Broncos 24, Chiefs 17
Peyton Manning threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns to lift host Denver to its fifth straight victory over AFC West rival Kansas City.
Manning finished 21-of-26 and tossed two of his three scoring passes in the second quarter to put the Broncos (2-0) ahead to stay and extend his streak to 41 games with at least one TD pass - the fourth-longest in league history. Emmanuel Sanders had eight catches for 108 yards while Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas each hauled in TD passes as Denver improved to 12-1 in division play since signing Manning.
Knile Davis rushed for 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns in place of Chiefs star running back Jamaal Charles, who was lost to an ankle injury early in the first quarter. Alex Smith completed 26-of-42 passes for 255 yards for Kansas City (0-2), which drove to the 2-yard line in the final seconds before the Broncos turned them away on third and fourth down.
The Chiefs had first-and-goal at the 4-yard line on the first possession of the second half but came away empty on the 10:00 drive when Cairo Santos missed a 37-yard field goal following a holding penalty and a sack. Kansas City came right back with a 90-yard march capped by Davis' 4-yard run to pull within 21-17 with 7:11 to play, but Andre Caldwell returned the ensuing kick 54 yards to set up Brandon McManus' 20-yard field goal with 3:27 to go.
Davis scored from 2 yards out 4 1/2 minutes into the second quarter to put the Chiefs ahead 10-7, but Manning responded by leading Denver on touchdown drives of 75 and 88 yards for a 21-10 halftime advantage. He capped the first drive with a 4-yard pass to tight end Jacob Tamme before connecting with Demaryius Thomas on a 12-yard scoring strike with 69 seconds left in the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Manning threw at least three scoring passes for the 86th time in his career - most in league history - and needs 12 TD tosses to surpass Brett Favre (508) for first place on the all-time list. ... WR Dwayne Bowe, who was suspended for last week's contest, made three catches for 40 yards in his season debut for the Chiefs, who also lost S Eric Berry to an ankle injury. ... Broncos RB Montee Ball rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries and added three catches for 29 yards.