Broncos dominate Chiefs 41-7

DENVER - Feel free to wonder how different the Denver Broncos’ season would have been had they played the first 12 games like they did Sunday.

The Broncos were dominant in a 41-7 win over Kansas City. Jay Cutler threw four touchdowns with no interceptions, the running game had 215 yards and the defense gave up less than 1 yard per rushing attempt.

The Chiefs, who have now lost six straight, put forth a miserable performance.

Denver’s win at Invesco Field at Mile High was what the Broncos envisioned in themselves when hopes were so high in the offseason.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t start from Week 1 with this type of explosiveness,” said receiver Brandon Marshall, who had 10 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. “Hopefully we can keep this thing going and sneak into that playoff hunt.”

Denver’s playoff hopes are still bleak. San Diego came back from a 17-3 deficit at Tennessee to win in overtime, maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC West over the 6-7 Broncos. The Chargers finished their comeback after the Broncos game kicked off.

“When I left they had 80 yards to go just to tie it up,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “I was obviously not very pleased at the outcome.”

Because of tiebreakers, the Broncos need to beat San Diego on Dec. 24 and have Oakland beat the Chargers on Dec. 30 to have any chance at the division title. Denver still has a chance at a wild card berth but needs help.

For one day, the Broncos were just happy to play a complete game.

“We’re not looking at the playoffs, we’re not looking at what San Diego does. We could care less,” Cutler said. “We’re going to finish these games out one at a time and see where the chips fall.”

Denver set the tone in the first quarter. Selvin Young’s 50-yard run set up Cutler’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley. Kansas City couldn’t get a first down on its first possession, and after a punt, the Broncos drove 84 yards for another score. Travis Henry’s 1-yard touchdown run put Denver ahead 14-0.

Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez scored a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter, bypassing tackle attempts by Broncos defensive backs Dre Bly and John Lynch. That was one of the rare miscues for Denver’s defense.

The Broncos allowed 16 rushing yards on 17 attempts, gave up 132 passing yards and sacked Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle four times. Broncos end Elvis Dumervil had three of those sacks. In the third quarter, the Broncos allowed 1 yard.

“It was a great performance and hopefully a building block for what we can be,” Lynch said.

The Chiefs made the Broncos look pretty good at times. On one play in the third quarter, Cutler tripped and fell in the backfield. He got up, and with no Chiefs pressuring him, ran for a 21-yard gain. That led to a 2-yard touchdown grab by tight end Daniel Graham to give Denver a 27-7 lead.

The Broncos’ 37-point win was their largest margin of victory ever against the Chiefs.

“We flat out got our butts whooped,” Chiefs end Jared Allen said.

The Broncos have a quick turnaround before playing at Houston on Thursday. The performance Sunday showed the Broncos still believe they have something to play for.

“Until they tell us we can’t get in, we’re playing to get in the playoffs,” Stokley said.