Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the NFL clash between the
Kansas City Chiefs and the
Denver Broncos.
We begin week two of the NFL season at Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs host their AFC West divisional rivals the Broncos in an important clash, which could well define the seasons of both teams.
The Broncos have had a stranglehold over the AFC West for the past four seasons, and they have dominated since the arrival of
Peyton Manning in 2012, losing just once to their rivals in 18 matches. Their displays in the division have helped them secure their playoff berth and a regular home fixture in the post-season, which has cost the Chiefs in their bid to reach the later rounds of the playoffs.
Andy Reid's men have put pressure on the Broncos since the head coach's arrival in the 2013 season, but they have failed to beat their bitter rivals, falling to four successive defeats. However, the club's performance in their season-opening win against the Houston Texans suggested that this could be the year that they can finally clinch the AFC West crown.
The Broncos' defense proved to be a potent weapon against the Baltimore Ravens in their victory over John Harbaugh's men. They only allowed two field goals to be scored by Joe Flacco and his offense at Sports Authority Field, while they also notched the crucial touchdown when Aqib Talib intercepted Flacco and returned the ball for deciding score.
Manning struggled immensely in his side's opener as he threw for just 175 yards and saw an interception returned for a touchdown by Jimmy Smith, adding further fuel to the fire to suggest that his play is in decline. The eyes of the world will be on the 39-year-old tonight to see how he responds to the criticism, as another poor display could be the beginning of the end for the future Hall of Famer.
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has been widely maligned for his underwhelming displays in his first two seasons with the club as he has just fallen short of guiding the club to the second round of the playoffs. However, he came out firing in the first week of the season with a three-touchdown performance against the Texans. If he can keep up that form, it may be enough to guide the club to the AFC West crown.
The Chiefs have won the coin toss and Manning will start with the ball tonight. It's very loud in Arrowhead Stadium, which will make communication very hard for the Broncos' offense.
Manning and his offense will start at the 20 as Colquitt's kick sails out of the endzone.
Anderson finds a gap in the line on the right side of the field and breaks a tackle to run for 14 yards to get his side moving on offense.
The Broncos' drive comes to an end as Manning throws short for Sanders, but he gets brought down by Peters short of the first down marker, which forces Denver to punt. Colquitt's punt is collected by Thomas and taken back to the 20-yard line of the Chiefs. Anderson struggled on first and second down on the second series as he was stacked up at the line, if the Chiefs can continue to stop him like that, they could be in for a successful evening.
Charles gets the handoff from Smith on first down and weaves his way through tackles for a seven-yard gain, and then gets the first down with a carry for six yards. Solid start from the running back.
Smith fires the ball over the middle for O'Shaughnessy over the middle and the tight end carries the ball for 24 yards to take it over midfield. Add 15 yards on to the play as Smith is clattered late and at his feet by Ware, and is very fortunate to escape without injury there. Dangerous play from the linebacker.
Smith throws the ball short again and Maclin finds space in the defense for a 12-yard gain to edge the home side close to the redzone. An excellent start by the quarterback.
Charles runs up the middle for the Chiefs and gets seven yards on the carry, and Kligo commits a penalty this time to move the home side right on to the four-yard line.
FUMBLE! Disaster for the home side as Charles fumbles the ball as he tried to weave his way past Stewart on the two-yard line, but the safety managed to knock the ball loose and Jackson jumped on the ball for the visitors. How costly could that play be?
SACK! Manning goes down on first down as Devito sacks him for a four-yard loss, while Anderson gets nowhere on second down as he runs straight into a wall of players. The 39-year-old goes deep on third down, looking for Sanders over the top, but his pass falls incomplete. Britton Colquitt punts the ball to the 42-yard line, but a penalty knocks the Chiefs back to the 27.
Smith goes deep over the middle and connects with his tight end Travis Kelce for a 15-yard gain to take the Chiefs to the 45-yard line, after Charles had ran for three yards on first down.
SACKS! Smith goes down twice in the space of two plays as Ware drags him down for a four-yard loss and then Miller gets him in the pocket for a five-yard loss. The pass-rush for the Broncos has been impressive so far this evening. Dustin Colquitt's punt sails 58 yards down inside the 10-yard line to back Manning and his offense up on the edge of their own endzone.
Manning comes up with a big completion for the visitors as he moves to the left and fires the ball over Peters into the hands of Sanders for a 14-yard gain on third down. The Chiefs were coming after him hard there, but he managed to move and put the ball on the spot for the wideout.
