What’s the Broncos’ best answer for keeping pace with Chiefs quarterback Mahomes?

Kiz: Beets or Brussels sprouts? The table for the AFC championship game is set: It’s Chiefs versus Patriots. And I think I speak for everybody in Broncos Country by saying: Oh, yuck. What do two of Denver’s most hated rivals have that the Broncos don’t? Well, a quality quarterback, for starters. Going forward, how does Denver best compete with young Patrick Mahomes in the AFC West? O’Halloran: Just as everything has started with Tom Brady in New England for nearly two decades, everything goes through Mahomes in Kansas City going forward. What an Act 2 for the head coaching career of Andy Reid. He had Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia, and Mahomes already looks like a superior player. The best way to contain Mahomes moving forward is by counting on Vic Fangio to add more talent in the secondary and also drawing up different pressures to cause problems. Kiz: When the Broncos hired Fangio to be their coach instead of a bright, young (and perhaps unproven) offensive mind, was that an indication John Elway believes his team can get back in the playoff race by bucking the current league-wide craze of crazy offensive production? Is it reasonable to expect that pairing linebacker Von Miller with the “evil genius” of Fangio can again make the Denver defense dominant enough to win the AFC West?

The Broncos’ defense does not need an overhaul, but rather some tweaks in terms of personnel and scheme to return their dominant past. That had to play into Elway’s thinking on hiring Fangio. This is a division where the Broncos will play six games in 2019 against Mahomes, Philip Rivers and — we think — Derek Carr. What I’d like to see the Broncos do against Mahomes next year: Get away from their six-defensive back package and play an extra linebacker to shadow Mahomes while having the pass rushers work the edges — and put Bradley Chubb inside to provide another wave of pressure.

OK, I’m going to take another shot at speaking for everyone in Broncos Country: We don’t want to see Case Keenum ever start another game. But I also don’t know how realistic it is to expect a new starter for the 2019 season opener, even if Denver takes a quarterback at No. 10 in the first round. So help me out here. Can you envision a way the Broncos can elbow their way past Mahomes and win the division with Keenum as their staring quarterback? O’Halloran: My knee-jerk thought is I can’t. But let’s think out loud here. The Broncos use free agency to sign a veteran cornerback and a third pass rusher to complement Miller and Chubb. They draft a cornerback with their first-round pick. They use multiple draft picks to rebuild their offensive line in one offseason. And Phillip Lindsay/Royce Freeman combine for 42 carries as the Broncos play keep away from Mahomes and Co. And, my head hurts.