KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The defense rested at 10:26 p.m. Sunday night. The verdict was in before the trial was over.
It wasn’t a shutout by the Broncos, but the defense put the deep freeze on Kansas City.
, restricting and restraining them to a not-so-grand total of 151 meager yards in their own house.
Through three quarters, the Chiefs had 66 yards on offense. It was rout 66.
Errorhead Stadium, which held the noise-decibel record briefly last season, was hushed up throughout, and it was nearly empty midway through the fourth quarter on the cold-as-ice, end-of-November evening.
The Broncos permitted just 16 points, their lowest yield of the season.
Broncos coach John Fox said, “It’s only fun when you win.”
Sunday night was fun for these Broncos. Be aware of, and beware of, DeMarcus Ware and this defense — which is missing two cornerbacks and two linebackers, but keep on playing remarkably well. John Elway spent more than $100 million during the offseason to improve the Broncos’ defense.
He got his money’s worth Sunday night, starting with Ware and continuing with Win-where-why-what-and-Ward.
The Broncos’ Force Field has given up 17, 20, 17, 17, 17, 21, 17, 22 and now 16 points in nine games. Those numbers are right out of the 1977 Broncos’ defensive playbook, when coordinator Joe Collier posted a big “17” in the team meeting room, signifying the Broncos should not be lighted up for more than that number.
The 2014 version allowed only 30-something to the Miami Dolphins a week ago.
With a similar symphony in Orange, the Broncos can win in San Diego and Cincinnati, and even in New England and Glendale, Ariz.
The offense and Peyton Manning have been the Broncos’ workhorses all season. The defense carried the heavy load again Sunday.
Here are some of the things the Broncos did against the Chiefs:
Jamaal Charles, one of the premier running backs in the NFL, was held to 35 yards on 10 runs. K.C. wound up with 41 yards on the hard ground. The Broncos are the best team in the league against the run. Ask around.
Quarterback Alex Smith, who is known for managing a game and scrambling when in trouble and rarely throwing an interception, was picked off, was sacked six times, was held to 15 completions for 153 yards and most of those yards were meaningless late in the game.
Smith did throw two touchdown passes, but seldom hurt the Broncos with his arm and never with his legs. His long-gainer was five yards.
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe might as well have spent the night barbecuing in the parking lot. Two receptions for 18 yards.
The Chiefs were pathetic on offense, but Denver was the guilty party.
Here are some more things:
The Chiefs were 1-of-9 on third down. They had two rushing first downs. Smith was sacked for losses of 43 yards. The average-per-pass attempt was, ugh, 3.8 yards.
They didn’t make a first down until past the middle of the second quarter. They had negative offensive yardage a long time into the game and not long before the Broncos had finished scoring on their first four offensive possessions.
At halftime, the Chiefs had four first downs, 59 net yards and seven points.
Ware looked like he was everywhere — finishing with a sack (he could have been credited with half-sacks twice more) and, get this, the third interception of his notable career. For the second time in Kansas City games this year, Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton batted a pass with his ham-hock hand, and this one deflected to Ware.
Playing without cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Kayvon Webster, plus linebackers Danny Trevathan and Nate Irving, the Broncos never let up.
This is a defense team Clarence Darrow and Randy Gradishar would be proud of.
Woody Paige: woody@woodypaige.com or
