Week 17

Broncos (8-7) vs. Chiefs (3-12)

It's the final week of the season, and unfortunately the Broncos are currently on the outside of the play-off bubble, looking in. Not only will they need to beat their long time rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, but they will also need help from other teams, including their most hated rival, the Raiders. The Broncos have won five of the last seven meetings with the Chiefs including a 44-13 beat-down only a few weeks ago, but the Chiefs would love nothing more than to finish the season by denying the Broncos a winning season and at the same time, knocking them out of the playoffs. Here are a few match-ups that may figure prominantly in Sundays' season finale:

Jamaal Charles vs. Broncos front seven.

Jamaal Charles is averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season. He is only 139 yards away from topping 1,000 yards rushing for the season, and that's with only nine starts under his belt. Although he is not the type of big, bruising back that tend to give the Broncos trouble, Charles is a very talented runner who plays bigger than his size. With the exception of last week's performance against the Eagles, the Broncos defense has been much better at stopping the pass than the run. So, establishing Charles and the running game is essential for the Chiefs, if they hope to play the spoiler on Sunday.

Kyle Orton vs. Chiefs secondary.

Injuries to Brandon Marshall (hamstring) and Eddie Royal (head) have the Broncos corps of wide recievers stretched a little thin. Both players are expected to play on Sunday, but how effective they will be is a little uncertain. In Week 13 against the Chiefs, Orton played well and led the Broncos to an easy victory, but he also had three turnovers. Although the Chiefs are ranked 30th in overall defense, the are considerably better against the pass, ranking 19th. If Orton can have a solid outing and limit the turnovers, despite a banged-up recieving core, it will likely spell victory for the orange and blue.

Ryan Clady vs. Tamba Hali

After getting snubbed for the Pro-bowl in his rookie season, Clady was named to his first Pro-bowl on Tuesday. In the last two seasons, Clady has proven to be one the best tackles in the NFL, a dominating run blocker as well as a premiere pass-blocking left tackle. That said, the last time these two teams met, it was Tamba Hali, not Clady, that looked like the Pro-bowler. Hali was actually the lone bright spot for the Chiefs, posting 10 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles in the loss. Side Note: Josh McDaniels called out the offensive line this week saying, "If we're not winning the line of scrimmage, like I said before, it doesn't matter what back you have, doesn't matter who you're handing the ball to, you're not going to do a whole lot. I'm not taking blame off the backs because they certainly can do a better job of reading certain plays and all the rest of that, but it starts with what we do up front."

--- SONNY PLATT.