Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos: Denver Grades, Notes and Quotes

On a day when Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning became the NFL's all-time passing leader, he was also benched for having one of his worst games as a professional quarterback.

By the end of Sunday's game between the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, it looked more like a bad preseason game than Week 10 in the NFL season. Brock Osweiler was tossing passes to guys like Andre Caldwell and Cody Latimer in what was a blowout loss.

The Chiefs were able to get their first win over the Broncos since December 2011, and it was Manning's first loss against them as a member of the Broncos. Denver has lost two games in a row and will head to Soldier Field next Sunday reeling and searching for answers.

This game was ugly from the start for the Broncos, as they didn't cross the 50-yard line until late in the third quarter. They turned the ball over five times and were only able to generate offense when the game was far out of reach. At one point, Denver was behind 29-0.

So what went wrong for the Broncos? Let's delve a little further into this one and hand out grades for each positional unit.

Positional Grades

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Position/Grade   

QB	D
RB	C
WR	C
TE	C
OL	B-
DL	C+
LB	C
DB	B
Special Teams	B
Coaching	D

Defensively, the Broncos weren't as bad as the 29 points they allowed would indicate. They did have a breakdown in coverage in the fourth quarter, giving up an 80-yard touchdown pass to Charcandrick West. They also allowed Alex Smith to use his legs to pick up yardage too often.

Against the Detroit Lions in London, Smith ran all over the place. He only gained 33 yards in this game, but the coaching staff should have been more prepared for that after watching film of the Detroit game.

T.J. Ward can also expect to be fined, again. On West's 80-yard touchdown, it appeared that Ward threw a punch at Jeremy Maclin after he pushed Maclin to the ground. Two weeks in a row, the Broncos have had a defender take a cheap shot at an opponent, clearly out of frustration. The Broncos were without Aqib Talib for this game, after he was suspended for sticking a finger in the eye of Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen last Sunday. Ward could face a potential suspension from the league as well.

Aside from that, the defense didn't play all that bad. The offense just put it in too many bad spots.

The story of this game was the turnovers. Manning threw four interceptions, and he has thrown an incredible 17 interceptions in nine games. Manning's interceptions this season have often been excused for things like receivers not fully running routes, receivers letting passes go through their hands or protection breaking down.

One thing should be clear—all four of the interceptions today are clearly on No. 18. Though he has had some magical games in Denver, there is no excusing this performance.

Many fans will likely wonder if Manning will be pulled in favor of Brock Osweiler going forward. That is not likely. Head coach Gary Kubiak made the right decision to get Manning out of this game, but the rest of the coaching in this game was questionable.

The Broncos only ran the ball 13 times, for instance. Granted, they were playing from behind for much of the day, but they didn't place enough focus on the run. Remember when the Broncos lost to the St. Louis Rams last season? This game seemed eerily similar to that one.

Kubiak—and the rest of the organization—must realize Manning isn't going to carry the team to victory anymore. In fact, the plantar fasciitis he is dealing with may be much more serious than anyone realizes.

Going forward, the team must design a game plan that helps Manning manage the game, rather than having him chuck the ball all over the field like he did in his glory days. Those days are gone.

Important Note No.1: Peyton Manning Becomes NFL's All-Time Leader in Yardage

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With a four-yard completion to Ronnie Hillman in the first quarter, Manning broke the NFL's all-time record for career passing yards. The previous record of 71,838—held by Brett Favre—was eclipsed on the play.

Ironically, that was about the only positive thing that happened to Manning on Sunday. Though the record is one Manning certainly deserves and will likely stand for many years to come, he would most likely have preferred for it to be achieved under different circumstances.

Manning took a brief moment to take in the cheers from the crowd before tossing the ball to the sideline. That same ball will probably be on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame very soon.

Important Note No. 2: Emmanuel Sanders Leaves Game with Injury

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Denver wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was questionable to play in this game due to a sore hamstring, but he suited up and started. In the third quarter, Manning threw him a good ball but just as Sanders caught it, Kansas City defensive back Daniel Sorensen crushed him with a solid hit.

Sanders dropped the ball and fell to the ground before trainers ran out to check on him. CBS sideline reporter Jamie Erdahl stated during the telecast that Sanders was evaluated for a concussion and passed the league's protocol. She said he could return to the game.

However, Sanders did not return, probably because the game was out of hand. He finished the day without a catch, though he was targeted four times.

