The Denver Broncos Week 17 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs means nothing for them. Despite that, they are still going to go out and do their best to pick up a win against their division rival in the Chiefs. So with that being said, it feels like a good time to roll out our Broncos Week 17 predictions for their upcoming matchup with the Chiefs.
By now, we all know the story about the Broncos 2022 season. After an explosive offseason that saw them completely revamp their offense with the addition of Russell Wilson under center and Nathaniel Hackett on the sidelines, the Broncos were expected to be one of the top teams in the league. 16 weeks into the 2022 season, the Broncos may just be the worst team in the league.
The addition of Wilson hasn't panned out, and there's a chance that Denver could be in a lot of trouble when it comes to their future as a result of how badly things have gone for them this season. But there is still football to be played in the 2022 season, so let's jump into our Broncos Week 16 predictions and see what could end up happening in this game.
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3. Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II will intercept Patrick Mahomes twice
While all the attention surrounding the Broncos this season has been centered on how bad their offense is, Denver's defense has flown under the radar as one of the best units in the league. Yes, they just got destroyed by the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day in Week 16, but aside from that complete meltdown, the Broncos have been very tough to score on throughout the season.
A big reason for that has been because of Denver's lockdown secondary, and it looks like they have a new lockdown cornerback on their hands in Patrick Surtain II. Surtain has taken on a bigger role in the Broncos secondary this season, and while his coverage numbers are a bit down from last season, he's covering better wide receivers, and getting ball thrown his way less than he did last season.
Not everyone is afraid of Surtain in coverage, and one of those guys is Patrick Mahomes, who will challenge Surtain whenever he wants to in this one. Surtain will respond by picking off Mahomes twice in this game, doubling his interception tally on the season from two to four in the process. Surtain's earned his first career Pro Bowl selection this season, and he will continue to show his skills in Week 17 against KC.
2. The Broncos will bench Russell Wilson in favor of Brett Rypien at halftime
As previously mentioned, Wilson's first season with the Broncos hasn't exactly gone according to plan. He's struggled mightily under center for Denver, and considering the fact he was signed to a massive five-year, $245 million extension before he even took a snap for the Broncos, they could be in some serious trouble moving forward.
Wilson was benched in favor of Brett Rypien late in the Broncos Week 16 loss to the Rams, but it probably should have happened a lot sooner, and was really only done as a result of the blowout nature of the game. Wilson will struggle once again against the Chiefs in this one, and it will see the Broncos head into the half trailing 24-3.
With Hackett no longer the coach, the incentive to stick with Wilson may no longer exist with just two games left on the season. Interim head coach Jerry Rosburg will make his first big decision by benching Wilson at halftime in favor of Rypien, which again shows just how far away Denver is from their goal of contending for a Super Bowl with Wilson leading the way.
1. The Broncos will get blown out by the Chiefs 37-13
As previously mentioned, the Chiefs will get pretty much whatever they want in the first half against the Broncos. Surtain's first interception of the day will set up the Broncos only points of the half on a field goal by Brandon McManus, but Mahomes will find Jerick McKinnon, Travis Kelce, and JuJu Smith-Schuster for touchdowns in the first half to help Kansas City quickly take control of this game.
The switch to Rypien won't really do much for the Broncos offense, as their lone touchdown of the day will be set up by Surtain's second interception of the game. Rypien will find Courtland Sutton for Denver's only touchdown, but other than that, things don't look much different from when Wilson was on the field.
Isiah Pacheco will score a touchdown in the second half, and the Chiefs will add on two more field goals to get the score to where it will stand when the clock hits zero. With a 37-13 loss, the Broncos horrid 2022 season will continue, but the good news for Denver is that there will be only one game left on the season before the team can get to work on fixing their numeours issues this offseason.
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