CHIEFS TAKE DOWN BRONCOS 44 - 24
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INACTIVES ARE IN
January 3rd – 12:45 PM (MTN)

CHIEFS
15           QB Matt Gutierrez (3rd)
17           WR Lance Long
48           S Reshard Langford
62           G/C Andy Alleman
66           G Darryl Harris
70           DE Dion Gales
89           TE Sean Ryan
97           LB Pierre Walters

BRONCOS
3              QB Tom Brandstater (3rd)
4              P Britton Colquitt
15           WR Brandon Marshall
19           WR Eddie Royal
25           CB Tony Carter
32           RB LaMont Jordan
75           DL Chris Baker
88           TE Tony Scheffler

THE PASS IS COMPLETE TO…
January 2nd – 5:40 PM (MTN)

There will be some big receiving targets missing in the Mile High City tomorrow when the Chiefs head to INVESCO.

Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels has confirmed that he is sitting down TE Tony Scheffler alongside WR Brandon Marshall for Sunday’s game. In addition, WR Eddie Royal has reportedly been ruled out as he continues to recover from a head injury.

In all, the trifecta of targets represents 55% of Denver’s passing game. If you exclude running backs, Denver’s next-best receiving target beyond those three players is TE Daniel Graham, who has just 24 catches for 260 yards this season. Graham, by the way, is listed as questionable with a knee injury.

A DIFFERENT RESULT
January 2nd – 8:15 AM

Don’t want to see a repeat of the previous Chiefs and Broncos meeting this season? The key to churning out a different result lays in the running game; specifically, stopping the Denver running game.

“100%,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley responded when asked if the key to beating Denver was in stopping the run.

As RB Jamaal Charles tries to become the Chiefs first 1,000-yard rusher since 2006 (he needs 139 yards on Sunday), Denver is trying to do the same. Rookie RB Knowshon Moreno is 103 yards away from the feat himself, and he’s going to get plenty of tries with WR Brandon Marshall officially ruled out against the league’s 31st ranked rushing defense.

The first meeting between the Chiefs and Broncos, just four weeks ago, saw Moreno and his sidekick Correll Buckhalter team to help the Broncos plug away for 245 yards on the ground. The Denver zone scheme had their way all day with the Chiefs defense and triggered the first of a three-week opponent rushing binge which combined for 792 yards.

This Sunday, the Chiefs have something new in store for the Broncos run game.

“When you go up against a zone scheme you have to come downhill on them,” LB Demorrio Williams said. “I feel like we went sideways too much against them last game. I feel like we’ll have a better game plan for them this time around.”

Last Sunday, the Chiefs made drastic defensive changes to help counter the NFL’s third- best run game. Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast put together a defensive game plan the featured a 5-2 defensive front and multiple personnel groupings to help keep Cincinnati off-balance. In total, 18 different players saw defensive snaps in the game.

“The main thing in defense is that everybody has a job,” Williams said. “I fell like last week everybody did their job and got on the same page.”

Marshall’s absence is a huge break for the Chiefs. With a 1,000-yard receiver out of the mix, Kansas City will likely be able to scheme Denver similar to the way the defense played Cincinnati last week. S Mike Brown had an excellent game in run-support logging a team-leading 13 tackles. Typically, it’s not a good sign for a safety to be the tackle leader, but many of Brown’s tackles occurred near the line of scrimmage.

For the majority of the game, Brown walked up as an eighth man in the box. He typically rolled to the weak side and ran the cutback ally to counter rushing lines created by Cincinnati’s mammoth offensive line. The scheme was effective, limiting Cincinnati to just 43 rushing yards in the first half before RB Cedric Benson finally broke a 32-yard run on the first play of the third quarter.

“As a defensive player, I want to go there and stop the run,” Williams said. “I feel like if we go there and can stop the run, let guys like Tamba Hali rush a little bit, then it will be a better game.”

Denver’s proverbial late-season collapse has made this game the most intriguing match-up for a Chiefs team eliminated from playoff contention in recent memory. A win in Denver would knock out two birds with one stone giving the Chiefs their first-ever victory at INVESCO and likely destroy the Broncos playoff hopes in the process.

There is a way for Denver to make the postseason if Kansas City still wins, but that’s a Chiefs 2006-esq road to the playoffs where five other teams have to either lose or tie. Then again, a victory against Kansas City doesn’t guarantee the Donkey’s anything if both Baltimore and the Jets win on Sunday. Got all that?

Denver’s playoff hopes could be a wild ride similar to that of the first football game of 2010 – the Outback Bowl between Auburn and Northwestern. We won! We lost? We won! We lost? …We’re in! We’re out? We’re in! We’re out?

Whatever happens to Denver, starting the sixth decade of Chiefs football off with a victory over the Donks and 1,000 yards for Charles would bring yuletide and good cheer at the end of a very disappointing season.

Looking for more good news at Denver’s expense?

The Chiefs may never again see Marshall in a Denver uniform. Pair Marshall’s internal issues with the team and a $3.043 million contract that he’s not expected to play on next season, and it could be quite another interesting offseason in the Mile High City. A Chiefs win today would help ensure that offseason begins immediately.

“We only have one left, so we are going to put everything that we have into this game here to get a win,” Williams said.

Dump the Donkey’s!

Things I Think I Know
(60% of the time they’re right every time)

• This will be the final game for a number of Chiefs. Just who will stay and who will go remains to be seen, but Kansas City is still very much in a period of roster transition. Take last week for example, 12 of the 45 active players at Cincinnati were not on the club’s opening day roster at Baltimore.

• With Marshall out and WR Eddie Royal missing last week’s game with injury, the Denver passing attack will likely consist of possession routes to WRs Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Stokley. TE Tony Scheffler can’t be forgotten either as the tight end running the hashes between the second and third level has been troublesome for the Chiefs this season.

• Broncos DE/LB Elvis Dumervil led the league in sacks when he came to Kansas City and he still leads the league as Kansas City comes to Denver. Barring a four-sack effort from either Jared Allen, Dwight Freeney or Will Smith, Dumervil has the sack title wrapped up.

• Speaking of sacks, the Chiefs have allowed just 15 over the past seven games compared to 30 over the first eight. Jamaal Charles anyone?

• I’m thinking that K Ryan Succop will be good from 60-yards out in pre-game with that light Colorado air. In-game, footing and weather conditions will dictate but Succop should be able to watch the ball fly (Colquitt too).

• If you remember, LB Tamba Hali was about the only Chiefs bright spot in the first meeting against Denver. He registered a career-high three sacks that day. He’s 0-for his last two and hasn’t been shut out of sacks in three games all season. He also needs just one more sack to register a career-high. We’ll see Tamba raise the bar on Sunday.

• Naturally, we’re living in a bizzaro world where Denver wins in Kansas City in December. Their December 6th win at Arrowhead was just the second successful try in 18 franchise visits. With that said, the Chiefs winning for the first time at INVESCO shouldn’t be all that surprising.

• War Paint (is still) > Thunder