As a team, the Broncos are every bit the equal of Kansas City, except in the one aspect of professional football that matters most: quarterback play.
But at age 34, Flacco is an average Joe whose QB rating with the Broncos ranks 24th in a 32-team league. Mahomes is the reigning MVP, so creative and dangerous that Denver coach Vic Fangio compares him to John Elway in his prime.
In this huge mismatch between the NFL’s next big thing and a veteran quarterback whose best work is behind him, Flacco has been cast as the slouch.