Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos, INVESCO Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
Sunday, November 14, 2010, 4:05 pm EDT, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Chiefs -2.5
Current Line: Chiefs -1
Opening Total: 42
Current Total: 43
Money Line: Chiefs -120 / Broncos +100
The Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) will play their second straight road game against an AFC West opponent when they visit the Denver Broncos (2-6) on Sunday. The Chiefs (-1) have dropped their last three road games following a 23-20 overtime loss at Oakland last week while the Broncos are riding a four-game losing streak and coming off their bye week.
Denver has also lost its last three home games since knocking off Seattle 31-14 in Week 2 and is in danger of its first four-game home losing streak in 20 years. The team returned home from a 24-16 loss to San Francisco in London prior to the bye and now hopes to slow down Kansas City’s top-ranked run offense, which is averaging 179.6 yards per game.
The Broncos own the NFL’s second-worst run defense, surrendering 154.6 yards per game on the ground. 49ers running back Frank Gore burned them for 118 yards on 29 carries and scored a touchdown in their last game.
The Chiefs hope to take advantage of this situation after getting held in check by the Raiders. Running backs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for 85 yards on 29 carries and failed to reach the end zone, forcing quarterback Matt Cassel to try to win the game. Cassel kept KC in the game, completing 20 of 35 passes for 216 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Charles had the best game for a running back in franchise history the last time he visited Invesco Field, rushing for a career-high 259 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-24 win there back on January 3. Denver got trampled by Oakland in its last home game before the trip to England, as the Raiders rushed for 328 yards in a 59-14 rout.
While the Chiefs will look to run the ball offensively, the Broncos might look to air it out in hopes of forcing Kansas City to keep up with their pace. Quarterback Kyle Orton has thrown for more than 300 yards in five of the team’s last seven games, although that obviously has not translated to wins with a 2-5 mark. Running back Knowshon Moreno is finally healthy and gives the team another weapon out of the backfield to try to keep defenses honest.
Five of the last six meetings between these teams have gone OVER the total, with the winner of each game last year scoring 44 points. The OVER is also 11-2 in Denver’s last 13 games overall.
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