As Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett met the media on Wednesday, he described the impending matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs as a ‘great test,’ while downplaying the historic weight of the Broncos’ losing streak in the rivalry.

“That’s the past,” Hackett said of Denver’s 13-game losing streak to Kansas City. “For us, it’s the now. It’s a West opponent, and it’s a great rivalry that’s been going on for years. I’m very excited to be part of it. It’s one of those things where we have to show that we can win to make it a better rivalry. That’s the starting point. Regardless of what your record is, it is an important game and it’s a West game. We’ll take it that way. We’ve been in a lot of games, and we have to continually battle. It’s going to be a great test for both sides of the ball.”

Even if accurate, the description of the matchup as a ‘test’ feels generous for the Broncos.

Is the windshield a ‘test’ for the bug? Is the shredder a ‘test’ for the paper?

Now, Coach Hackett is merely doing his job. He can’t frame this rivalry as the massacre it’s been over the past half-decade-plus. But still, some acknowledgment as to the importance of this game to Broncos Country would’ve been nice.

Since Halloween of 2015, the Denver Broncos are 10-33 in the division and haven’t beaten the Chiefs once.

This matchup has been an embarrassment for far too long, and Broncos fans would love to get that albatross off of their neck. Coach Hackett should be aware of that fact.

For Denver to finally snap the streak, they’ll have to contain Patrick Mahomes, and it’s no secret that’s easier said than done.

“He is playing at an unbelievably high level, whether he’s hitting things in rhythm or he’s breaking the pocket,” Hackett said of challenge Mahomes presents. “It’s incredible the different plays that he makes. I showed the team. There was one. It was third-and-17, everybody was covered, and he was able to scramble and get I think about 18, 19 yards. He’s just in that mindset and he’s just playing out of his mind, whether it’s the proper play or whether it’s in rhythm or he’s going to make plays with his feet. He looks to me to be an MVP. He’s unbelievable.”

We’ll see if the Denver Broncos can stop the streak from growing to 14 on Sunday.