KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Denver Broncos can blame their 3-9 record on a lot of things but the defense isn’t one of them.

The Broncos are third in the league in yards allowed per game and second in the league in points allowed per game.

While their record makes the team look irrelevant, the Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to face a ferocious defense.

“Every week it starts up front, their D-line is playing hard, they’re playing fast,” offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said.

“They show up on tape for all the right reasons. So although they are struggling, they’re still the Denver Broncos. They’re one of those teams that we know that has a great idea and feel for what we do, so it’s our job to make sure that we’re not taking anything for granted.”

“Their defense is special,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “They have a good scheme. They have good players. When you play division opponents, you obviously know they’ve studied you all offseason, so you try to have a concept of what you do best, but at the same time, (you) throw in some wrinkles so that they can’t be on top of your best plays.”

The Broncos boast two of the best young secondary players in the game in cornerback Pat Surtain II and safety Justin Simmons along with linebacker Alex Singleton who is one of the top-rated linebackers according to Pro Football Focus.

As the Chiefs recover from their third straight loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, they know they’ll have to overcome a tough challenge on Sunday.

“Yeah, we just really emphasize playing our division opponents. That’s something that we work on all off-season,” Mahomes said.

“In order to get where you want to go, you have to win your division most times. And so for us, (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) and the coaches do a great job of giving us great game plans. And then I try to go out there and execute them. We just really emphasize trying to beat our division opponents and the Broncos have been one that’s been a great challenge for us every year.”