It is not very often that a Peyton Manning led team does not have Peyton Manning as the focus of their offense, yet that is exactly what happened when the Denver Broncos traveled to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs.
Instead they centered the offense around the running game, featuring C.J. Anderson, an undrafted running back. He finished the game with 32 carries for 168 yards, plus an extra 2 catches for 17 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos got their touchdowns both out of the way in the first quarter. They started when Peyton Manning found Demaryius Thomas for a 23 yard touchdown reception, and then would find C.J. Anderson a little while later for an 15 yard touchdown reception. They led 14-0 after the first quarter, and then made it a spectacle for their new kicker this week, Connor Barth. Barth did an excellent job as he went 5-5 on field goals. Interestingly he went further back every time, making them from 22, 24, 30, 33, and 37 yards on the night. The defensive line for the Broncos did an excellent job in this contest as well, with Demarcus Ware and Von Miller getting after the quarterback several times, and Ware even had an interception off a tipped ball.
For the Chiefs, Alex Smith would end up with two touchdown passes, the first to tight end Anthony Fasano and the second to Jamaal Charles. They would miss a 2 point conversion on the second touchdown. Cairo Santos did hit a field goal in the game to account for the other 3 points that Kansas City scored in the game. Their defense actually played rather well in the second half, but the damage was already done and their offense couldn't get hardly anything going for the rest of the game, as Kansas City lost yards on some of their final possessions.
Next up for the Denver Broncos (9-3) is a return home to face the Buffalo Bills next Sunday. Meanwhile the Kansas City Chiefs (7-5) will be trying to bounce back from this loss when they travel to Arizona to take on the Arizona Cardinals.