ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Broncos have their fingers crossed that defensive end Derek Wolfe and linebacker Todd Davis will be in the lineup Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The two starters had not practiced this week and were held out of Friday’s practice as well. Wolfe has hand and foot injuries he suffered in this past Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers while Davis left that game with an ankle injury.

“We’re still in the evaluation process, but we feel like those guys will make it to the game," defensive coordinator Joe Woods said after Friday’s practice. “If not, we have guys who are positioned, who are doing a good job."

The Broncos need as many hands on deck as possible against a Chiefs offense that features the league’s rushing leader in Kareem Hunt. While the Broncos are currently No. 2 in run defense, having allowed 71.8 yards rushing per game, Hunt has 717 yards rushing after seven games.

Wolfe said Friday it "would take an awful lot" for him not to play Monday night.

The Broncos will practice Saturday and have a workout Sunday at their facility before they leave for Kansas City. Both Wolfe and Davis, who is second on the team in tackles with 35, are prominent players in the team’s base defense.

The Broncos are a little thinner at linebacker than they were earlier in the season since Corey Nelson went to injured reserve last week after suffering a season-ending elbow injury in practice. Nelson had been used in several of the Broncos’ personnel groupings on defense, so much so that coach Vance Joseph had called him “a starter in my mind." Zaire Anderson would play if Davis doesn't against the Chiefs.

In last season’s two games against the Chiefs, the Broncos were in their base defense a majority of the time. In the November loss in Denver, the Broncos were in their base defense against Kansas City on 55 percent of the snaps; in the Christmas night loss to the Chiefs in Arrowhead, the Broncos played their base defense on 74 percent of the snaps.

In last Sunday's loss to the Chargers, Wolfe played 46 of the team’s 58 snaps on defense while Davis played 28 snaps before he left because of his injury.

For his part, Hunt had four 100-yard games in the Chiefs’ first five games of the season, including a season-high of 172 yards rushing -- on just 17 carries -- against the Chargers. Over the last two games, the Steelers held Hunt to 21 yards rushing on Oct. 15 and the Raiders kept Hunt under 100 yards four days later as he finished with 87 yards. The Chiefs lost both of those games.

The Chiefs will also have had 11 days between games, so coach Andy Reid is likely to have a surprise or two for the Broncos along the way.

“For sure, absolutely, that’s kind of what they do," Woods said. “... They moved guys around the formation and run the same plays. You really have to be disciplined with your eyes and your keys."