ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Von Miller started answering a question about the good ol’ days when he had to check himself.
The Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs seven times in a row during the Peyton years. When the Chiefs embarrassed a hobbled Manning by picking him off four times in a 29-13 whipping of the Broncos in the AFC West rivals’ final meeting of 2015, it started a run the other way.
The Chiefs have now won 8 in a row against the Broncos. Alex Smith was Kansas City’s quarterback through the first four; Patrick Mahomes started the last four.
“I don’t know, like you said before, it was just a different team and it was just a different time and different regime,’’ Miller said at his weekly press conference Thursday. “(Chiefs coach) Andy Reid has done an incredible job. They’re getting the players that he wants, getting their scheme in there, they’ve got a hell of a quarterback, a hell of a tight end and the defense is playing lights out.
“It’s just a different time. We’ve got to do our best to get it going over here again to try to shift the tide for us. It’s depressing now that I think about it. We haven’t beat those guys in a minute. I hope we have a good shot at them this weekend and I’m excited for it.”
The Broncos are taking a different mindset into this game. Usually, a team will go overboard during the week talking up their opponent as if every week is a game against the 2007 Patriots.
But this Broncos’ team is sick of 8 in a row. No more nice guys. There is a little more edge in their comments.
Like this from star receiver Courtland Sutton on Wednesday: “If we go in and -- not if, when -- we go in and take care of business in Kansas City, it’s going to definitely shake up the division a little bit. People are going to start putting us in that conversation of a team that can win the division. Like you said, the Chiefs have been running it for a while and it’s upon us to start the way. Why not this next game?”
This statement was essentially echoed by the normally straight-forward Ed Donatell after the defensive coordinator was asked about the challenges of going up against the play-caller Reid and signal-caller Mahomes.
“People have beat them, why can't we do it?’’ Donatell said. “We know it'll take a great performance. We're going to have to get the ball a couple of times (turnovers) to make this thing work.”
Enough with the false gamesmanship. After losing 8 in a row, it’s time for the Broncos to speak their true feelings. Funny how having a promising young quarterback like the Broncos have in Drew Lock can spice up the pregame comments.
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