Chiefs Fall Short Against Denver, 35-28 from The Mothership
Entering crunch time, with 3:32 left in the game and trailing by a touchdown, Alex Smith took to the air and led the Chiefs down the field, throwing to Chiefs WR
A.J. Jenkins for a 26-yard gain, McCluster for 28 more yards and then WRDwayne Bowe for 23 yards. However, later facing fourth-and-four, from the Broncos 13-yard line, Smith's pass to Bowe fell incomplete, giving the ball back to Denver.The Broncos offense then milked the clock to end the game, topping the Chiefs 35-28.
Andy Reid's Postgame Presser Transcript from The Mothership
How critical were the drops?
"We can do better there. We caught the ball and we moved the ball and did a nice job on that last drive, or the last couple of drives. It's important that when you're given the opportunity to catch it, you have to catch it. We can all do our job better. It's not one position or one player, that's not what it is. It's all of us doing our job better."
Alex Smith: "We Have To Continue To Fight" from The Mothership
Did you not see the guy in the end zone, when you threw the pick?
"No, I saw him late. I really think it was a good decision; I thought he was open. You know (it was) first down, it was just a bad throw. First down passing, you look back and you miss that ball high (and) you really throw it to (Anthony) Fasano or nobody, because it wasn't fourth down or third down. Looking back on that, I thought it was a good decision. I thought he was open; I still think he was, it was just a bad throw, bad execution."
Monday Morning Takeaways: Broncos vs Chiefs from The Mothership
CHARLES HITS 1,000 YARDS FOR SEASON: Charles picked up 93 yards on 19 rushes (4.9 avg.) in yesterday's game, giving him 1,011 rushing yards for the 2013 season. It marks the fourth time in his career that he's recorded at least 1,000 rushing yards in a season (2009-10, 2012-13). He becomes the first player in franchise history to record four seasons with 1,000 or more rushing yards.
Toys For Tots At Arrowhead from The Mothership
For nearly five decades, the Chiefs, along with members of the Marine Corps, have hosted its annual Toys for Tots collection. On Sunday, the tradition continued and Chiefs fans donated 1,310 toys and $19,475 to Toys for Tots.
"We have been out in the parking lots at Arrowhead Stadium since 10A.M. collecting toys for children in the Kansas City area," Bill Clinton, Toys for Tots Coordinator for Eastern Kansas, as well as a former Marine explained. "It never ceases to amaze me how grateful Chiefs fans are for our service, how generous they are, and that year after year they continue to give to Toys for Tots."
The Chiefs Toys for Tots collection is the longest of its kind between an NFL franchise and the Marines. This year's drive will once again help meet a significant need for area children.
KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Chiefs vs Broncos Game Photo Highlights
KCChiefs.com Video: Postgame With Mitch And Reid
KCChiefs.com Video: Inside The Locker Room: Week 13
NFL.com Video: GameDay: Denver Broncos vs Kansas City Chiefs Highlights
NFL.com Video: Chiefs Postgame Press Conference
Struggle At Arrowhead Stadium During Game Leaves 1 Man Dead from KCTV5
As the man and the Jeep owner began to fight, the owner's young son ran for help. The man who was found in the Jeep collapsed onto the pavement. He was rushed to the hospital, where he would die. The man was described as in his mid 20s.
Officers said they aren't aware of any other break-ins at Arrowhead on Sunday.
Kansas City police Officer Darrin Snapp said an autopsy will be key since the man wasn't stabbed or shot. Hospital officials didn't find signs of a significant struggle on his body.
Fan Dead After Altercation In Parking Lot Of Kansas City Chiefs-Denver Broncos Game from The Associated Press via The NY Daily News
Flashing lights from ambulances and police cars were visible across the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot as cars tried to leave after the game.
The death came one year to the day after Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, on Dec. 1, 2012, at a home not far from the stadium. Belcher then drove to the team's practice facility and fatally shot himself in front of then-coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli.
The Problem Was Never Alex Smith, Chiefs Fans -- It Was The Wide Receivers from FS Kansas City
"It's important that when you're given the opportunity to catch it, you have to catch it," Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after his men dropped their third game in a row, as well as several passes along the way.
"We can all do our job better. It's not one position or one player -- that's not what it is. It's all of us doing our job better."
Well, it is, and it isn't. Denver 35, Chiefs 28 was a team whiff, back to front, no question. But some whiffs were bigger than others.
