Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs: Monday Night NFL on Sky Sports
Tuesday 31 October 2017 06:58, UK
An AFC West battle - arguably the toughest division in the NFL - is the Monday Night Football fare, as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos, live on Sky Sports Action from 12.15am.
Both teams come into this contest though off the back of two-game losing streaks, leaving the Chiefs 5-2 on the season and the Broncos 3-3.
Live NFL
Will Denver gain back some ground on the division leaders? Or will Kansas City rediscover the form that saw them start the season undefeated through their first five games?
Tune in to find out; we are live on Sky Sports Main Event (401) and Action (407) from 12.15am...
In 140 Characters...
Kansas City and their young, explosive offence take on Denver's stingy defence in a battle for AFC West bragging rights.
What's the latest?
Good news for the injury-riddled Broncos - Cody Latimer (knee) is set to make his return from a month-long absence, Emmanuel Sanders is a possibility to play despite missing a second week of practice with a sprained right ankle, Menelik Watson (calf) is set to return at right tackle and, on defence, pass rusher Shane Ray is back after a broken wrist.
As for the Chiefs, outside linebacker Justin Houston didn't practice on Saturday with a knee injury, but is expected to play against the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.
Stat attack
Alex Smith has 15 touchdown passes and zero interceptions so far this season - the fourth-most touchdown passes without an interception to start a season in the NFL history, behind Peyton Manning 20 (Denver, 2013), Nick Foles 19 (Philadelphia, 2013) and Milt Plum 16 (Cleveland, 1960).
Broncos linebacker Von Miller has eight sacks in his past six meetings against Kansas City. Since entering the league in 2011, Miller has 80.5 sacks, the most in the NFL during that span.
Key battle
Kareem Hunt versus Broncos defence. Sure, Denver are on a dodgy run coming into this game, but their defence is still the NFL leader in terms of yards per game allowed (258.5), while their second-best in terms of stopping the run (71.8). They were comfortably in top spot in that category through the first four weeks of the season, limiting the likes of Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliott, LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch to a combined 95 yards on the ground.
But, then Orleans Darkwa surprised everyone to run for 117 yards and somewhat skew the stats as the then-winless New York Giants started the Broncos' two-game skid with a Week Six win. How will star rookie running back Hunt fare against the Denver D?
Game-changer
Tyreek Hill. The blistering speed of Hill is something to behold; he has a league-leading eight touchdowns of 50 yards plus since 2016, including a 75-yard effort in Week One against the New England Patriots and a 64-yard score against the Oakland Raiders last week - his two 100-yard games on the season. Can he repeat such success against the Denver 'no-fly zone' defence?
Watch the Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Main Event (401) from 12.15am on Tuesday.
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