Steelers or Chiefs appear Broncos’ biggest headache
Broncos cornerback Chris Harris stood at his locker wearing a wide smile after the Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
He was in a lot of pain. His shoulder went dead on him in the first quarter. Still, there was nothing that could take away from his joy.
“Five straight AFC champs. That’s all I know,” Harris said.
The AFC winner will go through Denver. The Broncos have the No. 1 seed for the third time in four seasons.
They aren’t treating it like a golden ticket.
“We’ve been the No. 1 seed here before and still lost,” Harris said.
The Broncos have two weeks until they play host to Pittsburgh, Kansas City or Houston at 2:40 p.m. on Jan. 17.
If the Steelers beat the Bengals on Saturday at Cincinnati in a first-round playoff game, the Broncos will have a rematch against the last team to beat them.
If Cincinnati wins its first playoff game since 1991, the Broncos will face the winner of the Texans-Chiefs game.
Here is a look at each team and the potential challenges it brings for the Broncos:
Steelers (10-6, No. 6 seed):
This is probably the matchup that presents the most fear in the minds of Broncos fans. The Steelers exposed Denver’s secondary with a combination of talented receivers and quarterback play that beat defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ man-coverage defense.
Pittsburgh fields the N0. 3 total offense and passing offense but ranks No. 30 in pass defense.
There would be a lot of familiarity with less than a month since these teams last played, but adjustments should be expected on both sides.
Pittsburgh has been hot and cold all season. It followed a victory over the Broncos with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens, who finished 5-11. Its running back, DeAngelo Williams, suffered an ankle injury in the season finale. His playoff status is in jeopardy.
Chiefs (11-5, No. 5 seed):
Kansas City is the hottest team in football. It is on a NFL-best 10-game winning streak. The Chiefs are built on their defense and running game.
Kansas City finished in the top 10 in total defense, rushing defense, passing defense and rushing offense.
The Broncos and Chiefs split their regular-season games. Kansas City wins by winning the turnover battle. It has a plus-14 margin, second-best in the NFL.
Texans (9-7, No. 4 seed):
This appears to be the easiest matchup.
Talks about Houston begin with defensive end J.J. Watt. He’s a one-man wrecking crew who led the NFL with 17½ sacks. The thought of Watt lining up against Broncos right offensive tackle Michael Schofield is enough to give any Broncos fan nightmares.
The Texans’ offense is a different story. Brian Hoyer, when healthy, has been a steady quarterback for Houston. An early season-ending injury to running back Arian Foster has left the Texans struggling to replace his production.
DeAndre Hopkins deserves to be mentioned in the group of elite young receivers.