Chiefs Fall To Broncos, Lose Third Straight from Chiefs Spin
With Sunday's victory, the Broncos (10-2) once again have control in the AFC West and hold a one-game lead over the Chiefs (9-3) with four games remaining in the regular season. More importantly, the Broncos hold the tie breaker based on two head-to-head wins.
Meanwhile, how the Chiefs lost Sunday could be dissected in numerous ways.
But the one area that sticks out is a reeling secondary that has now surrendered 1,118 yards passing combined the past three games.
Denver Broncos Edge Chiefs, Lead Hunt For No. 1 Seed from NFL.com
When the Chiefs raced out to a 9-0 start against weak competition, the question was whether they could score fast enough to keep up in a shootout. They have now lost back-to-back high-scoring games with the defense as the culprit. For the second consecutive week, quarterback Alex Smith played a heck of a ballgame, burning secondaries with his arm and making pass rushers pay with his legs. As a running threat in key situations, Smith has been the equal of Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton this season. He was hurt by several drops on perfect downfield throws.
Recap: Slumping Chiefs Lose Again To Broncos, 35-28 from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City
Just a few weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were unbeaten.
They were quickly becoming the NFL's "it" team, led by a seemingly impenetrable defense and a mistake-free offense.
That defense had slowly started to crumble. That offense is no longer playing so flawlessly.
The Chiefs are no longer undefeated, either.
Far from it.
Kansas City Chiefs' Branden Albert Injured vs Broncos from NFL.com
The Kansas City Chiefs' season is slowly slipping away. The team has lost three consecutive games, and its vaunted defense hasn't been effective for more than a month. For the second consecutive week, the Chiefs lost two key players to injury. This time, the injuries came on offense.
Starting left tackle Branden Albert was carted off the field Sunday against the Denver Broncos after suffering an ugly left knee injury. Donald Stephenson moved to left tackle, with rookie Eric Fisher coming into the game at right tackle. Kansas City also lost starting tight end Anthony Fasano to a concussion.
Manning Devours Rookie Cooper In Chiefs' Loss from FS Kansas City
For the second time in two weeks, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning torched and skewered Cooper. Two weeks ago, Cooper gave up six receptions to the Broncos for 128 yards. This time around it was far, far worse.
Unofficial numbers: Cooper gave up 10 catches for 243 yards.
Oh my.
To his credit, Cooper didn't duck the media afterward, though several Chiefs did.
Broncos' Peyton Manning, Eric Decker Too Much For Chiefs from USA Today
Never was the Manning roller coaster more acute than in the Broncos' 35-28 win vs. the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, where the narrative that Manning had lost his arm strength gained traction as he threw two first-half interceptions, with both turnovers leading to Chiefs touchdowns and a 21-14 halftime lead for Kansas City.
Then came the third quarter.
Broncos Looking Positively Super After Crucial Win; More Snaps from Sports Illustrated
This is the win that sets up the Broncos to finish with an AFC West crown, the conference's top seed and home-field advantage in the postseason. Sure, there's a month of football still to be played in the NFL's regular season, but Sunday's 35-28 comeback at Kansas City should be the one that clears Denver's path to the Super Bowl and puts Peyton Manning in position to play on the game's grandest stage for the first time in four years.
I know. I know. There's Manning's mediocre playoff record and those pesky New England Patriots (9-3) to contend with, and those are no small concerns. History has proven that. Again and again.
But when I look at the current order of things in the AFC, the list of elite teams starts and ends with 10-2 Denver.
Upon Further Review: Chiefs Week 13 from ESPN
The Chiefs appear to have lost starting left tackle Branden Albert for an extended period with a left knee injury. Albert was taken from the field in the back of a motorized cart, and the Chiefs were prepared to learn from his MRI on Monday that Albert has ligament damage. He was replaced at left tackle by Donald Stephenson, who filled in for Albert last season when he missed time with back spasms. Rookie Eric Fisher, the first player taken in this year's draft, will stay for the time being at right tackle.
Chiefs Must Show That Three-Game Skid Is An Anomaly, Not The New Norm from KC Star via The Miami Herald
And coach Andy Reid struck a similar tone.
"I mentioned to the team that this isn't college football," he said. "This isn't the end of the season."
Their stances make sense. And what would be the point of panicking, anyway? Especially publicly.
Still, all these words would be more applicable and reassuring if the Chiefs had just lost for the first time rather than their third in a row, squandering a considerable jump on a playoff berth and even a division title and home-field advantage.
Ideal Conditions Help Peyton Manning Weather Chiefs In KC from CBS Sports
At kickoff it was 55 degrees at Arrowhead Stadium, with a gentle breeze of 4 mph.
