Broncos-Chiefs: Youth Providing a Spark for Resurgent Denver

Call it luck, call it ignorance, call it what you must, but the Broncos are quietly one of the hottest teams in the NFL.

One week after beating the New York Jets on the road 34-17, the Denver Broncos returned to the Mile-High City to a rowdy crowd and didn't disappoint.

Denver beat division rival Kansas City 24-17 to improve to 8-5 on the season, and with the Jets' second consecutive loss the Broncos claimed the third seed in the AFC as for now.

Despite the fact that the Chiefs were playing on the road and are a 2-11 team, the Broncos approached this game like it was their last, and it showed.

With the win, Denver broke a three-game home losing streak.

After a rocky start in which the Broncos quickly found themselves down 10-0 after a Maurice Leggett interception returned for a touchdown, Jay Cutler got his team back on track.

Peyton Hillis capped off an impressive drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 10-7.

Kansas City wasted no time taking those seven points back, and Tyler Thigpen connected with future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez on a pretty pass and catch.

The quick-strike ability of Jay Cutler and the Broncos aerial attack was on point, and Cutler capped off a long drive with a beautiful pitch-and-catch to wide receiver Brandon Marshall, cutting the Chiefs' halftime lead to 17-14.

But, with halftime came the exit of Hillis, who had 58 yards on eight carries. Hillis was optimistic about his condition, "I think maybe a contusion, maybe something that slight." 

Head Coach Mike Shanahan didn't share the same optimism, saying, "Any time it's a hamstring and they come off the field like he did today, normally it's a month at best,"

Shanahan said. "It didn't look good. I'm hoping it's not quite as bad as I anticipate, but I was not pleased watching him walk off the field."

The third quarter was a defensive battle that saw Broncos kicker Matt Prater go 1-for-2 on field goals, tying the game 17-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, another impressive Denver drive was capped off by a six-yard screen pass from Cutler to Marshall, providing the game's final score of 24-17. 

Kansas City had a chance to tie, but fell inches short as Dre Bly tackled quarterback Tyler Thigpen about six inches away from the goal line.

Denver is now down to its seventh string running back in Tatum Bell after the injury to Hillis, and also lost WR Brandon Stokley and LB Mario Haggan to injuries. Neither of the latter injuries are supposed to be very serious, but the Hillis injury is still in question.

The young Broncos are looking more and more like a legitimate contender, and have a big game coming up against Carolina next week.