The Denver Broncos entered Sunday with a dominance over the Chiefs that extended seven games, one shy of tying a franchise win-streak record over their AFC West rivals. That chance was dashed rather quickly as the Peyton Manning and offense had arguably their worst day since the Hall of Famer came to Denver in 2012.
Peyton Manning entered Sunday needing only three yards to surpass Brett Favre for the NFL’s all-time passing yards record. Not only did it happen after he already threw an interception, but after reaching the mark with a four-yard pass, he gained only 31 more yards on the day. The defense, in a valiant effort, held the Chiefs to five field goals after an early touchdown before the Chiefs put the game away with an 80-yard touchdown catch.
The Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning’s game couldn’t have started off worse. After two failed runs, Manning dropped back, slid in the pocket and threw to a streaking Vernon Davis. Manning underthrew the tight end and Marcus Peters caught the pass.
The Chiefs then proceeded to run all over the defense. They quickly scored a touchdown on four runs in five plays in just 2:36. Outside of Manning gaining four yards to surpass Brett Favre on the all-time passing yards record, the Broncos were flat. After a three-and-out on the Broncos’ ensuing drive, the Chiefs gained 36 yards on a short pass to De’Anthony Thomas and followed that with three plays and another three points on a Cairo Santos 48-yard field goal.
The Broncos and Chiefs traded three-and-outs due to a Chiefs personal foul and several throws by Manning that were dangerously close to interceptions. He would throw his 15th interception of the season on the next drive. Emmanuel Sanders fell on a short curl route, leaving Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith there to catch the pass.
The Chiefs then took the ball from the 50-yard line to start the second quarter and proceeded to their third scoring drive of the day. Their drive was aided by a favorable spot following a fourth-and-one play.
Up 13-0 into the second quarter, the Chiefs were running the ball well as they have all season. The Broncos were simply outplayed on offense. Manning’s throws were ill-timed and with little power behind them, leading questions about his health entering the game. The Chiefs out-gained the Broncos in the first quarter 92 yards to 36 and held the ball for 9:14 to the only 5:46.
The home team’s struggles continued on the next drive with a sack, dropped pass and a spiked throw due to coverage. The Broncos defense built on some success from their previous drive and covered the Chiefs receivers well. The visitors were also flagged several times and as a result they punted back to the Broncos.
Ronnie Hillman began the Broncos drive with an 11-yard run, but it was Manning who continued to hold the team back from any rhythm or progress. Linebacker Josh Mauga dropped back into coverage into the middle of the field and intercepted the illustrious quarterback for the third time in the half. Luckily, the defense held the Chiefs to just eight yards on the drive and Santos added three more points to increase the lead to 16-0 after the great field position. Without the Chiefs penalties and poor third down play (1-for-7) the game could have been out of reach even before halftime.
Another failed drive by the Broncos was followed by another Chiefs drive that ended in a field goal. The 12-play drive consisted of a read-option run by Alex Smith for 12 yards and a drop by wide receiver Albert Wilson in the end zone.
In Week 9, the Indianapolis Colts jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Omar Bolden sparked the team with a punt return touchdown at the end of the first half. Sunday, the Broncos couldn’t come up with such a play. The 19-0 deficit for the Broncos at half was demoralizing to say the least.
The only thing worse than the Broncos start was their second quarter. The offense gained only four yards in the entire quarter and gained only three first downs in the first half. Manning entered halftime 4-for-15 passing for only 30 yards. He owned a 0.0 passer rating as well. He would complete just one more pass on the day.
The Chiefs gained 182 yards, but due to poor red zone efficiency and five offensive penalties, they had to settle for field goals after the first score. The Broncos defense held kept the game within reach by holding the Chiefs to 3-for-10 on third downs.
