KANSAS CITY, MO. — The Chiefs’ defense didn’t see this coming. They really didn’t know what hit them Sunday in a 27-11 loss to the Broncos.
The Broncos came to Arrowhead Stadium with Selvin Young, an undrafted rookie running back, who had made one career start. They were without Pro Bowl wide receiver Javon Walker, who is recovering from knee surgery.
And second-year quarterback Jay Cutler was playing hurt and making his first start in Arrowhead Stadium, normally a house of horrors for young passers.
They might as well have been John Elway, Terrell Davis and Rod Smith.
“How can you look past an NFL ballclub?” Chiefs safety Jarrad Page said. “It doesn’t matter that they’ve got guys missing. It’s a team that had its back against the wall. They’re going to come out and play.”
Denver (4-5) pulled into a tie with the Chiefs in the muddled AFC West by playing old-fashioned Broncos ball against a Kansas City defense that had trouble stopping Young, who ran for a career-best 109 yards in place of starter Travis Henry.
Cutler, playing on a bruised leg, impersonated Jake Plummer by rolling out and finding wide-open receivers in the Chiefs’ zone defense. And he picked up yards with a couple of bootlegs, including a 9-yard gain for a first down in the fourth quarter and a 13-yard scramble.
And Brandon Marshall, now the Broncos’ featured receiver in place of Walker, owned the Chiefs’ secondary in the first half with six catches for 85 yards.
“They definitely capitalized off our mistakes,” said linebacker Derrick Johnson, who had 11 tackles and an interception. “We gave them a couple of things. It was one of those games where you think you’re supposed to win. We’re definitely the better team, but they were better today.”
Johnson warned his teammates about his former college teammate Young, who helped Texas win the 2005 BCS national championship. Sure enough, the first time Young touched the ball, he bolted 34 yards, and when the Chiefs’ defense came off the field after a Denver field goal, the linemen incurred line coach Tim Krumrie’s wrath.
In the third quarter, after Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard was intercepted in K.C. territory, Young swept right and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 20-yard run when safety Bernard Pollard and others lost containment.
“Kansas City is probably surprised by his speed,” Denver coach Mike Shanahan said of Young. “He’s a little bit faster than most people think. He came in with a lot of pressure on him, and he reacted well.”
So did Cutler, who completed 17-of-29 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown in his 14th NFL start. Going into Sunday’s game, first- or second-year quarterbacks making their initial start in Arrowhead Stadium were 2-21.
That includes Elway, Plummer and Brian Griese, who as Broncos lost their first starts at Arrowhead.
“We sure didn’t expect that,” said safety Greg Wesley. “It just goes back to guys doing what they’re supposed to do and making plays. We didn’t make the plays we needed to, and they did.”
