Chiefs will put Broncos coaches to the test

CENTENNIAL, CO - August 18 : Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph answers questions from reporters at Broncos Park in Centennial, Colorado on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty ImagesGood morning, Broncos Country!

When you face the Kansas City Chiefs, there are always built-in challenges.

Andy Reid. Patrick Mahomes. Steve Spagnuolo. And that's just to name a few.

The last one may not get as much attention as the other two, but it doesn't lessen the task in front of Bo Nix, Davis Webb, Sean Payton, and the Denver Broncos offense.

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Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive coordinators ever, and his defenses are always difficult to go against, especially at home.

Welcome to your first game of calling plays, Mr. Webb.

My mind has gone back a few times," Webb said to the media on Thursday after practice. In Buffalo, we played him often. We were usually on the losing end of that. Then he was our interim head coach for the last four or five weeks of the season, I believe, back in the day (with the New York Giants in 2017). I was like a scout-team quarterback, so back in the day, only the defensive players and myself got banana pudding from his wife. I miss Spags.' He's a great dude and one of the best defensive coordinators in this game's history. He'll be a tough challenge for us out of the gate."

It's similar to what Vance Joseph will face in going against Reid, Mahomes, and Eric Bieniemy. What adds to all of this is Mahomes's return from a knee injury and a season in which the Chiefs failed to make the playoffs.

I think Patrick is going to be Patrick," Joseph said to the media on Thursday. In my opinion, he wouldn't play if he couldn't be himself. He's had a good summer and spring to kind of rehab, and from what I hear and from what I read, he's feeling great. So we expect Patrick to be Patrick, and he is obviously the guy in the league who wins an awful lot. He's obviously motivated, and it's a big game for them; it's a big game for us, obviously. It's Week 1, so everyone's healthy and excited to play, so we'll get his best shot."

What helps with all of this is having a head coach like Sean Payton. Joseph and Webb know they have someone who has tons of experience and knowledge.

I think gameday will be similar to what it has been in the preseason," Webb said. He's been awesome throughout the game. He has his few pointers here and there, and they are all productive pointers. He's 62 years old, and I'm 31. It is what it is. He has a lot more experience than me. Even the last few nights, he's given us five to 10 nuggets that have really benefitted us going through the game plan meetings. It's still a Sean Payton offense, and that is how we want to operate it."

Added Joseph:

He is fabulous in front of the team. He can paint a picture each week for each opponent that we're playing. That Wednesday meeting is interesting because he can paint a picture, and most of the time, that's the picture that happens. That's his strength. He can explain opponents, he can explain the keys to victory, things we have to do to win games, and he's usually right. So I think for him, he can spend more time doing that. Obviously, he's still involved with the offense, and the defense and special teams because he's responsible for all of it, but he has more time now to do his thing.

That's his best trait, in my opinion, is team building, keeping guys on edge, and keeping everybody humble and moving forward. When it's really good, he's hard.He keeps you going. That's old school (Pro Football Hall of Fame) Coach (Bill) Parcells. When it's bad, he shows grace, and that's also old school in Coach Parcells. So he's in his element, he's happy, he's getting rest. So it's been fun to watch him work."