Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Peyton Manning tossed a pair of touchdown
passes and the Denver Broncos held off the reeling Kansas City Chiefs, 17-9,
at Arrowhead Stadium.
Manning overcame an early interception to complete 22-of-37 throws for 285
yards for the Broncos (8-3), winners of six straight games. Demaryius Thomas
and Jacob Tamme each hauled in four passes and a score in the victory.
Knowshon Moreno, who hadn't seen game action since Week 2, handled the bulk of
the rushing attempts in Willis McGahee's absence. He rushed for 85 yards on 20
carries for the game.
McGahee was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week after tearing the
MCL in his right knee in last Sunday's win over San Diego.
While Kansas City (1-10) played well defensively, the offense continued to
struggle, as the Chiefs were unable to find the end zone all day in dropping
their eighth straight contest. For the first time since 1976, the Chiefs have
lost their first six home games.
Brady Quinn got the start at quarterback and was only able to throw for 126
yards on 13-of-25 efficiency. On a desperation heave, he was intercepted on
the final play of the game.
Jamaal Charles paced the Kansas City rushing attack, finishing with 107 yards
on 23 carries in the setback.
The Chiefs, who have infamously played from behind most of the season,
actually got out to the early advantage thanks to a pair of Ryan
Succop field goals on Kansas City's first two touches.
A 19-yard dash by Dexter McCluster led to Succop's first kick, a 34-yard boot,
before they added three more following a 20-yard punt return by Javier Arenas.
Tony Moeaki's 19-yard catch-and-run then helped set up Succop for 22-yard kick
to open up a 6-0 lead for the Chiefs.
Trindon Holliday returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards the Broncos, giving
them a chance to cut their deficit in half late in first quarter, but Matt
Prater's 47-yard kick drifted wide right.
Manning made a poor decision on Denver's next touch early in the second
quarter. He overthrew Decker, who was in double-coverage, on a ball deep down
the field, allowing Brandon Flowers to come away with interception for Kansas
City.
Denver blundered defensively on a 4th-and-1, as Kevin Vickerson was called for
a neutral zone infraction, giving Kansas City a new set of downs. The Chiefs
pushed the ball to the Denver 33 but were forced to punt after Quinn took a 9-
yard sack to take them out of field-goal range.
Manning then marched the Broncos 94 yards down the field for a score just
before halftime. He hooked up with Brandon Stokley for a 31-yard completion
early in the drive to cross midfield. After taking a sack, he then fired a 22-
yard strike to Tamme inside the Chiefs' 10 before finding him again over
the middle for a 7-yard touchdown, giving Denver a 7-6 edge at the midway
point.
In the third, after Thomas couldn't haul in a reception on a diving attempt,
the Broncos were forced to settle for three. However, for the second time on
the day, Prater could not put his kick through, as he drove his 33-yard
attempt right into the left upright.
The Chiefs were able to regain the lead midway through the quarter on Succop's
third kick of the day, this one from 49 yards out. Charles had a pair of 11-
yard rushes and 30 yards total on the drive to help set Kansas City up in
field goal range.
But Manning didn't let the Chiefs keep the advantage for long, as he launched
a 30-yard beauty down the sideline to Thomas for a score on the ensuing
possession. On the play prior, Denver was able to convert on third down thanks
to a 12-yard catch by Tamme.
Both teams stepped it up defensively in final period as neither could get
anything going offensively until the Broncos scored late in the quarter.
Kansas City got the ball back on its own 50 yard-line after pinning Denver on
its own 2, but couldn't do anything with the good field position and punted
back to the Broncos with 6:24 remaining.
The Chiefs didn't see the ball again until there were just 14 seconds left, as
the Broncos drove 68 yards on 12 plays to get Prater into field-goal range.
After missing his first two kicks, Prater sent the 34-yard attempt through the
uprights to give Denver an eight-point lead, leaving little time for Kansas
City to respond.
On the final play of the game, Quinn launched a deep ball for Dwayne Bowe, but
David Bruton picked it off to secure the victory.
Game Notes
Manning won his 149th career game, passing John Elway for 2nd-most all-time
... Manning also surpassed Dan Marino for 2nd-most seasons with at least 3,000
yards passing, accomplishing the feat for the 14th time ... Denver has won
seven of the last 11 contests against Kansas City.
The Sports Network