Week 18 Talking Points: Broncos’ remaining motivation — ending 12-game losing streak to Kansas City

The Broncos’ remaining motivation: Finish the play Saturday by snapping a 12-game losing streak to Kansas City. The Chiefs (11-5) question to Denver for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff playing for postseason seeding. The Broncos (7-9) volition effort to debar double-digit defeats. Here are 3 Week 18 storylines:

1. Slowing down Chiefs

During Kansas City’s 9-1 agelong (its eight-game winning streak ended Sunday astatine Cincinnati), the Broncos person been the lone squad to dilatory the Chiefs down. In the past 9 games, the Chiefs fertile archetypal successful the NFL successful wins, takeaways (21) and turnover differential (plus-13), tied for archetypal successful first-half scoring (18.4-point average), 3rd successful points per crippled (29.3) and 4th successful yards (380.1). In their 22-9 triumph implicit the Broncos successful Week 13, the Chiefs’ discourtesy was held to 1 touchdown and 267 yards.

2. KC’s playoff stakes

The Chiefs (11-5) blew a 28-14 pb to Cincinnati and mislaid 34-31 arsenic clip expired, costing them a accidental to simply triumph Saturday to clinch AFC home-field vantage for the 3rd clip successful 4 years and get the lone first-round bye for the 2nd consecutive season. If Kansas City beats the Broncos and Houston upsets Tennessee, the Chiefs volition get the apical seed. A Kansas City triumph volition astatine slightest unafraid the No. 2 seed, which means first- and second-round location games, and a first-round match-up against a squad apt from the radical of Indianapolis, Las Vegas and the Chargers.

3. So agelong apical scoring defense

The Broncos (7-9) entered Week 17 tied for the league pb successful scoring defence with New England, allowing 17.3 points per game. They are present 3rd (18.4) aft losing 34-13 to the Chargers’ sixth-ranked scoring offense. The Patriots are archetypal (16.9) aft a 50-10 triumph implicit Jacksonville’s last-ranked scoring discourtesy and Buffalo (17.4) is 2nd aft a 29-15 triumph implicit Atlanta’s 27th-ranked scoring offense. The Broncos stay connected way for their champion scoring defence decorativeness since 2005 (third).