Denver (3-5) at Kansas City (4-4)

Denver Broncos Defense
32nd Ranked against the Run
8th Ranked against the Pass
Denver Broncos Offense
13th Ranked in Rushing
12th Ranked in Passing

Kansas City Chiefs Defense
14th Ranked against the Run
19th Ranked against the Pass
Kansas City Chiefs Offense
30th Ranked in Rushing
17th Ranked in Passing

This weeks contest between Kansas City and Denver is the single most likely game in the NFL to result in a division leader being knocked off the hill. KC is tied for first place with San Diego, both having a 4-4 record and San Diego will probably get whooped by the Colts while KC downs the Broncos to go 5-4. The other possible result of this game is that the Chargers and Chiefs both lose at home, and the division sports a 3 way tie for first place with San Diego, the Chiefs and the Broncos all going 4-5. At that point the record for each of those teams against divisional opponents would be identical at 2-1, and believe it or not Denver, a team who has scored more points this season than only two other teams in the league, would have the edge because their conference record of 4-3 would beat both KC and the Chargers. The AFC West isn't as pathetic yet as the NFC West but it's trying pretty darn hard . Says Chiefs coach Herm Edwards."I don't think a wild card is coming out of this division this year.” Gee, that's a shock.

Kansas City's go-to running back Larry Johnson has a foot injury and probably will not play this week. Even though Denver's defense against the run is the absolute worst in the league the Chiefs still need to find some personnel to replace Johnson and expoit that weakness. Running back Priest Holmes may fit that description but he's still scraping a lot of rust off his game. If QB Damon Huard can hook up with wide receiver Tony Gonzalez that will allow them to get some points without having to depend on a ground game.

This game is really a toss up. If Cutler plays well for Denver and can also get good running out of Travis Henry and Selvin Young they could have a chance, but given how poorly Denver's secondary played in Detroit last week it's much more likely that KC will create a lot more offense than Denver and outscore them.