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Week 14 Game Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 7, Denver Broncos 41
What you need to know
| Kansas City Chiefs |
During the contest, much of the talk was about the many likely lineup changes that the Kansas City Chiefs should expect during the off season. There was discussion about how old the Chiefs averaged out to be, which players would probably be gone and which ones would probably form the nucleus for the team's potential rebuilding. In other words, this game was horribly bad for the Chiefs and any hopes for the post season are extinguished. The Chiefs still have three more games, but discussions about the Chiefs from now through the start of next season will mostly center on the necessary moves to bring them back to prominence.
Kansas City was dominated in all phases of this game. They compiled a paltry 16 net yards rushing and 116 yards passing. Their decimated running game had rookie Kolby Smith in to replace the now retired Priest Holmes who had been replacing injured starter Larry Johnson. At one point even Kolby Smith briefly left the contest with an injury and was replaced by another rookie, Gilbert Harris. Smith came back, but it did not matter. The running game was nonexistent.
Brodie Croyle, in his third start at quarterback, still provides hope as the offensive star and leader of the future for the Chiefs. He took his lumps against the Broncos. He was sacked five times, fumbled twice and threw one interception. The one bright spot in the Chiefs offence was tight end Tony Gonzalez. While catching seven passes for 76 yards and scoring the Chiefs' only touchdown, Gonzalez became a member of the 800 career receptions club. He added to his total as the all time leader in touchdowns and receptions for a tight end.
There was a brief scare for the Chiefs when Gonzalez went down hard on one play and was slow getting up. He seemed in pain on the sidelines and briefly went back to the locker room. He played well without showing any residual problem later in the game.
The Chiefs had only one good sustained drive during the game. It resulted in their only score after they three times made a first down on a fourth down attempt. During the game they were zero for eleven in third down conversions, had eight three and outs, and gave up the ball three times.
| Denver Broncos |
The Denver Broncos dominated in every phase of this game to win the home and away series this year from Kansas City. Denver looked unstoppable against what had been a good Kansas City defense. Travis Henry was back on the job after beating his pending drug test suspension and after personal recovery from injuries. He scored the only rushing touchdown of the game but otherwise he took a backup role to Selvin Young. Young sliced through the Chiefs' defense with ease gaining 156 yards on only 17 carries.
Cutler had suffered from erratic play prior to this match. However, he put it all together in an impressive showing against Kansas City. He completed 20 out of 27 passes for 244 yards while tossing four touchdowns. His passer rating was over 140. For good measure, he added 22 yards on the ground while scrambling. For this one game, he looked like the second coming of John Elway and an expected strength for the Broncos for years to come.
Cutler spread the ball around well, displaying a preference for his two strong tight ends, Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham. He passed touchdowns to Graham and to wide receiver Brandon Stokley. His favorite receiver is obviously now Brandon Marshall, who caught ten passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Marshall also ran for 10 yards and one time it appeared that he was going to throw the ball.
In a bizarre action following Marshall's first touchdown, the referees demonstrated they were well prepared for some serious rules interpretation. After scoring on a pass play, Marshall ran through the end zone and stopped in front of the stands, facing the jubilant home town fans. He scooped up three handfuls of snow and threw them up in the air in celebration. He later claimed he did that to show the white stuff to Florida relatives. This action was flagged by the referees for excessive celebration with props. He received a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty, charged against the Broncos on the ensuing kickoff.
On the next to last Denver offensive series, Marshall caught a short pass and after hitting the ground, he clutched his ribs. He went to the bench where he was attended by the Broncos' training staff with an apparent injury. He was not needed in the contest again as the next series for Denver consisted of Cutler three times taking a knee to end the game.
The Denver defense dominated the Chiefs taking the ball away three times and allowing only one sustained drive for Kansas City. Champ Bailey collected another interception and Elvis Dumervil sacked Kansas City quarterback Brodie Croyle three times and forced one fumble.
What you ought to know
| QB Brodie Croyle, Pass: 15 - 29 - 132 - 1 TD / 1 INT |
Croyle had a rough outing as the Broncos lived in the Chiefs' backfield. For the only good Chiefs' drive of the day, they needed to convert three fourth downs. Croyle gave up the ball three times with two fumbles and one interception while passing for only 132 yards. His statistics were bad, but much of his woes should be shared by an underperforming offensive line. He should and is expected to maintain his job as the quarterback of the future for the Chiefs.
| RB Kolby Smith, Rush: 13 - 12 - 0, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (2 targets) |
Rookie Kolby Smith had enjoyed some good outings since replacing running backs Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson, but he was brought back to Earth rather harshly. He managed a pathetic 12 yards on 13 carries and another negative two yards on one catch. Smith is better than he looked for this game, but without help up front, nobody can run for the Chiefs.
| RB Gilbert Harris, Rush: 4 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Harris saw brief duty spotting starter Kolby Smith when Smith went down with an injury. Harris had four carries and one catch for a combined nine yards. Like the rest of the Chiefs, he was unable to provide much against the Broncos.
| WR Dwayne Bowe, Rec: 2 - 35 - 0 (7 targets) |
Bowe remains a favorite for Croyle. However he was constantly double teamed and mugged as soon as the ball arrived. The Broncos defensive plan obviously included keeping Bowe from catching the ball.