SACK! Manning goes down for the second time of the night as Houston brushes aside Harris at right tackle and takes him to the ground on third down to kill the Broncos' promising drive. Caldwell had got six yards on first down on a short pass, but that was as good as it got in that series for the visitors. Colquitt will punt when the second quarter begins.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: Denver Broncos 0-0 Kansas City Chiefs
FUMBLE! Thomas collects the punt from Colquitt and fumbles the ball under a hit from Barrett and Davis gathers it for the visitors to set them up inside Chiefs' territory for the first time of the night.
Manning goes short on first down to Demaryius Thomas down the right side, but the Broncos get stopped short on second and third down as Anderson tries to plow into the line to get the yardage he needs, but the Chiefs hold firm. Kubiak keeps his offense out on the field on fourth down and they look to have the first down before a timeout was called from the visitors' sideline. Denver try again on fourth down, but Sanders gets the ball on an endaround and is stopped for no gain by Parker. Huge stop by the home side.
The Chiefs get handed a huge favour by Miller as he races through the line, but the whistle has already been blown for a penalty against the home side. However, the linebacker still decides to take Smith down and is called for a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer.
The Broncos get hit with another 15-yard penalty as Jackson slams into the back of Charles after he was tackled, it was needless and it moves the home side into the Broncos' territory.
TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 0-7 Kansas City Chiefs (Charles)
Charles gets the handoff from Smith and he charges through the line. He is then confronted by Ward, but he manages to cut back to the left side of the field to get behind blocks from Maclin and Wilson to break over the line for the 34-yard score. Santos adds the extra point to hand his side a seven-point lead.
Manning will start at the 20-yard line as Colquitt's kick sails out of the endzone.
Denver get moving immediately as Manning fires an out route to Thomas for a seven-yard gain, while the quarterback then fires a short completion to Green over on the sideline to move the chains with a six-yard reception.
INTERCEPTION & TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 0-14 Kansas City Chiefs (Peters)
Manning throws his second pick-six of the season as tries to find Thomas over the middle, but Peters waits on the route and makes the interception. He has a clear field ahead of him and he returns the ball all the way for the 55-yard scored. Santos adds the extra point to take the Chiefs into a 14-0 lead.
The Broncos will start at the 20-yard line.
Manning gets back on track with a completion for 19 yards over the middle to Thomas to take his side to the 40-yard line, but he got extremely fortunate to escape without a second pick of the night as Josh Mauga should have intercepted his pass on first down but he dropped the ball.
Manning goes back to Sanders for a nine-yard completion to get a first down at midfield as he the receiver manages to beat fend off the coverage of Fleming.
The 39-year-old gets into a rhythm at last as he throws with power on a slant route to Sanders, who manage to make the grab under pressure from Fleming for a 13-yard gain at the Chiefs' 35-yard line.
Manning tosses the ball out wide to Hillman, who gets behind a block from Sambrailo, and he races all the way down to the 20-yard line for a 15-yard gain to take the Broncos into the redzone.
TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 7-14 Kansas City Chiefs (Manning - Sanders)
The Broncos get back in the game as Manning recognises the blitz and fires to Sanders on a quick slant, and the wideout has the freedom to race into the endzone to complete the 16-yard score. The Chiefs came with the heat and didn't get to the 39-year-old in time and he made the pay. McManus kicks the extra point to bring the visitors within seven.
Smith and the Chiefs' offense will start at the 20-yard line.
INTERCEPTION! Talib makes a huge play just before the break to win back possession for his side as he breaks on a short pass from Smith intended for Maclin to pick the ball off at the 15-yard line.
Hillman runs up the middle of the line for a seven-yard gain to take the visitors to the Chiefs' eight-yard line at the two-minute warning.
Manning throws the ball short to Norwood, who races through a tackle to get in for the score, which is signalled by the officials. However, replays show that the wideout is down at the one-yard line.
TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 14-14 Kansas City Chiefs (Manning - Green)
The Broncos level the scores by capitalising in the interception by Smith as Manning fakes the handoff to Hillman at the line and then off playaction throwns to Green in the endzone for a one-yard score. Clinical from Manning.
The Chiefs will start at the 20-yard line in this series.
Charles just runs into the line to end the half at Arrowhead Stadium.
HALF-TIME: Denver Broncos 14-14 Kansas City Chiefs
The home side raced into a 14-0 lead at the midway point through the second quarter, but the Broncos rallied in the final two minutes of the half to level the score as Manning threw his first two touchdown passes of the season. The 39-year-old started to look like the player he was at the start of the 2014 campaign, although he did throw his second pick-six of the campaign and was fortunate to see another drop out of the hands of Josh Mauga.
