In a move designed to get his playmaking ability on the field, Denver started rookie Darrent Williams at right cornerback in place of Lenny Walls.
However, with the team playing often in the nickel defense and with Champ Bailey out with a hamstring injury, Walls was on the field frequently.
But the promotion is major for Williams, the No. 56 overall pick in the draft. Denver coach Mike Shanahan said the move was made because Williams “deserved it.”
“This was a big game for me, and it was just exciting to be able to make my first start on Monday night,” Williams said. “Hopefully, I keep taking advantage of my chances.”
Walls said he was “very disappointed” with his demotion, but he said he won’t get down.
“I will regain my ‘A’ game,” Walls said. “I will keep going.”
Plummer holds for Elam
Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer replaced Todd Sauerbrun as the holder for kicker Jason Elam. One reason for the switch was Sauerbrun had added kicking off to his punting task and thus was busy enough. Another was Sauerbrun had struggled with holding, a thankless chore that is tougher than it looks.
Plummer had been a holder previously in his career, but never with the Broncos.
“He’s a natural,” Shanahan said.
Elam was wide in missing two 53-yard field goals last week, but against the Chiefs he kicked a 51-yarder out of Plummer’s hold so true down the middle, it hit the camera hovering above the crossbar.
Sharpe on sideline
Shannon Sharpe hung out briefly on the Broncos’ sideline before the game. The NFL’s all-time leading receiver among tight ends, at least until Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez nears the end of his career, Sharpe was in town for a cellphone appearance and decided to watch his former teammates play Monday night.
Now a CBS-TV studio commentator, Sharpe thought the Broncos would win, citing Shanahan as the difference.
“No matter kind of team the Chiefs have had, Mike usually figured out how to beat them here,” Sharpe said. “I don’t see tonight being any different. But they have to start running the ball.”
Sharpe was a prophet. The Broncos won handily and, led by Mike Anderson (98 yards on 20 carries), they rushed for 221 yards, its seventh-best total since the start of the 2000 season.
Speed in the scheme of things
The Broncos held Kansas City to just three points until permitting a garbage-time touchdown.
“I do think over the last four or five years, this is the best group I’ve been with,” Broncos defensive end Trevor Pryce said. “The thing is the team speed.”
Like most great defensive teams, the Broncos at times seem to have 13 men on the field with all the pressure they bring up front, yet opposing receivers are either covered or quickly tackled in the secondary.
“We’re playing at a great tempo,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “We’re trusting our scheme. It’s an aggressive scheme. We come after you. And we have a lot of talent.”
Griffin on inactive list
With tailback Tatum Bell healthy, running back Quentin Griffin was inactive. Griffin returned to the Broncos last Tuesday after being cut Sept. 3.
Joining Griffin on Denver’s inactive list were wide receivers David Terrell and Todd Devoe, cornerback Karl Paymah, defensive tackle Monsanto Pope, tight ends Nate Jackson and Wesley Duke and defensive end Marco Coleman.
Defensive tackle Demetrin Veal played in place of Pope for the second consecutive week. Coleman also was inactive for the second consecutive week. Jackson and Devoe were the only Denver players inactive because of injury. Both are likely to be healthy this week.
Working overtime
While the Denver players relaxed between meetings Monday before their game against the Chiefs, the Denver coaching staff worked on a game plan to use Sunday at Jacksonville.
“You’ve got to work ahead in a short week,” Shanahan said.
Chiefs can’t keep up
The Chiefs’ failure to produce more than a field goal in the first 30 minutes wasn’t for lack of effort. They held a time-of-possession advantage of 9:14 to 5:46 in the first quarter and 10:27 to 4:33 in the second.
“Just when we’d get something going, we’d get a dumb penalty,” Chiefs quarterback Trent Green said. “We’d get a nice run or big completion and then get a penalty. We just didn’t help ourselves.”
Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil joked that the only “advantage” his team had was penalties. They committed 13 to the Broncos’ four.
“Quite a few of them were holding,” Vermeil said. “We couldn’t block them, so we were grabbing them. There were way too many penalties, and there’s no excuse for it. Every time we got something going, we had penalties that stopped us.”
Third-down misery
Kansas City was just 4-of-15 on third downs.
“There was no rhythm, and that’s the one thing we kept saying in the huddle, ‘We need to try to get some rhythm going,”‘ Green said. “Credit them. Credit their defense. They just outplayed us.”
In comparison, Kansas City’s defense forced Denver into just one third-down situation in the first half and eight for the game.
“We just did not play well … just multiple things, multiple wounds,” Vermeil said. “Best thing about the game is that I don’t think we got anybody injured. We got some feelings hurt, but I don’t thing anybody got injured.”
Footnotes
Denver tight end Stephen Alexander was fined $5,000 for unnecessary roughness against San Diego last week. He said he will appeal the fine. “They said I was late,” Alexander said. “Everyone I talked to said I should appeal and I will.” … Chiefs return man Dante Hall, who returned one punt for 10 yards and was held to 125 return yards on five kickoff returns, declined comment. … NASCAR rookie driver Kyle Busch, who finished second in Sunday’s Nextel Cup race in Dover, Del., attended the game along with several of his crew members at North Carolina-based Hendrick Motorsports. The group watched pregame warm-ups on the Broncos’ sideline. …
Trevor Pryce had an outstanding game. He put constant pressure on Green. With Williams playing all the time on defense, Charlie Adams took over the return duties as the game wore on … Linebacker Louis Green will have a MRI for a hamstring injury … Comedian Carols Mencia was in Denver’s locker room after the game … Broncos linebacker Louis Green injured his left hamstring early in the first quarter and did not return. … Kansas City veteran offensive tackle Willie Roaf was inactive because of a hamstring injury.
Staff writers Mike Chambers and Jim Armstrong contributed to this report.
EYE ON THE JAGUARS
Denver at Jacksonville, 11 a.m., Sunday
* For the record: The Jaguars are 2-1, second in the AFC South
* Last game: Won 26-20 at the New York Jets on Sunday on a 36-yard pass play from Byron Leftwich to receiver Jimmy Smith.
* Streaking: Denver is 0-2 at Jacksonville. The Broncos lost 7-6 last season on a fumble by Quentin Griffin at the Jaguars’ 21 in the final seconds. Denver lost 27-24 at Jacksonville in 1999.
* Who’s hot: Defensive end Paul Spicer had six tackles and three sacks against the Jets. Spicer suffered a broken leg last year against Denver.
* Who’s not: Defensive end Reggie Hayward has been slow in Jacksonville so far. Signed from Denver as a free agent in the offseason to a contract that included a $10 million signing bonus, Hayward hasn’t been a difference-maker in Jacksonville. He has one sack. He led Denver with 10 1/2 sacks last season.
* Key stat: Jacksonville’s defense allowed only 168 total yards against the Jets. New York was just 3-for-12 on third down.
* FYI: The Broncos are scheduled to wear white jerseys Sunday and the Jaguars will wear teal jerseys. The Jaguars had the Seahawks wear colored jerseys in the heat and humidity of opening day.
* Injury update: The Jaguars reported no major injuries against the Jets.
* Coach speak: “We wanted to give him the ball more, and we did,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said of running back Fred Taylor, a major factor in the victory over the Jets. “He’s our workhorse. … The more you give him the ball, the better it is for us.”
– Bill Williamson
