www.kansascity.com/sports/story/396531.htmlBroncos Clobber Chiefs, 41-7By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
DENVER _ The Chiefs are still 0-for-Invesco. Looking listless in all three phases of the game, the Chiefs fell 41-7 on Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High.
It was the sixth straight loss for the Chiefs, 4-9, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention. The Chiefs hadn’t lost six in a row since 1998, Marty Schottenheimer’s last season.
And the loss gave Kansas City an 0-7 record at Invesco since the stadium opened in 2001.
The Broncos improved to 6-7 and kept their faint playoff hopes alive in the AFC West, pending their game at San Diego on Dec. 24.
The Chiefs went three-and-out or worse on all but one of their first 11 possessions. Two ended with turnovers and the other was their only scoring drive.
In a game eerily reminiscent of the Chiefs’ 45-7 loss at Pittsburgh in 2006, they spotted Denver a 14-0 lead in the Broncos’ first 11 plays.
Quarterback Jay Cutler threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley on Denver’s first possession, which took all of four plays.
After forcing the Chiefs to go three-and-out, the Broncos struck again on Travis Henry’s 1-yard run midway through the period.
Big plays set up both scores. Denver rookie running back Selvin Young bolted for a 50-yard gain on Denvrer’s second offensive play. And Cutler hit tight end Daniel Graham for 28 yards and and Brandon Marshall for 22 yards prior to Henry’s touchdown.
The Chiefs, who went-three-and-out on their first three possessions, mounted their longest drive of the season in terms of plays and time of possession when they took 8 minutes, 51 seconds to go 63 yards in 15 plays to draw within 14-7 on a 15-yard pass from Brodie Croyle to Tony Gonzalez.
The Chiefs converted three fourth downs on the drive _ a fourth-and-1 by Gilbert Harris; a fourth-and-2 by Kolby Smith; and fourth-and-12 on a 22-yard pass from Croyle to Dwayne Bowe.
Any hopes the Chiefs might have were squashed on Denver’s next drive. Cutler opened it by hitting Graham for 25 yards, and capped it with an 8-yard flip to a wide-open Brandon Marshall for a 21-7 lead with 1:55 to play.
Marshall drew a penalty after the touchdown for excessive celebration when he showered fans with snow from the banks shoveled against the stands.
The Broncos built a 27-7 lead with a pair of 37-yard field goals by Jason Elam, one with no time left in the first half and the other midway through the third quarter.
With the second field goal, Elam passed Norm Johnson for sixth on the NFL’s all-time scoring list with 1,738 points.
The Chiefs played turnover-free in the first half but Croyle committed two turnovers in the third quarter. Croyle was intercepted when Champ Bailey stepped in front of a pass intended for tight end Kris Wilson with 6:38 left in the third quarter. The Broncos converted it into a 2-yard touchdown flip from Cutler to Graham for a 34-7 lead with 2:14 to play in the third quarter.
Then, Croyle, sacked for the second time in two plays by defensive end Elvis Dumervil, lost a fumble, and three plays later, Cutler threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 13-yard toss to Marshall.