Broncos Grind Out Win over Chiefs 17-9

There are no guarantees in the NFL. There are also no style points either. This is not college football. You don't need to impress the voters or computer rankings. As long as your team is on the winning side of the ledger, you have to be happy and move on to the next one. The Broncos 17-9 win over the Chiefs on Sunday was a perfect example of that view. The Broncos were double digit favorites on the road against a hapless, 1-9 team. It looked like it would be an easy Denver win, but it certainly didn't turn out that way. The Chiefs jumped to a 6-0 lead early, and after the Broncos took a 7-6 lead going into halftime, Kansas City was able to take a 9-7 lead late in the third quarter. Peyton Manning drove the Broncos down the field and hit Demaryius Thomas on a perfect 30-yard throw down the sideline to give the Broncos a 14-9 lead. After a drive in which the Broncos chewed up the clock, gained valuable first downs, and added a field goal to their lead, the Broncos took a 17-9 lead and eventually put the Chiefs away for good. It wasn't the prettiest, but it was a key victory for the Broncos, who now are riding a six-game winning streak to lead them to a 8-3 and sole possession of the AFC West. Divisional road games are never easy, and although this was a challenging game, the Broncos were able to do what they had to do. Here are my thoughts and observations on this week's game..........

1) The Chiefs looked fresh, fast, and ready to play to start the game off. On the other hand, the Broncos looked slow and tired in the first quarter. Jamaal Charles was able to find room against this Broncos rush defense, and the Chiefs ran the ball down the Broncos throats the first two series. Thankfully, the Broncos defense was able to get the red zone stops that they needed to make, and they forced the Chiefs into two field goals. Instead of maybe being down 14-0 or 10-0, the Broncos were only down two field goals. Those were two big stops.

2) For the third game in a row the Broncos offense started slow, and they didn't put together a great performance overall. Key drops once again killed a few drives, and Peyton Manning forced a deep ball into double coverage in the second quarter. The Broncos offense is not clicking on all cylinders right now, but when they need a big drive to kill the clock or get points, they are able to do just that. The offense was bottled up for most of the first half, but a great drive near the end of the half was capped off by a Peyton Manning to Jacob Tamme 7-yard touchdown pass to give Denver a 7-6 lead at halftime.

3) Matt Prater is also in a slump as well. He missed two field goals this week. The second miss was a big one because it was a chip shot (33 yards), and it would have given the Broncos a 10-6 lead.

4) The defense got gashed early on, and they had trouble covering Tony Moeaki in the first half, but the defense tightened up, and they were able to shut down the Chiefs and their conservative game plan. They only gave up the three field goals, and they were able to get the key stops at the key moment.

5) People were criticizing Romeo Crennel for not electing to go for two fourth and short situations deep in Denver territory in the first quarter. Although I was surprised that he didn't go for it in one of those situations, it is not like it was a slam dunk that they were going to get it. Denver's defense has a habit of getting chewed up on a series, but then they tighten up in critical downs. It is easy to criticize Crennel for his decisions, but you have to look at the other side as well.

6) How about the Knowshon Moreno sighting from Sunday? It was revealed that Moreno was actually going to start the game early on Sunday morning. Moreno rushed for 85 yards on 20 carries, and he added 26 yards on four catches. He looked fresh and he looked pretty good in the run game. I was happy for him, and I am looking forward to seeing him continue to get better every week. Maybe this will be a turning point in his young career.

7) The Broncos were playing their third road game in four weeks. Also, it was their third game in four weeks in the early time slot in the Eastern or Central time zone. You could tell the Broncos were tired and flat. It looked like their third road game in four weeks, but they were able to settle down and eventually win a tough game on the road against a division rival.

8) At 8-3, the Broncos have a commanding lead in the AFC West. The Chargers are in second place with a 4-7 record. It would have to take the Broncos to suffer one of the all-time worst collapses in sports history for their stranglehold on this division to disappear. The key thing here is that the Broncos can actually clinch the AFC West with a win at home this week against the Bucs. It would be fitting to see them clinch the division with a big win at home on Sunday. Last year the Broncos clinched the AFC West after losing a brutal game to the Chiefs on the final day only because the Raiders lost to the Chargers. It wasn't the celebration that you would expect from a team who just won a division, and it was the true definition of anti-climatic. It sure would be sweet to get a nice win at home against Tampa Bay, and celebrate the division title the right way.