Broncos Have Two Matchups They Can't Afford to Lose vs. Chiefs

The Denver Broncos are preparing to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener on Monday Night Football, which means they're working to put their game plan together.

Part of the Broncos' strategy will be to highlight key matchups on both sides of the ball to attack or defend. Analyzing both rosters, two matchups rise to the top of the priority list.

Let's break it down.

Broncos O-Line vs. Chris Jones

Chris Jones is the lifeblood of the Chiefs' defense, and he has shown time and time again that he can take over a game. Even though he popped up on Friday's injury report with a calf injury, expect him to play and still have some impact in this game.

This will be Jones’ 19th game against the Broncos, and he has eight sacks in the previous 18 games, including five in the last seven. The damage he creates has been felt through quarterback pressures and stout run defense.

Now, Jones can line up all over the line and has even taken on Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey as a 7-technique edge defender. Jones's ability to move around and create chaos is a large reason why I highlighted center Luke Wattenberg as one of the sleepers in this game.

Denver needs its offensive line to be on point and at least limit Jones. If possible, the Broncos need to do this without shading too much attention his way, which opens up the risk of another Chiefs defender having a significant impact as a trench player.

The Chiefs don’t have a great defensive line, but they aren’t devoid of talent. Khyiris Tonga is a solid player; they added Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas in the draft, and they still have Ashton Gillotte and George Karlaftis.

While none of these players are as much of a threat as Jones, the Broncos still need to keep them in check.

OLB Jonah Elliss vs. RT Jaylin Moore

The Chiefs face a crisis at left tackle, with Josh Simmons unlikely to play on Monday night, but the coaches should be able to depend on Nik Bonitto to exploit that situation. However, the Chiefs will likely shade more attention Bonitto's way to help protect their left tackle, which should give Elliss more one-on-one opportunities against Moore.

Elliss isn’t the starter — he's a depth piece filling in for Jonathon Cooper, who's on the commissioner's exempt list. The Chiefs may overlook Elliss because he's a backup, which could, again, lead to even more attention sliding to Bonitto, or whoever is coming after Patrick Mahomes on his blind side.

Mahomes is better at escaping pressure he can see coming, which is often from the right side. Elliss has to be a constant threat that forces Mahomes off his spot, and hopefully, Bonitto can close the gap from his side.

With this being Mahomes's first game back and given the Chiefs' left tackle situation, he may bail a little quicker to his right, which puts the onus on Elliss to not only generate pressure but also keep Mahomes from getting outside the pocket and gashing the Broncos with his legs or off-schedule throws, both of which can be deadly.

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