What Patrick Mahomes' Resume vs. Vance Joseph Means for Broncos

With how bad the Denver Broncos defense is, fans don't have much hope in the team going on the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs on a short week. The Chiefs have a great offense, and the Broncos have only faced one good offense this season, and they relinquished 70 points to the opponent.

While the Chiefs have many weapons to threaten the Broncos, the tip of the spear, as always, is All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has yet to lose to the Broncos since entering the league in 2017, and he's had a few great games against them.

Mahomes' Resume vs. Broncos

Against Denver, Mahomes averages a completion percentage of 66, 266 yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game to 0.7 interceptions. In the past couple of games vs. Mahomes, the Broncos defense has done well to keep things close, including taking the ball away four times.

That would be comforting if Denver's 2023 defense was anywhere close to as good as the previous counterparts were. It would also help if you ignore what Mahomes did in his four games against a Vance Joseph-led defense.

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Mahomes' Resume vs. Joseph

Three of those four games came with Joseph being the head coach of the Broncos and one when he was the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. This includes the first start of Mahomes career.

That first game was his worst performance of the four, where he completed 22-of 35 passes for 284 yards, with no touchdowns, one interception, and was sacked twice.

In the other three games against a Joseph-led defense, Mahomes completed a combined 82-of-118 passes for 967 yards with 10 touchdowns and one interception and was sacked three times. Joseph's ultra-aggressive defense doesn't work against Andy Reid, Mahomes, and the Chiefs.

The best way to slow Mahomes is to win with as few pass rushers as possible and play great coverage. However, the Broncos defense has shown it can't do that. Denver's pass rush can't win one-on-one matchups consistently enough without extra help, and its coverage can't hold out long enough.

If the Broncos decide to do rush four, play great coverage, and it works, the Chiefs will just unleash Isaiah Pacheco against the worst run defense in the NFL by a mile. The Chiefs have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and the Broncos have struggled against the worst units.

Bottom Line

Basically, the hope for this Broncos defense is that Mahomes makes enough mistakes to keep them in it and that Russell Wilson and the offense can capitalize on it. With how Denver's defense has looked all season and what it has allowed opposing quarterbacks to do, Mahomes is poised for a heyday.

Can the Broncos slow their biggest nemesis down? Perhaps the better question is can Denver do enough as a team to force Mahomes to play a full game?

With or without Travis Kelce, Mahomes is a massive threat for this Broncos defense.

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