Week 13

Broncos Report Card

Broncos (8-4)

"This one's for the "Barrel Man"!

Only a day after legendary Broncos fan Tim "Barrell Man" McKernan lost his battle with respiratory disease, the Broncos honored him by laying a beat-down on the Kansas City Chiefs, 44-13. The Broncos made some mistakes that kept the Chiefs in it early, but eventually pulled away in dominating fashion. Here's how the Broncos graded out in Sunday's win over the Chiefs:

Running Game: A

The Broncos running game was the story of the game. In fact, the Broncos running backs combined for more yards (246) than the entire Chiefs offense (222). Knowshon Moreno was impressive again, gaining 86 yards on 21 carries and hitting pay-dirt twice. Meanwhile, Correll Buckhalter re-emerged as the other half of the Broncos 'dynamic duo', with 113 yards on only 12 carries (9.4 yard avg.). The offensive line did a great job of pushing the line of scrimmage and creating holes for the backs throughout the game.

Passing Game: B-

When you look at the stats, the Broncos passing game had a good day. But, after watching the game, it's clear that there is still room for improvement. Kyle Orton was 15 of 25 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Not too bad. But, he was also sacked three times and lost two fumbles, one inside the Broncos' 5 yard-line. Brandon Marshall led the receivers with seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Clady and company stuggled to stop Tamba Hali, who had all three of the Chiefs' sacks. Although the offense converted 4 of 6 trips into the red zone with touchdowns, they were only 4 of 13 on third-down conversions.

Rushing Defense: B+

One benefit to forcing three turnovers and racking up a double-digit lead, is that stopping the run becomes a much easier task. Jamaal Charles led the Chiefs with 56 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries (3 yard avg.), but none of the Chiefs backs were ever really involved. The Broncos defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage. The Chiefs were 6 of 17 on third- down conversions and 1 for 3 in red zone efficiency. D.J. Williams led the Broncos with eight tackles. Mario Haggen added four tackles and also forced a fumble.

Passing Defense: A

The Broncos secondary came up big against the Chiefs. Matt Cassell had one of the worst games of his career before being replaced by Brodie Croyle, who didn't fare much better. Cassell was 10 of 29 for 84 yards with two interceptions. He completed less than 35 percent of his passes and finished with a dismal 14.2 passer rating. Andre Goodman had an interception and also returned a fumble for a touchdown, and Elvis Dumervil got his 15th sack of the season, one shy of the club record. Once again, Mike Nolan has the defense playing dominating football, and once again, the Broncos are back on a winning streak.

Special Teams: B

The Broncos special teams played well on Sunday. They made very few mistakes and also made some key plays for the team. Eddie Royal had a couple of nice returns. Mitch Berger did well to avoid having a punt blocked, and the punt return team sniffed out a fake punt early in the third quarter.

Coaching: A-

When the Broncos have run the ball more than they've passed, they haven't lost a game this season. McDaniels called 42 run plays compared to 25 pass plays, and not suprisingly, the game was a blowout. Truth be told, the offense didn't have to do very much, because the defense was so good. Mike Nolan and the defensive staff did a great job of confusing Matt Cassell. The Chiefs offense never found a rhythm and in turn, made some unforced errors from which they couldn't recover.

Key play of the game: The Broncos out-played the Chiefs for the entire first half, but only had an 8-point lead going into halftime. The Chiefs got the ball to start the second half, and after what looked to be a three-and-out possession, tried a little special teams trickery by putting Brodie Croyle at punter and trying to throw for a first. It was a similar play to the one that the Redskins scored a touchdown with against the Broncos only a few weeks ago. But this one failed miserably. It was a desperate moved that killed the Chiefs momentum and confidence.

Week 13

Broncos Report Card

Broncos (8-4)

"This one's for the "Barrel Man"!

Only a day after legendary Broncos fan Tim "Barrell Man" McKernan lost his battle with respiratory disease, the Broncos honored him by laying a beat-down on the Kansas City Chiefs, 44-13. The Broncos made some mistakes that kept the Chiefs in it early, but eventually pulled away in dominating fashion. Here's how the Broncos graded out in Sunday's win over the Chiefs:

Running Game: A

The Broncos running game was the story of the game. In fact, the Broncos running backs combined for more yards (246) than the entire Chiefs offense (222). Knowshon Moreno was impressive again, gaining 86 yards on 21 carries and hitting pay-dirt twice. Meanwhile, Correll Buckhalter re-emerged as the other half of the Broncos 'dynamic duo', with 113 yards on only 12 carries (9.4 yard avg.). The offensive line did a great job of pushing the line of scrimmage and creating holes for the backs throughout the game.

Passing Game: B-

When you look at the stats, the Broncos passing game had a good day. But, after watching the game, it's clear that there is still room for improvement. Kyle Orton was 15 of 25 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Not too bad. But, he was also sacked three times and lost two fumbles, one inside the Broncos' 5 yard-line. Brandon Marshall led the receivers with seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Clady and company stuggled to stop Tamba Hali, who had all three of the Chiefs' sacks. Although the offense converted 4 of 6 trips into the red zone with touchdowns, they were only 4 of 13 on third-down conversions.

Rushing Defense: B+

One benefit to forcing three turnovers and racking up a double-digit lead, is that stopping the run becomes a much easier task. Jamaal Charles led the Chiefs with 56 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries (3 yard avg.), but none of the Chiefs backs were ever really involved. The Broncos defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage. The Chiefs were 6 of 17 on third- down conversions and 1 for 3 in red zone efficiency. D.J. Williams led the Broncos with eight tackles. Mario Haggen added four tackles and also forced a fumble.

Passing Defense: A

The Broncos secondary came up big against the Chiefs. Matt Cassell had one of the worst games of his career before being replaced by Brodie Croyle, who didn't fare much better. Cassell was 10 of 29 for 84 yards with two interceptions. He completed less than 35 percent of his passes and finished with a dismal 14.2 passer rating. Andre Goodman had an interception and also returned a fumble for a touchdown, and Elvis Dumervil got his 15th sack of the season, one shy of the club record. Once again, Mike Nolan has the defense playing dominating football, and once again, the Broncos are back on a winning streak.

Special Teams: B

The Broncos special teams played well on Sunday. They made very few mistakes and also made some key plays for the team. Eddie Royal had a couple of nice returns. Mitch Berger did well to avoid having a punt blocked, and the punt return team sniffed out a fake punt early in the third quarter.

Coaching: A-

When the Broncos have run the ball more than they've passed, they haven't lost a game this season. McDaniels called 42 run plays compared to 25 pass plays, and not suprisingly, the game was a blowout. Truth be told, the offense didn't have to do very much, because the defense was so good. Mike Nolan and the defensive staff did a great job of confusing Matt Cassell. The Chiefs offense never found a rhythm and in turn, made some unforced errors from which they couldn't recover.

Key play of the game:

The Broncos out-played the Chiefs for the entire first half, but only had an 8-point lead going into halftime. The Chiefs got the ball to start the second half, and after what looked to be a three-and-out possession, tried a little special teams trickery by putting Brodie Croyle at punter and trying to throw for a first. It was a similar play to the one that the Redskins scored a touchdown with against the Broncos only a few weeks ago. But this one failed miserably. It was a desperate moved that killed the Chiefs' momentum and confidence.

--- SONNY PLATT. ---SONNY PLATT