Sunday Night Football Week 13: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Broncos vs. Chiefs

Peyton Manning is the top name on the Week 13 edition of Sunday Night Football, but the ground game figures to be the focal point when the Kansas City Chiefs play host to the Denver Broncos. 

Manning and the Broncos have hit a rough patch of play as of late, going 2-2 over their last four outings with both marks in the loss column coming on the road. To take pressure off Manning in the cold, the ground game figures to be a big emphasis Sunday night.

The ground game is always a big emphasis for Andy Reid's Chiefs thanks to the presence of Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis. The Chiefs enter Sunday after being upset by the previously winless Oakland Raiders but have had more than a week to mull over how to down the Broncos in order to force a first-place tie in the AFC West.

A heavyweight slugfest of this proportion is something to catch while gobbling down those leftovers.

Viewing Information

When: Sunday, November 30, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Betting Info: (via Odds Shark)

• Over/Under: 49.5
• Spread: Denver (-1.5)

Preview and Prediction 

These two know each other quite well, but one side will look to employ a different approach this time around. 

Week 3 was a meet in Denver that saw Manning toss three touchdowns and fire just five incompletions. But Manning has looked sluggish as of late in the turnover department, throwing six picks over the course of his last four games.

With Arrowhead Stadium being one of the more difficult places to win, the run game is something that weighs heavily on the mind of the Broncos this weekend. As Herbie Teope of ChiefsDigest.com points out, the stars seemingly aligned last week:

C.J. Anderson did find his way to 167 yards and a score, but keep in mind it came against a Miami team that struggles against the rush. The solid numbers produced just a three-point victory, too.

While true the Chiefs gave up 179 rushing yards and a pair of scores on the ground, keep in mind it came on a short week and 112 of those and both scores came on a pair of long gains by Latavius Murray, who carried the ball just four times.

It is difficult to imagine the Broncos find the same success on the road considering they average just 100.0 yards per game on the ground. Offensive coordinator Adam Gase certainly seems like he has an open mind about how to approach the Chiefs' stingy defense, as captured by Lauren Giudice of DenverBroncos.com:

"

Every game is different. I know that is our answer for the most part every week. I don’t know if I can look at [Kansas City’s] ranking. I just know the players they have, they’re tough guys and that front is tough to run or pass on. So we’re going to have to figure out what’s best for us during the game. It’s hard for us to go in and say we’re just going to do one thing.

"

Do not expect variety from the Chiefs. 

In that narrow Week 3 loss on the road, the Chiefs got 79 yards and two touchdowns from Davis while quarterback Alex Smith struggled to a 26-of-42 line for 255 yards. Now both backs are healthy and productive, to say the least:

Although the Broncos rank among the top five teams against the rush this season, the defense has looked torrid against the rush over the course of the past two weeks in the same way the Chiefs have struggled. 

Denver's last two opponents reached at least a per-carry average of 4.0 and 97 yards with a total of two touchdowns. At home, the Chiefs will surely look to do little else.

As much as the ground game figures to be a war of attrition Sunday night, so too does the defensive side of things.

Although the Chiefs just lost star safety Eric Berry for the season, the unit still ranks No. 1 against the pass this season, and Tamba Hali leads a unit that has 31 sacks. That sounds like an advantage, but the men in front of Manning allowed just one sack in September.

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

When it comes right down to it, the Chiefs are in a must-win situation with a number of tactical advantages that suggest they will do just that.

Charles and Davis should find few issues getting gaudy numbers on the ground, which cannot be said for the hodgepodge of Broncos backs tasked with producing in a hostile environment.

Manning will find success through the air, but a noisy, cold setting in the face of an elite pass rush equates to a rough experience. Manning was hardly able to overcome his defense at home one week ago, so asking him to do so again against a team that already pushed him to the brink at home earlier this season will prove too much.

Prediction: Chiefs 27, Broncos 24

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).