Smith and Charles had their way with the vaunted Broncos' defense for the majority of the first half, but they both committed crucial errors at precisely the wrong time, allowing the visitors back into the game. Both players will be extremely frustrated with their inability to capitalise on their chances on a strong showing in the first half, but they still have to atone for their errors.
The players are back out for the second half and the Chiefs will get the ball on offense.
The Chiefs will start at their 20-yard line.
The Chiefs get rolling as Charles charges through the line for a seven-yard gain on first down, while Smith then fires to Kelce on a short out route for a four-yard gain to move the chains.
Smith fires over the middle of the field to Maclin for an eight-yard gain as he managed to shed the coverage of Talib and the quarterback drove the ball with venom through a gap in the defense.
Charles manages to get round the side of the Broncos' defense for a nine-yard run before he's brought down by Bruton.
Smith drives the ball deep for Maclin on a deep post route and the receiver makes the catch under pressure from Harris for a 30-yard gain at the 21-yard line of the visitors.
Harris makes a crucial tackle for the visitors to stop Charles in his tracks on a third down play to limit him to five yards to prevent him from securing the first down. Santos will now attempt a 35-yard field goal.
FIELD GOAL GOOD! Denver Broncos 14-17 Kansas City Chiefs
Here comes Manning again for the visitors' response. He and the offense will start at the 20-yard line.
Manning fires the ball on third down to Sanders for an eight-yard gain after he found Daniels on second down for a short strike over the middle. The Broncos finally look into a rhythm in this match.
Anderson finds space through the line and he accelerates to gain 11 yards on the play to bring up a first down for the Broncos at their 49-yard line.
Anderson gets dropped behind the line for a three-yard loss, which puts the pressure on Manning to get the yardage back through the air. His pass to Thomas down the sideline results in an incompletion as the receiver takes a blow from Parker. The 39-year-old goes back to Thomas on third down, but his pass is short of the first-down marker, forcing the punt from Colquitt. The Chiefs will start their next drive at their 10-yard line.
Manning brought up 70,000 career passing yards on that last drive, becoming only the second man behind Brett Favre to achieve the feat. Manning is only 1,000 yards behind Favre on the all-time passing yardage list, which he likely to achieve this year.
The Chiefs go nowhere on their drive as Charles can only run into the line for a three-yard gain on first down, while Smith is forced to throw the ball at the feet of the back to avoid being sacked on second. On third, the quarterback goes short to Thomas down the left sideline and he can only muster five yards before he is shoved out of bounds. Colquitt's punt lands the Denver 42-yard line.
Manning goes down the sideline to link up with Thomas on a back-shoulder route for a 18-yard gain to take his side into Chiefs' territory. Solid throw, but the Chiefs have lost their way on defense since the second quarter.
The Broncos cannot advance any further as Hillman gets stopped at the line on first down, and Manning can only muster a four-yard completion to Norwood over the middle of the field on second. It forces a 54-yard field-goal attempt from McManus.
FIELD GOAL GOOD! Denver Broncos 17-17 Kansas City Chiefs
Davis returns the ball to the 16-yard line from McManus's kickoff where the Chiefs will begin.
The Chiefs cannot muster a first down as Smith's pass to Thomas falls incomplete when the receiver just fails to keep his feet inbounds. Charles manages to run through the middle for five yards on second, but Smith is brought down for a one-yard gain on third as he tried to run the ball, forcing a punt from Colquitt. The punter sends his kick to the 30-yard line where Sanders gathers, but a penalty pushes the Broncos back to the 20-yard line.
A vital third-down conversion from the visitors as Manning lofts the ball over Fleming to Sanders for a five-yard gain to move the chains. The play will take us into the fourth quarter with the game all square.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Denver Broncos 17-17 Kansas City Chiefs
The Broncos advance no further as Manning's pass to Thomas goes way over his head on second down, and then his attempted strike to Daniels on third falls short of the tight end, forcing the punt from Colquitt. DeAnthony Thomas collects the punt and takes the ball to the 25-yard line, but a penalty takes the home side back to the 12-yard line.
The Chiefs finally get a first down as Smith fires over the middle of the field for Thomas and he turns his man to record a 12-yard gain to take his side to the 30-yard line after Charles had gained six yards on a swing pass on first down.
SACK! Smith gets sacked on third down when the Broncos bring the blitz with five players to overwhelm the Chiefs' offensive line and Antonio Smith brings down the quarterback for an eight-yard loss. Colquitt is forced to punt and his kick sails to the Denver 22-yard line where Sanders catches the ball out of bounds.
