The Denver Broncos came out of their bye week with a vengeance. They scored early and often against the Chiefs en route to a second best franchise mark of 49 points. Of those points, 35 came in the first half. At one point in the first half it was 35-0. For the first time all year the Broncos offense got some help from their running game.
Knowshon Moreno ended with 106 yards on 22 carries to go over 100 yards for the first time in his career, but it was through the air that the Broncos were getting into the endzone. Kyle Orton had four TD throws among his 22 completions and 296 yards. Tim Tebow also got into the mix and he threw his first career TD pass—he also ran for another.
The Broncos put up 14 points in the second half and passed on a makable field goal late in the game. Still, Todd Haley was not feeling the love. At the end of the game, Haley skipped on shaking McDaniels hand, instead opting for the tisk-tisk finger waggle.
The Chiefs, who were coming from behind all day, never got their first ranked running attack going. They ended with 55 yards on 22 carries. On a sunnier note, the passing game put up season best numbers. Matt Cassel was 33/53 for 469 yards 4 TDs and 0 INTs. Dwayne Bowe was his favorite target with 13 catches for 186 yards and 2 TDs.
The Broncos win tightens up the AFC West from top to bottom and it gives the Raiders, who were sitting at home with a bye, their first division lead since 2002. The Chiefs and Raiders are tied at 5-4, but the Chiefs will have a hard time getting any tie breakers against the Raiders. The Raiders have already beat the Chiefs head-to-head and are 3-0 in the division. This loss drops the Chiefs division record to 1-2.
The Chargers, who also had a bye, are just a game out at 4-5 and the Broncos bolstered their record to 3-6, keeping their division hopes alive. Next week, the Broncos will travel to take on the Chargers in a Monday Night contest. The Chiefs will host the Cardinals and the Raiders will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.