"Perfect weather," says Broncos right guard Louis Vasquez.
Peyton weather, says the official stat sheet from the Broncos' 35-28 victory Sunday against Kansas City.
Chiefs See How Real Contenders Get Job Done In Loss To Broncos from ESPN
The day began with the Kansas City Chiefs entertaining visions of regaining a grasp on the AFC West race. It ended in frustration, with the Chiefs having been sent a message by the division's bully about just how far they really are from being a championship team.
The Chiefs played with great energy for the game's first 19 minutes, building a two-touchdown lead in front of a raucous home crowd. The Denver Broncos then showed the Chiefs how a true Super Bowl contender gets things done by shifting their game into a higher gear, reeling off four unanswered touchdowns and taking control of what ended up a 35-28 victory.
Eric Decker Quiets K.C. Crowd With Career-Best, 4-TD Day For Broncos from The Denver Post
He dulled the music to a hum, that brand of roaring crowd noise that even the press box glass can't quite muffle.
Eric Decker's first touchdown catch quieted the raucous crowd Sunday.
Then Decker again, and quieter.
Again, quieter. And again.
By then, the Kansas City Chiefs needed their music back. By the time Decker was finished, with four touchdowns and 174 receiving yards, the tune had twisted to a cacophonous roar of Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, of Peyton Manning playing like the quarterback who terrorized the NFL in the early weeks of the season, of everything the Chiefs hoped to avoid.
Peyton Manning Unleashes Arm Strength, Strafes Chiefs' Defense from NFL.com
But the victory did something more: It at least briefly punctured the reputation that has sprung up around Manning since he arrived in Denver, that he no longer is able to throw deep with precision and reliability. His arm failed him for parts of the game against New England, but except for one ugly throw Sunday, heaved to the right sideline with pressure in his face, and his weight on his back foot -- which resulted in one of his two interceptions -- Manning looked much more like the quarterback who dominated the first half of the season. He threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns and perhaps of most interest, he repeatedly placed longer passes exactly where they needed to be, most often over one of Decker's shoulders.
How It Happened: Broncos 35, Chiefs 28 from DenverBroncos.com
Down 21-7, the Broncos scored 28 consecutive points to pull away at Arrowhead Stadium, moving to 10-2 with a 35-28 win Sunday afternoon.
The victory left the Broncos alone in first place in the AFC West with an important sweep of the team currently in second place.
"This time of the year, that's what it's about -- taking control of your division, setting yourself up for the playoffs," wide receiver
Eric Decker said. "It showed a lot of character of the guys in the locker room the way we battled back and finished the game."
Paige: Broncos Clinch AFC West, Just Not Officially from The Denver Post
The NFL standings will not suggest that Denver won the AFC West on the first day of December, but the Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and anyone who is not a scarecrow in Oz know that the division race to first is over.
With the inevitability that the Broncos are in complete command of the division and the Chiefs can't catch them, Smith conceded "Yeah, yeah" and offered that "there are other ways to get into the playoffs as one of the wild-card teams."
Chiefs Rally Falls Short, Broncos Improve To 10-2 from ProFootballTalk
It's the second straight week that the Chiefs have been shredded by an opposing quarterback, which is troubling because the team stopped getting sacks even beforeJustin Houston got hurt. The Broncos picked on cornerback Marcus Cooper all day and both Montee Ball and Knowshon Moreno busted some big gains against a defense that couldn't stop everything at once. And couldn't stop Eric Decker at all.
Champ Bailey Humbled By Late-Game Benching For Denver Broncos from The Denver Post
Champ Bailey was admittedly humbled here Sunday. His Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-28. But on the Chiefs' final, do-or-die drive that started at their own 8-yard line with 3:32 remaining - and ended on the Broncos' 13 yard line with 1:46 remaining - Bailey was not part of the Broncos' secondary.
Let Charles Play from Warpaint Illustrated
For all the good Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach, Andy Reid, has done for his football team, he continues to make key blunders that for the third straight week are turning potential wins into predictable defeats.
On Sunday facing a first and goal on the opening drive of the game from the one-yard line, he called for a roll out pass from Quarterback, Alex Smith that was intercepted in the end zone that a picture perfect drive and nullified the potential for a quick 7-0 lead against the Denver Broncos.
In that situation, he tried to be cute and fancy instead of ramming the ball up the gut with his best offensive player who was an innocent bystander on the play. It's first and goal from the one-yard line. Are you serious?