The Kansas City Chiefs and coach Todd Haley could have faced a real problem.
No one would have blamed them for looking past Sunday’s home game with the Denver Broncos to next week’s AFC West showdown with the Chargers in San Diego. After all, the Broncos are 3-8.
But the events of Nov. 14 put to rest any chance of that happening. That is when the Broncos enjoyed their brightest day of their dismal season with a 49-29 demolition of the Chiefs.
After the game, Denver coach Josh McDaniels stuck out his hand. Haley stuck out his pointed finger and told McDaniels he wasn’t happy that the Broncos continued throwing the ball well into the fourth quarter with a big lead.
Haley apologized the next day and may be in a position to apologize again for the potential revenge beating his Chiefs could administer to the Broncos on Sunday.
Kansas City (7-4) leads the AFC West by one game over the red-hot Chargers. The Chiefs, who will try for their first 6-0 start at home since 2003, have won two straight since their Mile High mauling and have averaged 36.5 points in the process.
The Broncos, who have lost two in a row, are last in the NFL in points allowed at 29.4 and 30th in rushing yards allowed (141.6). They have given up more than 400 yards in three straight games.
The Chiefs are first in the NFL at 174.3 rushing yards per game – an eye-popping 26.2 yards ahead of the No. 2 New York Jets – and also have one of the hottest quarterback-wide receiver combinations in the game.
Dwayne Bowe leads the NFL with 14 touchdown catches, including seven in his last three games and 13 in his last seven. Bowe caught three touchdowns last week among his 13 receptions for 170 yards in the Chiefs’ 42-24 victory at Seattle.
Quarterback Matt Cassel has 22 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He has 10 TD passes in his last three games and 18 in his last seven.
Jamaal Charles is second in the NFL with 1,021 yards, including 173 last week, and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Thomas Jones has 712 yards as the Chiefs try to become the fourth team in NFL history with two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins (Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris) and 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers (Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier) did it in 14-game seasons, while the last team to accomplish the feat was the 1985 Cleveland Browns (Kevin Mack, Ernest Byner).
The Broncos lost to St. Louis at home last week 36-33. They trailed 33-13 in the third quarter before Kyle Orton nearly orchestrated a huge comeback with three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
Orton leads the NFL with 3,370 yards passing and could exploit the Chiefs’ No. 24 pass defense (246.5 yards per game), but the Broncos running game continues to sputter at 79.4 yards per game, 30th in the NFL.
Another bright spot for the Broncos is wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who leads the NFL with 1,122 yards.
Broncos veteran safety Brian Dawkins will miss Sunday’s game after injuring his left knee against the Rams.