SACK! Houston hits back for the Chiefs as he comes up with an important sack of Manning on third down by overwhelming Mathis to get to the quarterback to take him down for a six-yard loss. The 39-year-old was fortunate yet again to escape without an interception as his pass down the sideline hit off Fleming's chest. Colquitt comes on to punt and his kick lands at the 40-yard line of the Chiefs.
Smith delivers a strike to Kelce who makes a cut to turns his man for a nine-yard gain on first down, and then the quarterback takes the ball himself for a two-yard gain on second down to move the chains.
Smith fires to O'Shaughnessy for the second time of the night and he makes a man miss down the sideline to carry the ball for 30 yards before he gets brought down at the Broncos' 17-yard line.
INTERCEPTION! The Chiefs make another costly turnover in the redzone as Smith drops back to pass the ball and has his arm clipped by Jackson, which allows Harris to make the pick and return the ball to the Denver 30-yard line before he gets brought down. The home side have been their own worst enemy tonight.
Manning gets away with another possible interception as Thomas cannot catch the ball on his short route and Peters has a crack at the pick, but he can only flick the ball up in the air. Abdullah looks to have the ball in his sights for the catch, but he cannot hold on, which allows the visitors to punt. Colquitt's punt is collected at the 30-yard line and a penalty takes them to the 40.
Huge conversion for the Chiefs as Smith threads the needle to fire the ball to Kelce on an out route, and he takes the ball through a tackle and down all the way to the Denver 31-yard line with a 29-yard reception.
Two nifty runs from Charles take the Chiefs inside the 10-yard line as he makes a cut on second down, which allows him to raid through the line for a 13-yard gain. Great run from the back, who has over 100 yards on the ground tonight.
Denver takes a timeout to stop the clock with the Chiefs on second down and eight at the eight-yard line. A field goal is a must for the home side here.
TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 17-24 Kansas City Chiefs (Davis)
Or they could score a touchdown! The Chiefs take the lead with two minutes left to play in the match as Smith gives the handoff to Davis, and nearly falls down in the process, but he gives the ball to the back who gets behind a block to run into the endzone for the eight-yard score. A crucial drive from the home side and one which may have handed them their second win of the campaign.
Manning will start at the 20-yard line in an attempt to tie the game.
Manning throw deep across the middle for Thomas, who beats the coverage of Fleming to make the grab for the 22-yard reception to take his side to their 42-yard line.
The Broncos stay at their 42 as Manning's second pass of the drive to Daniels falls incomplete. The visitors will have second down and 10 after the two-minute warning.
Manning throws the ball up for grabs, and Thomas displays his size and strength to go above Fleming to make the catch for a 17-yard gain down the Chiefs' 41-yard line.
Manning makes an important throw on third down and eight as Thomas goes above Peters to make another catch for a 15-yard gain to take the visitors to the Chiefs' 24-yard line.
The Broncos get a penalty break to stop a third down and 10 play as Fleming is guilty of holding Thomas at the line. The penalty takes the visitors to the 19-yard line.
Manning throws to the endzone on his next two throws to Caldwell and Norwood, but both passes fall incomplete. Third down and 10 at the 19-yard line awaits.
TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 24-24 Kansas City Chiefs (Manning - Sanders)
The Broncos level the scores as Manning drives them the length of the field and gets the score with a lofted pass over the middle for Sanders, who beats the coverage of Parker to find the enzone. The pressure rests on McManus to make the extra point from 33 yards and he nails it to likely send the game to overtime.
Smith and his side will begin at the 20-yard line.
TOUCHDOWN! Denver Broncos 31-24 Kansas City Chiefs (Roby)
Oh my goodness! The Chiefs have choked this game away as Charles fumbles the ball with less then 30 seconds to play when Stewart knocks the ball out of his hands for the second time of the night and Roby picks up the ball to return it for a touchdown. Incredible scenes and it's no more than they deserve as they have had plenty of chances to kill the game off, but failed miserably. Charles and Smith will have to have a long look at themselves after this display.
SACKED! Smith gets sacked by Jackson as he tries to throw the ball downfield and that will end the game.
FULL-TIME: Denver Broncos 31-24 Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs will be wondering how on earth they lost that game. In fact, everyone who watched that game will be wondering how they lost that game. Reid's men held a 14-0 lead with two minutes to go in the first half and allowed the Broncos back into the game, and then held a seven-point advantage with under two minites to play in the second half and blew it. Charles commits his second turnover of the match, and the fourth between him and Smith to hand the victory to the Broncos on a platter. Credit to the Broncos and Manning for sticking with the home side, but in truth they should have been nowhere near a winning position, not that Kubiak and his players will care as they move to 2-0 in their season.
Thanks for joining our commentary this evening. We'll be back with all the action from the NFL on Sunday, until then, goodbye.