| WR Eddie Kennison, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Kennison caught a short pass on the first offensive play of the game for the Chiefs. He was then never targeted again in the contest, leaving him with two total yards of offense.
| WR Jeff Webb, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Webb, like most of the Chiefs' offense, saw little action. He had only one catch for eight yards. After the catch he fumbled, but Kansas City managed to recover the ball.
| TE Tony Gonzalez, Rec: 7 - 76 - 1 (10 targets) |
Gonzalez was the one bright spot for the Kansas City offense. He pulled in seven of the ten balls thrown his way for a respectable 76 yards. That included one reception where he avoided would be tacklers and tight roped the sideline for the Chiefs' only score. Gonzalez caught career reception number 800 during the contest, the most receptions ever by a tight end. He had a brief moment where he left the game, going to the locker room in apparent pain, but he came back and did not display any adverse effects.
| TE Kris Wilson, Rec: 1 - -1 - 0 (4 targets) |
Wilson only caught one of the passes thrown his way and it was for negative yardage.
| PK John Carney 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Veteran kicker John Carney became the third Kansas City placekicker for the year, replacing the fired Dave Raymer. Carney never had a chance for a field goal, but did successfully convert his only extra point attempt.
| KC Rush Defense |
The Chiefs rush defense will want to forget about this game. They were embarrassed by the Broncos who gained well over 200 yards on the ground. Kansas City allowed 6.3 yards per carry to Denver.
| KC Pass Defense |
The Kansas City pass defense did not fare any better than the rush defense. They saw a balanced Denver attack that defeated them repeatedly. The Broncos consistently made big plays of over ten yards. Against Kansas City, the Broncos' Jay Cutler enjoyed one of his best games ever, completing 20 out of 27 passes for 244 yards. The Chiefs allowed four aerial touchdowns during the contest and allowed plenty of time for Cutler to survey the field and pick them apart.
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 20 - 27 - 244 - 4 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 22 - 0 |
Cutler who was coming off a dismal showing in his previous game produced his best game of the year. He had a quarterback rating of over 140, while completing 20 out of 27 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He added 22 yards scrambling.
| RB Selvin Young, Rush: 17 - 156 - 0 |
Rookie Selvin Young seems to be establishing himself nicely as the prime running back at Denver. He had several very impressive runs including a 50 yarder as he gained 156 yards on just 17 carries. He was not utilized in the passing attack or kept in at the goal line, but his stats were still impressive.
| RB Travis Henry, Rush: 10 - 24 - 1 (1 targets) |
This had to have been an especially sweet game for Travis Henry. During the week he saw the upcoming suspension by the league for drug abuse reversed and he now knows he will not miss any time. He participated in this game as backup to Selvin Young but he still managed to score the only rushing touchdown for the Broncos. He remains a productive running back in the Denver system whether he is the backup or co-starter in the future.
| RB Cecil Sapp, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Sapp saw action as a lead blocker for the most part. He was targeted once and carried the ball one time.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rush: 1 - 10 - 0, Rec: 10 - 115 - 2 (13 targets) |
Marshall had another impressive performance. With Rod Smith out for the year and Javon Walker missing his eighth game of the year due to injury, Marshall has clearly taken over as the top receiving threat for the Broncos. He was targeted 13 times and caught ten of them for 115 yards. Twice he caught passes for touchdowns. He is gaining the appearance of an all purpose offensive weapon for the Broncos. He once appeared ready to throw the ball and he did gain ten yards rushing. On his last play of the contest, he went down hard and seemed to clutch his side. He was attended to on the sidelines by the Broncos' staff. The game was essentially over at that time and he did not come back in.
| WR Glenn Martinez, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (3 targets) |
In addition to punt and kickoff returns, Martinez was targeted three times and caught two passes. He had one fumble that fortunately for him was recovered by the Broncos.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 1 - 21 - 1 (2 targets) |
Stokley was strangely only targeted twice. He caught both passes including one for the Broncos first score of the game. This past week he signed a three year extension with Denver. He should be a dependable third or fourth receiving option for the Broncos in the future.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (4 targets) |
Scheffler was also impressive at the tight end position for Denver. He caught all four passes intended for him, accumulating 31 yards through the air.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 3 - 55 - 1 (3 targets) |
Daniel Graham displayed the strength and sure handedness that the Broncos were expecting when they picked him up in the off season. He caught each of the three passes Cutler directed towards him for an excellent 55 yards and one score.
| PK Jason Elam 2 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points |
Denver placekicker Jason Elam was exactly what you expect from him. He was perfect on the night. He converted both field goal attempts into scores. Both were from 37 yards out. He was also successful on all five of his extra point attempts. Elam provides dependability and consistency for the Denver kicking game.
| DEN Rush Defense |
The Broncos rush defense for this contest should be bottled and saved. They held the Chiefs to 16 yards on 17 carries, less than one yard per carry. The Chiefs were never able to get anything going on the ground.
| DEN Pass Defense |
The Denver pass defense was every bit as effective as the rush defense. They harassed Chiefs' quarterback Brodie Croyle all game, limiting him to 132 yards on 15 of 29 passing. They sacked Croyle five times, batted the ball several times, hurried him constantly, intercepted him once and forced him to fumble twice. The Denver defense was extremely dominating in this contest. Champ Bailey in typical commanding fashion made the pick on Croyle. Elvis Dumervil was particularly imposing as he accounted for three of the sacks and one forced fumble.