The Broncos began the second half as they did the first, with three plays and a punt. The Chiefs, with exceptional field position, took the ball down the field on their opening drive of the second half and added to the Broncos misery. Kayvon Webster, getting increased playing time due to Aqib Talib’s suspension, gave the Chiefs a first down after holding call on third down. Von Miller ended the drive with a blistering hit on Smith that caused an incomplete pass. Santos added an another field goal, this time from 50 yards to increase the lead to 22-0.
The game continued in the same fashion to the dismay of 76,973 fans in attendance. After a high throw to Sanders was knocked loose with a jarring hit from Daniel Sorenson, Manning attempted to connect with Cody Latimer deep down the sideline. Safety Ron Parker ran in stride with Latimer, jumped and came down with the ball just in bounds in front of the Broncos bench.
The Chiefs once again ran the ball several times on their way into scoring range. To the defense’s credit, they never gave in. Danny Trevathan continued to make plays in the backfield and up the middle of the field. The Chiefs passing game never got going due to heavy pressure and good coverage. Miller’s sack on third down for a seven-yard loss took the Chiefs out of Santos’ kicking range.
Brock Osweiler then made his first appearance in a meaningful game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High with 6:34 left in the third quarter. His first pass went for seven yards to Demaryius Thomas. He then almost completed another pass to a Chiefs defender before the Broncos were forced to punt. His second drive ended in an interception, the fifth of the game by the Broncos, to Eric Berry that was intended for Thomas. He was double-covered and the pass was short.
The Chiefs finally got the big play they were looking for all day on their next drive. The Broncos defense that had been holding up despite terrible field position and an unbalanced time of possession by the Chiefs gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass to Charcandrick West. The quick running back caught Smith’s pass over the middle and simply outran any Broncos defender in sight, increasing the Chiefs’ lead to 29-0.
In another ugly display by the Broncos defense, adding to an alarming trend, T.J. Ward took a cheap shot at Jeremy Maclin at the end of West’s touchdown run and was ejected from the game.
Osweiler then found some space and made some impressive throws. His third drive started at the one yard line and proceeded with big gains of 17, 11, and 15 yards on throws to Bennie Fowler, DeMaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer. He took the team 80 yards on 12 plays for the team’s first score of the game. The drive was capped off by Latimer’s impressive catch over the middle that set up a one-yard run by Hillman.
The Chiefs’ rushing attack wore down the Broncos toward the end of the game, but Santos could not connect on his sixth attempt of the day from 48 yards.
The Broncos did show some grit as they took the ball down the field for the second straight drive and put points on the board. Osweiler used sharp, quick passes to Latimer and scrambled several times in order to reach the red zone. On fourth-and-three Osweiler avoided a sack, stepped up in the pocket and delivered a side-arm throw to Andre Caldwell in the back of the end zone to cut the score to 29-13 just after the two-minute warning.
The Chiefs dominance in field position led to their success in the second half. They held the ball for 33:27 of the game and wore down the defense. After a failed onside kick, the game end in a particularly fitting fashion. The Chiefs ran the ball down the field and into Broncos territory with runs of eight and four yards. Two kneel downs later by Smith and the miserable game for the Broncos and impressive win for the Chiefs was final.
The Chiefs out-gained the Broncos 303 yards to 221 with a balanced effort. They gained just over 100 yards on the ground and 200 through the air. They ran the ball 32 times and threw 31. In contrast, once again, the Broncos did not stay balanced. They ended the day running the ball only 16 times and threw 44.
Osweiler did show a strong arm and an ability to make things happen outside of the pocket late in the second half, throwing for 146 yards to Manning’s 35. Both are things Manning no longer appears able to do. It remains to be seen how injured Manning is and how much those injures affected his play. His 17 interceptions lead the league and certainly a majority of those are due to bad decisions and not health. However, this week the team will have to address the awkward proposition of letting Osweiler take the reins simply while Manning heals or move on all together.
Sunday night began with the idea of an all-time great continuing to break records and dominate a team he has long terrorized. The 29-13 Chiefs win and the fashion in which it was achieved was a nightmare for the man the evening was set up to celebrate.
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick
