Records: Broncos 7-4, Chiefs 3-8
Last week: Kansas City had its two-game winning streak snapped with a 43-14 loss at San Diego.
Who’s hot: Jamaal Charles is the Chiefs’ top tailback now that Larry Johnson is gone, and he is averaging 5.2 yards this season. Charles rushed 14 times for 93 yards — 6.6 yards per carry — Sunday against the Chargers.
Who’s not: Kansas City’s defense ranks in the bottom six in the 32-team NFL in the major categories of points (25.6, 28th), total yards (392.9, 30th), passing yards (258.4, 30th) and rushing yards (134.5, 27th) allowed per game.
Key stat: 14 — sacks recorded by the Kansas City defense. Broncos outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil has a league-leading 14 sacks on his own.
FYI: The Broncos are 1-15 in December games played at Kansas City. That includes Mike Shanahan’s 0-6 record and Dan Reeves’ 0-5 record in those games.
Coachspeak: “From my vantage point, it was an opportunity to see if we could take another little baby step. We didn’t, clearly.” — Kansas City coach Todd Haley, on his team’s road blowout in San Diego
Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post
