Kansas City Chiefs Defense Steps Up and Shuts Down Broncos Pass Offense in Win

If there was one word that could sum the Kansas City Chiefs nail-biting 10-6 win over Denver on Sunday, it would have to be ugly.

There were 14 combined punts for both teams, two turnovers and 12 penalties, including eight called on the Chiefs for the game.

Both passing offenses struggled all day as Broncos QB Kyle Orton threw for only 117 yards and Chiefs QB Matt Cassel only managed to get 196 yards himself.

In a game where many thought it would be an offensive shootout, it turned into a physical, grind-it-out defensive game.

In a battle of defenses, in the end Kansas City got the last laugh.

Chiefs veteran linebacker Tamba Hali had two sacks, to go along with a key forced fumble and a fumble recovery late in the game when KC needed a defensive stop the most.

Rookie cornerback Javier Arenas also had a solid day as able to put needed pressure on Orton, sacking him twice in the game.

However, the story of the day was how the Chiefs were able to completely shut down the Broncos passing offense lead by Kyle Orton and his many receivers.

It all started with third-year cornerback Brandon Carr providing excellent man-to-man coverage all game long on Broncos star receiver Brandon Lloyd, who came into the day with the most receiving yards in the NFL this season.

Carr frustrated Lloyd all day by tipping away potential receptions, getting in his face once he get off the line, and just getting in his head for most of the game.

Once Carr was able to shut down Lloyd, the job of the Chiefs defense became that much easier as they could just sit back and blitz Orton from time to time on obvious passing situations, knowing that his top receiving target wasn't getting involved in the passing game.

Kansas City rookie safety Eric Berry also had a big day as he picked up eight tackles and two pass deflections for a secondary unit that seemed to have everything going their way today.

The young Chiefs are also finding different ways to win, rather than just pummeling opponents with a strong offensive attack, like they have done the past couple weeks.

In the end, the defensive effort by the Chiefs was just enough to pull off the win this week against the hated Denver Broncos, but KC will need this same kind of defensive intensity next week when they travel to play Phillip Rivers and a hot Chargers offense on the road.