KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Stephen Alexander and Jeb Putzier were the tight ends. Charlie Adams was the No. 3 receiver. Courtney Brown was a defensive end. Kyle Johnson was a frequently used fullback.
Jake Plummer was the quarterback.
It’s been so long since the Broncos participated in the playoffs, only three starting players remain from that 2005 season.
It should be safe to plan for those January football parties. After embarrassing the Kansas City Chiefs 44-13 on an otherwise gloomy December afternoon — that’s right, December — at Arrowhead Stadium — that’s right, Arrowhead — the Broncos are in great position to extend their season beyond the regular 16 games.
The victory was only the Broncos’ second in 17 December games at Kansas City. Win here late and the playoffs must no longer be a mirage for a Broncos team that has suffered through a postseason drought of three consecutive seasons.
The Broncos are 8-4 with home games remaining against 4-8 Oakland and 3-9 Kansas City.
The magic win total of 10 that is so common among playoff qualifiers appears to be within a bent-elbow reach away.
“You’re counting too fast, big man,” said Broncos cornerback Andre Goodman, who made an interception that set up one touchdown and returned a fumble to score another. “You’re counting waaaay too fast, big man. We’ve got a big one next week. I know what you want to get into, but I’m not going there.”
Where have you gone, Lenny Walls? The only starters remaining from that Broncos’ 2005 team are left guard Ben Hamilton, linebacker D.J. Williams and left cornerback Champ Bailey. And only Williams and Bailey are starting today.
But never mind whether the Broncos can make the playoffs. It’s time to get greedy. Do the Broncos have what it takes to beat Peyton Manning and the 12-0 Indianapolis Colts next week in the domed facility that is Lucas Oil Stadium?
“I think we match up better than we have in the past,” Williams said. “We have a whole different group of players, plus we play the 3-4. But we all know no matter how it looks on paper, we’ll have to play our ‘A’ game because they’ve got a great team and a great quarterback.”
The running game may be the key. The Broncos rushed for 245 yards against the Chiefs. Correll Buckhalter had 114 yards on only 11 carries through three quarters, and Knowshon Moreno rushed for two touchdowns.
If the Broncos can sustain the turf game, they can play keep-away from Manning. And when Manning does have the ball, he will find that Denver isn’t Roc Alexander’s secondary anymore.
Perhaps Elvis Dumervil, Bailey and the Broncos’ fifth-ranked pass defense can negate the Colts’ strength. Dumervil ran down Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel in the second quarter for his NFL-best 15th sack of the season. Unlike the Broncos’ teams that took trips to Indy earlier this decade, Dumervil offers the chance to apply pocket pressure on Manning, and Bailey appears to have considerably improved secondary mates.
Goodman and safety Renaldo Hill, signed as free agents from Miami during the offseason, each picked off Cassel in the third quarter to set up game-clinching scores.
And another Broncos safety, Brian Dawkins, blew up a Kansas City first-and-goal-from-the-1 chance in the second quarter by tackling Jamaal Charles for a 3-yard loss, then delivering a blindside blitz to disrupt Cassel’s third-down pass attempt.
“It’s not for one guy,” Dawkins said. “Champ does not have to be all over the place. Elvis doesn’t have to make five sacks. There’s always going to be somebody to make the play. To me, that’s a telltale sign of a good defense.”
Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton had three turnovers against the Chiefs, the only blemish in an otherwise dominant performance. The last time the Broncos were in a playoff game, against Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game, Plummer had four turnovers in a 34-17 loss.
In that game, Wesley Duke got the only start of his career. Make no mistake, these are not the same Broncos who will be taking on Peyton Manning next week.
“One thing I think you can see is you have to throw all those past records out,” Orton said. “This is a completely different team. I think we know what we’re up against. It’s a great team and a great quarterback, and we’ll go out there and give it our best shot and expect to win.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