The Broncos have had a hard time getting production out of the passing game beyond Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. Though Sanders should be good to go next week, his status is worth keeping an eye on.

Important Note No. 3: Denver Suffers Worst Loss to Chiefs in over Five Years

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Kansas City had lost the last eight meetings against the Broncos. The last time they beat the Broncos by more than 16 points was in Jan. 2010, a 44-24 Chiefs victory.

In the game, the Broncos allowed Jamaal Charles to rush for 259 yards. In addition, they turned the ball over four times. This shows not only how much the Broncos have dominated this series, but it places extra emphasis on how bad they played in this game.

The story of the 2015 Broncos will hinge on how they respond to this loss. It will either mark the moment that turned things around or the one that derailed their hopes of a championship.

Quote No.1: Gary Kubiak on Benching Peyton Manning

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During his press conference following the game, via the team's official website, Kubiak was asked about his decision to bench Manning in favor of Osweiler. He answered the question but quickly deflected the attention to himself.

"

To be honest, I was protecting him, cause I was worried about him. Let me just say this, I'm obviously very disappointed in the football game. Give Kansas City credit, they played a great football game, Andy had them ready to go. I'm disappointed in myself. This is on me. Ya know, I probably should have made a decision not to play him in the game, and the reason I needed to make that, probably a tough decision there. He practiced Friday, ya know, felt good, came out of practice Friday. Saturday, as you all know, his ribs were bothering him and I probably should have right there said, no, he's not gonna go this week but I.... he's a competitor, he wanted to play. Aqib was out, DeMarcus was out. He wanted to go, he felt like he could go, but I'm disappointed in myself because I probably should have made that decision yesterday and I didn't so it's on me.

"

Kubiak was then immediately asked if Osweiler would be starting next week against the Bears.

"No, Peyton's our quarterback. If he's healthy and ready to go, Peyton's our quarterback," Kubiak said.

Kubiak's statement here is interesting. He seems to know something about Manning that isn't being leaked out. Manning was on the injury report this week, but it didn't sound like there was any chance he wasn't going to play. It also seems like Kubiak wanted to start Osweiler all along. In his reply, he starts to say "I listened," as if to say "I listened to Manning."

This will be an interesting situation to watch. But if Manning is truly not 100 percent, he should be rested. Denver can't afford to have him perform like he did in this game again.

Quote No.2: Peyton Manning Addresses His Performance

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After the game, a clearly disappointed Manning talked to the media, via the team's official website.

"

Yeah, yeah, really bad game. Disappointing, just did not play...made some really bad plays and just put our team in a really bad position. Starting with the first series, turning the ball over and giving them great field position. It just seemed like it got me off to a bad start, never could find any type of rhythm or continuity out there at quarterback and really put our team in a bad spot all night.

"

Manning was then asked how much of his performance was due to his health.

"

Ya know, I have a really hard time using that as any type of excuse. I had some injuries during the week. Greek and the training staff worked overtime to get me feeling like I could go out there and play. I mean, you have to give a lot of feedback yourself and I felt good enough to go out there and play. Obviously, as you look back on it now, I have a hard time saying that's why I played ya know, badly. Could that be the reason? I guess it always could be, but to me that's an easy way out.

"

This is the answer you'd expect from Manning, but all signs seem to him being more hobbled than many fans are being led to believe. It will be very interesting to see who Kubiak chooses to start at quarterback next week against Chicago.

Quote No. 3: Brock Osweiler on Replacing Peyton Manning

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In addressing the media following the game, via the team's official website, Osweiler was asked to talk about being put into the game at quarterback.

"

Obviously I knew prior to the game that he was a little banged up, to what extent, ya know I didn't feel like was any of my business. I just go about my job and prepare like I'm going to play and that's what I did this week. During the game, I didn't know where Peyton was health-wise, I just continued to support him and I stayed ready throughout the game.

"

He was then asked if he plans to be the starter moving forward.

"

Ya know, I don't. Right now Peyton's our quarterback. I can sit here and speak for everybody in the locker room and say we all support him one hundred percent. He's been one hell of a leader and football player for this team for a lot of years. So I support him 100 percent and I do not expect to be the starter.

"

Kubiak must make the decision that is best for the team. The Manning that took the field on Sunday isn't going to beat anybody. He needs to be healthy and focused, and that might take a game or two. 

It wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to start Osweiler against the Bears.