one for a touchdown, which would skew those numbers a bit more.
Hill and the Chiefs lead the NFL with six punt returns of 20-plus yards this season. 10. The Broncos pass defense ranks as best in NFL
Through 10 games this season, opposing quarterbacks playing the Broncos have an average quarterback rating of just 71.0, which is the lowest in the league.
Overall, the group is allowing just 194 yards passing per game with nine touchdowns allowed and 10 interceptions.
They're led by arguably the best pair of cornerbacks in the NFL in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, both of whom attended the University of Kansas. Safety Darian Stewart is tied with Talib for the team-lead with three interceptions, while the hard-hitting T.J. Ward leads that defense with 66 tackles, an interception and three forced fumbles.
