‘Sunday Night Football’ live stream 2014: How to watch Broncos vs. Chiefs online

The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs are in a heated battle for the crown in the AFC West. Most years, we'd be talking about how they're both doing so well that whichever team finishes second would surely get a wild card berth, but this year the conference is incredibly competitive and there's no guarantee both of these teams will find the postseason.

That's despite the fact that the Broncos are 8-3, tied for the fourth-best record in the NFL. They're currently atop the AFC West, but things could change if the Chiefs manage to unseat them in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The Chiefs are 7-4 and can tie things up with a win Sunday. They've got to be kicking themselves, though, as they squandered an opportunity to tie it up in Week 12 when they played the then-winless Oakland Raiders and lost.

It's tough to imagine the Chiefs going from losing to the Raiders, the worst team in the league, to beating the Broncos, one of the best. But they've got some strong tools at their disposal, namely running back Jamaal Charles, who leads the league's No. 4 rushing attack with 772 yards and eight scores (the Chiefs run for 137.1 yards per game as a team). They also have the league's top pass defense, allowing just 198.9 passing yards per game on average.

The Broncos happen to match up well in both regards. Denver sports the league's second-best passing offense with 316.3 yards per game through the air, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, and the NFL's second-best rush defense (75.5 rushing yards per game). Their pass defense is also more than enough to handle Alex Smith, so it'll definitely be an uphill battle for the Chiefs.