Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 9/15

Chiefs Fall to Broncos 24-17 from The Associated Press via The Mothership

The Chiefs (0-2), without All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles for much of the game, converted 11 of 16 third-down opportunities overall. They just couldn't capitalize in the biggest moments as the Broncos mustered two goal-line stands for the second straight week.

Peyton Manning was 21 of 26 for 242 yards and three TDs, but the Broncos had the ball for less than 10 minutes in the second half.

Smith was 26 of 42 for 255 yards, and Knile Davis ran 22 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City.

Chiefs vs. Broncos: Game at a Glance from The Mothership

"A loss is a loss."

That was the prevailing theme from the Kansas City Chiefs locker room after the game.

It'd be easy to see a "moral victory" in this performance, especially after the way the Chiefs played in their regular season opener against the Tennessee Titans, but that's not something a team with high expectations says after a loss.

"We're not in the business of moral victories," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the game. "We don't even think that way, but there was great effort there."

Postgame Facts and Stats from The Mothership

DAVIS RECORDS PAIR OF SCORES: RB Knile Davis rushed 22 times for 79 yards (3.6 avg.) in today's game, including two rushing touchdowns. Davis has six career regular season rushing touchdowns. Today's contest marked his second-career game with multiple rushing touchdowns. The first came at San Diego (12/29/13). He added a team-high six receptions for 26 yards (4.3 avg.) in the game.

KCChiefs.com Video: Andy Reid Post-Game Press Conference

KCChiefs.com Video: Alex Smith Post-Game Press Conference

KCChiefs.com Video: Week 2: Chiefs vs. Broncos Highlights

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Post Game Report: Week Two

KCChiefs.com Video: Postgame Locker Room Mashup

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Chiefs vs. Broncos

Chiefs put up a fight before falling 24-17 to Broncos from Chiefs Spin

There were clear improvements Sunday from a dismal Week 1 showing.

But the Chiefs are potentially at DEFCON 3 following a 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos that dropped the Chiefs to 0-2 to start the 2014 season.

Sure, the Chiefs gave the Broncos (2-0) all it could handle by outgaining Denver in total net yards 380-325, holding a 28-19 edge in first downs and dominating the time of possession 36:14 to Denver's 23:46.

While those are solid show-and-tell numbers for bragging rights purposes, all that truly matters is the final score.

Injury-depleted Chiefs beat by Broncos 24-17 from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

For a second straight week, the Chiefs were hit hard by injuries; they lost All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles on the opening drive and safety Eric Berry in the second quarter to sprained ankles. Both will have X-rays on Monday.

Still, thanks to an offense that held the ball for more than 36 minutes, which kept Manning on the bench, they were on Denver's doorstep with a chance to tie late in the game, despite being 12-point underdogs.

"We faced a great team, stood in there," said Knile Davis, who filled in for Charles and had two TDs. "We could've won it, should've won it."

Rapid Reaction: Kansas City Chiefs from ESPN

Game ball: Quarterback Alex Smith was under heavy pressure all day but played well enough to keep the Chiefs alive. His running ability was also a key in the first half when he had some runs that kept drives alive.

‘Next man up' continues with Chiefs from Chiefs Spin

"They'll have X-rays tomorrow," coach Andy Reid told reporters during his postgame media session.

Compounding the current injuries is recent history.

Berry missed the entire preseason dealing with a right heel injury, and Charles suffered a foot injury while moving out of the training camp dorm room in St. Joseph, Mo., that caused him to miss the second preseason game.

Chiefs didn't have Jamaal Charles or Eric Berry in Denver -- but at least they had a pulse from FS Kansas City

They tried and failed. Or tried and covered, depending on how you want to spinDenver Broncos 24, Kansas City Chiefs 17.

If the locals came away from Week 1 at Arrowhead Stadium horrified and appalled, they walked away from the television set in Week 2 proud at the guts spilled to and front, buoyed by a relief that this team has enough fire in the belly, enough pride, to play with anyone, anywhere.

On the other hand, they might also be just good enough to lose to anyone, anywhere, too. Your call.

Chiefs' highs and lows from Week 2 from Chiefs Spin

The Chiefs were inside the 5-yard line twice against the Broncos and came away with zero points. "Certainly with all your playmakers," quarterback Alex Smith told reporters during his postgame media session, "everything gets magnified down there. Everything is magnified. The matchups are that much more important."

Reid: Chiefs to stay with struggling kicker from ESPN

Santos to stay: Coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs would stay with struggling rookie kicker Cairo Santos. He missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter to end a 10-minute drive.

Denver Broncos hold off feisty Kansas City Chiefs from NFL.com

Smith did his best to keep the offense afloat, but the Chiefs -- despite Sunday's noble effort -- aren't built to keep pace with a fast-flowing offense like Denver's. Kansas City's issues peaked with a 19-play drive that ate more than 10 minutes out of the third quarter only to end with a botched field-goal attempt by Cairo Santos

Failure to finish drives haunts Chiefs from ESPN

Late in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs went on another march that was only an aspiration for them as recently as last week, one them that would take them as far as the Denver 2.

In better times, the Chiefs might have looked at those drives as the reason they shocked the NFL by pulling what seemed like an unobtainable upset.

Instead, those drives ended in failure. The Chiefs came away with no points either time and those letdowns were the biggest reason they lost to the Broncos 24-17.

Panic meter: Which teams should be stressed about recent injuries? from Sports Illustrated

Their winless start aside, the Chiefs are in rough shape ... and it's only Week 2. They lost Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito for the year in the season-opener, then saw safety Eric Berry and RB Jamaal Charles -- arguably their two best players -- leave Sunday's game against Denver.

Both Berry and Charles were diagnosed with sprained ankles, so the news is not catastrophic. However, at least Charles is believed to be set for an MRI Monday and head coach Andy Reid offered no timetable for either player. Already at 0-2 on the year, Kansas City can ill-afford to be without either star.

On final stand, Broncos finally tell Chiefs, 'Good Knight' from DenverBroncos.com

The gauntlet through which the Broncos passed in the final moments was daunting because of the physical test the defense had endured to that point in the second half: two possessions and part of a third that had chewed up 33 plays and 19 minutes, 18 seconds of clock time.

By the time Ware's sack was overruled, the Chiefs offense had run 38 plays since halftime -- nearly three times as many as the Broncos' 14. At that point, Kansas City had faced third downs 11 times since halftime, and successfully kept drives moving 10 times -- seven by their own conversions, and three by penalty.