Regular Season Game #13

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Total

Kansas City

10

7

0

0

17

Denver

7

7

3

7

24

Cutler Leads Broncos to Rare Home Win, Closer to AFC West Title

Regular Season Game #13

NFL.com l Video Highlights

Chiefs CB Maurice Leggett celebrates after returning an interception 27-yards for a touchdown.

Dec. 7- The Denver Broncos keep losing players, but finally found a way to win at home.

Jay Cutler guided the Broncos on a tiebreaking 95-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter and Denver's defense stuffed Kansas City quarterback Tyler Thigpen on fourth-and-goal to rally past the Chiefs 24-17 on Sunday.

The Broncos (8-5) snapped a three-game skid at home and put themselves on the cusp of ending a three-year playoff drought. They lead second-place San Diego by three games in the middling AFC West.

The bad news for the Broncos was they lost bulldozing rookie running back Peyton Hillis to a strained right hamstring. He's their sixth tailback to go down this season.

Cutler completed 32 of 40 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, both of them to Brandon Marshall, including a 6-yarder for the winner early in the fourth quarter.

Cutler's only bad pass all day was returned by rookie nickel back Maurice Leggett for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter that gave Kansas City (2-11) a 10-0 lead.

After Hillis' 18-yard TD run, Tony Gonzalez restored the Chiefs' double-digit lead with a 13-yard touchdown grab.

The Broncos pulled to 17-14 at halftime on Marshall's 12-yard TD in the back corner of the end zone and tied it in the third quarter on Matt Prater's chip-shot field goal.

After punter Dustin Colquitt pinned the Broncos at their 5, the Broncos drove 95 yards in a dozen plays. The payoff came when Cutler hit Marshall at the line of scrimmage on a bubble screen and Marshall plowed his way through linebacker Rocky Boiman at the 2 and danced into the end zone for a 24-17 lead.

Thigpen drove the Chiefs all the way to the Broncos 5, where his draw on fourth-and-goal was snuffed out by cornerback Dre' Bly at the 1.

Three plays later, Cutler found Marshall for a 19-yard gain to the 20, then hit tight end Tony Scheffler for the first down that allowed the Broncos to salt away their first win at home since Oct. 5.

It wasn't all good news for Denver, which lost its sixth tailback when Hillis strained his right hamstring after scoring his fifth touchdown in the last four games. Hillis, a rookie from Arkansas, had rejuvenated the broken Broncos running game after a series of injuries prompted coach Mike Shanahan to move him over from fullback.

Gonzalez caught five passes for 73 yards. He didn't have to deal with Champ Bailey, who missed his sixth straight game with a torn groin.

Bailey was joined on the sideline by Hillis, who was hurt when he went up high for a pass and was hit by two defenders as he came down with the 11-yard reception at the Chiefs 34. Before getting hurt, Hillis rushed eight times for 58 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards. There was no immediate word on the severity of Hillis' injury.

Denver also lost wide receiver Brandon Stokley (ankle) and backup linebacker Mario Haggan (knee) and Kansas City lost center Rudy Niswanger (knee).

Individual Statistics

Kansas City Passing:

Tyler Thigpen 17 of 32 for 187 yards and 1 touchdown

Denver Passing:

Jay Cutler 32 of 40 for 286 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception

Kansas City Rushing:

Larry Johnson 11 carries for 36 yards

Tyler Thigpen 6 carries for 34 yards

Jamaal Charles 1 carry for 13 yards

Denver Rushing:

Peyton Hillis 8 carries for 58 yards and 1 touchdown

Tatum Bell 11 carries for 52 yards

Jay Cutler 8 carries for 16 yards

Eddie Royal 3 carries for 13 yards

Kansas City Receiving:

Dwayne Bowe 7 receptions for 96 yards

Tony Gonzalez 5 receptions for 73 yards and 1 touchdown

Jamaal Charles 3 receptions for 12 yards

Jeff Webb 1 reception for 8 yards

Jackie Battle 1 reception for -2 yards

Denver Receiving:

Brandon Marshall 11 receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns

Tony Scheffler 5 receptions for 61 yards

Eddie Royal 6 receptions for 42 yards

Daniel Graham 3 receptions for 32 yards

Brandon Stokley 2 receptions for 19 yards

Tatum Bell 2 receptions for 16 yards

Darrell Jackson 2 receptions for 14 yards

Peyton Hillis 1 reception for 11 yards

Kansas City Tackles-Assists-Sacks:

Jarrad Page 8-1-0, Brandon Flowers 7-0-0, Derrick Johnson 6-0-0, Bernard Pollard 6-2-0, Brandon Carr 5-0-0, Tamba Hali 5-1-0, Rocky Boiman 4-2-0, Glenn Dorsey 3-1-0, Jason Babin 2-1-0, Tank Tyler 2-1-0, Demorrio Williams 2-0-0, Alfonso Boone 1-0-0, Ricardo Colclough 1-1-0, Maurice Leggett 1-2-0

Denver Tackles-Assists-Sacks:

Wesley Woodyard 7-1-0, Josh Bell 5-1-0, Dre' Bly 3-0-0, Ebenezer Ekuban 3-0-0, Jamie Winborn 3-1-0, Josh Barrett 2-0-0, Vernon Fox 2-0-0, Elvis Dumervil 1-0-1, Mario Haggan 1-0-0, Marquand Manuel 1-3-0, Karl Paymah 1-0-0, Dewayne Robertson 1-0-0, Marcus Thomas 1-1-0, Jack Williams 1-0-0, Nate Webster 0-1-0

Kansas City Fumble Recoveries:

None

Denver Fumble Recoveries:

None

Kansas City Interceptions:

Maurice Leggett 1 for 27 yards and 1 touchdown

Denver Interceptions:

None

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