Chiefs vs. Broncos 2016: Time, TV schedule for ‘Sunday Night Football’

This week’s Sunday Night Football game features yet another clash of AFC West titans, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Denver Broncos at Mile High. This has been an intense rivalry for decades, and there are far more than bragging rights on the line with both teams jockeying for playoff seeds.

They each are sitting at 7-3 and in good shape to make the postseason, but they took divergent roads to get there. The Chiefs had a five-game winning streak going into Week 10, but without Jeremy Maclin in the lineup, the offense sputtered en route to a frustrating home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kansas City suddenly has little room for error down the stretch -- following Sunday’s game with the Broncos, the Chiefs face the Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Titans before a Week 16 rematch against Denver. Andy Reid deserves a lot of credit for getting his team this far, but the Chiefs could regret letting a game slip away against an average Bucs team.

As mentioned, Maclin’s absence has hurt the team. He’s going to miss his third straight game with a groin injury, and despite the emergence of rookie playmaker Tyreek Hill and the steady presence of running back Spencer Ware, there hasn’t been any vertical element to Kansas City’s offense.

On the bright side, the defense got a huge boost with the return of Justin Houston, who missed the first nine games while recovering from ACL surgery. The Chiefs also should get back shutdown cornerback Marcus Peters, who sat out Week 11 with a hip injury. Last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year has broken out into a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with five interceptions and 15 passes defended this season. The Chiefs’ secondary will gladly welcome him back.

The Broncos had a bye week after a wild and controversial win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. Drew Brees hit Brandin Cooks for a touchdown in the final minutes that could’ve won the game. But Denver blocked the extra point attempt and returned it for a two-point conversion, escaping the Superdome with the 25-23 win. The defending Super Bowl champions are 7-3 and have a good shot at returning to the playoffs, but they’re showing more cracks than they did last year.

For starters, the run defense is weaker than ever. This was most exemplified in Week 9, when the Raiders ran down Denver’s throat for 218 rushing yards in a dominant win. In addition, Trevor Siemian continues to struggle with a shoulder injury that’s holding back the offense. He has passable stats (2,028 yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions), but hasn’t been much of a playmaker for the Broncos. It doesn’t help that the running game went into the tank after losing C.J. Anderson for the season -- Devontae Booker has just 152 rushing yards in the past three games, averaging 2.8 yards per attempt.

With two struggling offenses carried by their strong defenses, this doesn’t figure to be a high-scoring game. However, the sheer stakes involved (keeping up with the Raiders in the division, along with playoff positioning) combined with the high emotion of an AFC West rivalry makes this must-see television on Sunday night.

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Place: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver

TV: NBC

Announcers: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya

Online: NBC Sports Live