Maybe John Elway’s funniest quip of the offseason involved an issue that is no laughing matter for Broncos faithful.

Namely, Patrick Mahomes.

“First of all I hope they hire him in the front office,” Elway said after Mahomes purchased a minority share of the Kansas City Royals. “He can spend half his time over with the Royals. That’s fine with me too.”

And about Mahomes’ record-setting $503 million, 10-year deal that will keep the Super Bowl MVP as the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback through 2031?

“As an opponent I wish he would’ve gotten more,” Elway said with a laugh. “I think they underpaid him.”

Turns out the Chiefs kept enough money around to extend star tight end Travis Kelce for four more years. No, this isn’t getting any better for Chiefs opponents anytime soon.

The concern for Denver is the Chiefs turning the AFC West into something that resembles the New England Patriots and the AFC East for much of the past two decades.

Kansas City has already won four consecutive division titles, owns a nine-game winning streak against the Broncos, captured one Super Bowl title and came within a defensive offsides call from playing in another and has the league’s most captivating, impactful player under contract for more than 10 years.

Who in the division might step up to that challenge? The Los Angeles Chargers have lost double-digit games in three of the past five seasons — including a 5-11 mark last year — and are transitioning to a new era at quarterback after jettisoning veteran Philip Rivers.

The Las Vegas Raiders are always intriguing, but they’ve posted three straight losing seasons and have been in the playoffs just once since 2002. In a sport where a franchise quarterback is the biggest variable, it remains debatable seven years in if they have the right one in Derek Carr (39-55 in his career).

That leaves the Broncos, who may be best-positioned to pose a long-term challenge to coach Andy Reid’s team and, to carry on the comparison, avoid the fate of those Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets teams that rudderlessly chased New England without continuity at QB.

In a young quarterback with growing room in Drew Lock — a Kansas City-area native who continues to train there in the offseason — and a defense that returned to the league’s top 10 in scoring last year after a two-year hiatus, the Broncos are likely the best bet to provide a serious threat to Kansas City and prevent the AFC West from becoming the league’s new joke.

FINDING THE QB COMPS

There really are no comparable quarterbacks, at this point in his career, to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. In two years as a starter he has reeled in an MVP and a Super Bowl, an unprecedented combo for someone so young.

His touchdown passes before age 25 (76) trail only Dan Marino (98) and Peyton Manning (85), while his quarterback rating, yards per attempt and yards per game are the best in league history at that age. The numbers are eye-popping, as is his new 10-year, $503 million contract, that is the richest the NFL has seen.

But what should worry the Broncos most as a division rival is his ability to win. In NFL history only 10 quarterbacks have won at least 15 games with a winning percentage better than 65% prior to their 25th birthday.

It’s a list that Drew Lock could join if he leads the Broncos to 11 victories this year.

One common thread among the 10 is that, while the rate of winning inevitably slows, they tend to remain on the positive side of .500 and regulars in the playoffs.

QuarterbackS

W/L% before 25 W/L% after

Lamar Jackson 86.4 (19-3) TBD

Jackson is just 23 and entering his second season as a full-time starter.

Dan Marino

80.5 (33-8) 57.3 (114-85)

Marino never again reached the heights of his early career, which included a Super Bowl appearance in 1984 at age 23. But from age 25 to 37 he posted just one losing record and made seven playoff trips.

Patrick Mahomes

77.4 (24-7) TBD

Mahomes is already 5-0 against the Broncos, as he made his first start in Denver in the 2017 regular-season finale.

Ben Roethlisberger

72.5 (29-11) 65.6 (115-60-1)

Big Ben won a Super Bowl at 23. Then he won another at 26.

His teams missed the playoffs just three times in the seasons between his 25th and 35th birthdays.

David Woodley 70.6 (24-10) 55.6 (10-8)

Woodley jumped from an eighth-round pick to become, at the time, the youngest starting quarterback in a Super Bowl at 24 in Miami’s loss to Washington after the 1982 season.

The next year he lost his job in Week 5 to Dan Marino. He was traded to Pittsburgh in 1984 but never established himself.

Milt Plum

69.2 (18-8) 53.9 (38-33-6)

As good as Plum was before 25, he was even better the next three years. He went 26-11-2 from age 25-27 for Cleveland and Detroit from 1960-62. His career went downhill in Detroit, as he lost his job to Earl Morrall and spent much of his final seven years as a part-time starter.

Andrew Luck

68.8 (22-10) 57.4 (31-23)

Prior to his abrupt retirement prior to the 2019 season, Luck led Indianapolis to a 51-28 record in seasons when he made at least eight starts.

Dak Prescott

68.8 (22-10) 56.3 (18-14)

Prescott is four seasons into a career that has yet to see a losing record. He threw for a career-high 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns last year.

Matt Ryan

66.7 (20-10) 56.0 (89-70)

Ryan hit his stride at 25, going 36-10 from ages 25-27. He won an MVP at 31 and led the league in completions last year at 34.

John Elway

66.7 (16-8) 63.7 (132-75-1)

As Denver fans know, there have been few examples of what-you-see-is-what-you’ll-always-get greatness at the quarterback position, as Elway went 12-2 in his first full season and 10-2 in his last.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Analyzing Patrick Mahomes’ stats, particularly in his seven career losses, reveals few answers on how to combat him. There are some trends, however.

Don’t bother with the blitz

Mahomes has attempted 227 passes while facing a blitz and has thrown 18 touchdowns without an interception. All 17 of his career interceptions have come while facing a normal rush. Further, his career completion percentage is 71.4 when throwing within 2.5 seconds but dips to 59.8 when he has more time.

Catch him in Games 5-8

In games No. 1-4 on the schedule, Mahomes is 8-0 as a starter.

In games 9-16 he’s 12-4. It’s in games 5-8 that he’s run into difficulty, going 4-3. The Broncos will host Mahomes and the Chiefs in Week 7 on Oct. 25.

Catch him at night

Mahomes is 19-2 in games that start in early or mid-afternoon. In late games, however, his record falls to 5-5. This includes a 2-1 record on Monday and 1-1 in Thursday night games. The Broncos game in Kansas City on Dec. 6 is scheduled for Sunday at 6:20 p.m.

Catch him hobbled

Mahomes suffered a Week 1 ankle injury in 2019, an injury that was aggravated a month later against Indianapolis. The Chiefs lost that game 19-13 and fell again the following week 31-23 to Houston. He then returned earlier than expected from a knee injury suffered against Denver on Oct. 17 and lost in his first game back, 35-32 at Tennessee.

Be opportunistic

In 24 career victories, Mahomes has thrown 12 interceptions and lost one fumble — averaging just over .5 turnovers per game. In seven career losses he has thrown six interceptions and lost three fumbles for 1.3 turnovers per game.

Run up the score

In his first season as a starter, Mahomes led his team to a 12-4 record. In those losses — at New England, at the L.A. Rams, vs. the L.A. Chargers and at Seattle — the average score was 41-38. That proved more difficult in 2019 when the Chiefs’ defense improved from No. 24 in points allowed to No. 7. The three losses with Mahomes at QB in 2019 came by the average score of 28-23.

Expect consistency

Mahomes has shown he can reach his unique level in any condition. His career QB rating is 108.4 in losses, 109.1 in wins and 106.6 in playoff games. His first-half rating in games is 111.5 and 105.6 in the second half. There’s just not a clear discrepancy in his performance by any game situation or field position.

Hope they punt

Mahomes has attempted six passes on fourth down, completing them all for first downs (two for touchdowns). He’s averaged 21 yards on those plays. He’s also attempted six rushes on fourth down, picking up the first down five times and averaging 7.3 yards.