KANSAS CITY — Only four days after defeating the Ravens at home in their season opener, the Broncos take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night in a game that might reveal more about Denver’s new offense — and Peyton Manning’s role.
Here are the inactives and top storylines for the Week 2 matchup:
INACTIVES
Safety Omar Bolden (foot), guard Shelley Smith, defensive end Kenny Anunike (knee), quarterback Trevor Siemian, linebacker Lerentee McCray, tight end Mitchell Henry and cornerback Lorenzo Doss.
Bolden injured his foot in Sunday’s opener and did not practice this week. In his absence, Andre Caldwell will start as the Broncos’ kick returner, and Josh Bush will see more time at safety.
Anunike, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery during training camp, was ruled out Wednesday.
And Smith will sit for the second consecutive game. James Ferentz will serve as the Broncos’ eighth offensive lineman.
Starting running back C.J. Anderson (ankle/toe), defensive end Malik Jackson (head injury) and safety Darian Stewart (groin) will all start.
Inactive for the Chiefs: QB Aaron Murray, CB Steven Nelson, LB Dezman Moses, OL Jeff Allen, TE Brian Parker, WR Frankie Hammond and DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
TOP STORYLINES
About that offense …
The Manning-Gary Kubiak offense was supposed to be a more balanced attack, but on Sunday, it was anything but. Manning took the bulk of his snaps in the shotgun, and the run game failed to produce much (69 yards), especially in the first half (25 yards). Manning finished 24-of-40 for 175 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception that Jimmy Smith returned for a score in the third quarter.
“We got out of whack, especially in the third quarter,” Kubiak said. “What did we end up running the ball? Twenty-five times, and throw it 40 times? We would like to be balanced. That’s one thing that we’d like to be, and hopefully we can get back there this week, but to be balanced you have to feel like you’re making some headway running the ball and we weren’t until the end of the game.”
The offensive line, taking its first live snaps together, looked shaky at best. Manning was sacked four times. The inconsistency among the front five was evident.
“I think that I was the worst of the group,” left guard Evan Mathis said Monday. “I would have liked us to be able to run the ball a little better. That kind of stuff is very valuable for it to happen where you can learn from it and not let it happen again.”
After the game, Manning gave himself a “fair” grade, and Kubiak later took the blame for not rotating more players.
The Broncos had only three days of walk-throughs to work out the kinks before facing the Chiefs, whose home stadium is among the loudest in the NFL (see the last item).
Pass-rushing galore
Kansas City has the 2014 sack leader in Justin Houston. Denver has Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. And Shane Ray. And Shaquil Barrett.
The stars of this matchup are on the defensive side, with Houston and Miller, both 2011 draft picks, on the verge of reaching 50 career sacks. One more for Miller (49 in 57 games) would make him the third-fastest to reach the mark in NFL history. One for Houston (49.5 in 61 games) would tie him with Tim Harris and DeMarcus Ware for the fifth-fastest.
Houston made a sack in the Chiefs’ opener against the Texans Sunday and made one for a loss of 5 yards when he faced the Broncos last November. Miller made two sacks in that game.
Return of Ward
Pro Bowl safety T.J. Ward is back after serving his one-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Theoretically, it should make the Broncos’ secondary better.
Last season at Kansas City, in Week 13, Ward made his second sack of the year to become the first Broncos safety since Brian Dawkins in 2011 to post multiple sacks in a season. He also registered a team-high six tackles in the victory.
“T.J.’s the leader,” Kubiak said Monday. “I’m very proud of David (Bruton), how David went in and played. (That we) still played the way we did defensively says a lot about the group and the depth of the group. We look forward to getting him back.”
Bruton made three tackles (two solo) and defended two passes in Ward’s place Sunday, and assisted on Stewart’s late interception.
The Noise Factor
Last September, the crowd at Arrowhead broke the Seahawks’ record for loudest roar by reaching 142.2 decibels.
Great for the fans. Not so great for the Broncos — especially Manning.
Kubiak brushed off concern, but he made the noise an emphasis in the team’s walk-through Tuesday by having the offense play in the field house so he could create as loud an environment as possible.
HOW TO WATCH
Broncos (1-0) at Chiefs (1-0), Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Kickoff: 6:25 p.m.
TV: NFL Network; CBS (Jim Nantz, play-by-play; Phil Simms, color; Tracy Wolfson, sideline)
Radio: WestwoodOne Sports; KOA (850 AM); The Fox (103.5 FM)
RECORDS TO WATCH
• Peyton Manning: Needs 134 passing yards to join Brett Favre as the only players in NFL history to have 70,000 career yards. Manning has 69,866.
• Von Miller: Needs one sack to become the third-fastest player in NFL history to make 50 career sacks.
• Aqib Talib: Needs one interception to tie Asante Samuel (29) for the most by a cornerback since 2008, when Talib entered the league.
• C.J. Anderson: Needs 84 rushing yards to become the 30th player to rush for 1,000 in his career as a Bronco.
• DeMarcus Ware: Needs one sack to pass Rickey Jackson for possession of No. 13 on the NFL’s all-time list.
• Team: Needs a win at Kansas City to set the record for most consecutive divisional road victories. The Broncos have won 12 divisional road games dating to 2011 to tie San Francisco (1987-90) for the longest streak in NFL history.
SERIES HISTORY
Meetings: 109
Broncos: 53-56-0 (Home: 35-20-0; Away: 18-36-0)
Recent streak: Broncos have won past six meetings with the Chiefs — three at home, three away
Last game: Nov. 30, 2014; Broncos 29-16
C.J. Anderson ran for 168 yards, his second consecutive 160-yard performance; Manning passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns; T.J. Ward made a team-high six tackles; DeMarcus Ware had an interception and a sack, and the Broncos’ defense as a whole recorded six sacks.
CONNECTIONS
• Broncos P Britton Colquitt and Chiefs DB Eric Berry played two seasons (2007-08) together at Tennessee. Colquitt is the younger brother of Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt.
• Broncos OLB Shane Ray was born in Kansas City and played at Missouri, where he was teammates with Chiefs OL Mitch Morse, from 2012-14.
• Broncos T Ryan Harris and DE Vance Walker played for the Chiefs in 2014.
NEXT UP
Sun., Sept. 27 at Detroit, 6:30 p.m. (NBC)
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or
