The Broncos are headed into Week 1 with the same problem that has bothered them for years: Travis Kelce. Denver will face him Monday night after he has piled up 1,663 receiving yards against the Broncos in his career, the most he has against any opponent.
That is why the search around Travis Kelce Playing Tonight is spiking now. The Broncos allowed tight ends to rack up 1,015 yards against them last season, and Kelce led the Chiefs in receiving in both games against Denver. He caught nine passes for 91 yards on Nov. 16 and then had five catches for 36 yards on Christmas, a reminder that even in a season when he is not the same player he once was, he still keeps finding the soft spots in Denver’s defense and remains Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target.
Sean Payton framed the challenge bluntly. He said players with Kelce’s savvy flourish when they understand where the quarterback wants them to be once a play breaks into its second element, and he added that quarterbacks and receivers can build chemistry over time until they begin to think alike. Payton also noted that if a defense is in match coverage, it can end up playing like man, which is why Denver’s rush and coverage have to work together if it wants to avoid the extended plays that Mahomes and Kelce create so easily.
That is where the matchup gets complicated for the Broncos. They are expected to use Jahdae Barron, Ja’Quan McMillian, Alex Singletonc, Justin Strnad and Talanoa Hufanga against Kelce in different coverage situations, which means there may not be one defender who shadows him every snap. Barron already saw the shape of the problem in last season’s Week 11 game, when Kelce caught a 10-yard pass against him, beat Dre Greenlaw on a drag route for 17 yards and later scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass against Hufanga. In charting from The Denver Post, Barron allowed two catches on three targets for 14 yards in six man-coverage matchups against Kelce in the November game.
Kelce’s resume against Denver is the reason the Broncos are likely to keep moving pieces around him, not the other way around. He is in his 14th season at 36 and is a seven-time All-Pro, and the number that matters most is still the one attached to this matchup: 1,663 yards. Monday night will show whether Denver’s blend of man looks, match coverage and rotating bodies can finally make him work for every catch, or whether Kelce once again turns the Broncos’ best plan into another long evening of damage.
