Peyton makes the difference
Peyton Manning threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns as the Denver Broncos (8-3) made hard work of beating the hapless Kansas City Chiefs 17-9 for their sixth straight win.
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Manning hit tight end Jacob Tamme late in the first half and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in the third quarter, while the Chiefs (1-10) could only muster three field goals.
Knowshon Moreno added 85 yards rushing in place of Willis McGahee, who went on injured reserve this week with a knee injury.
Jamaal Charles ran for 107 yards for the Chiefs (1-10), who were done in by penalties, missed opportunities and a conservative approach that has not yielded a touchdown since the first quarter against Pittsburgh on November 12, a span of more than 11 quarters and 173 minutes.
Kansas City actually established a lead for the third straight game, this time after marching 55 yards and to set up Succop's 34-yard field goal, and seemed to be out-playing Denver early.
But Manning finally got the Denver offense going on its final series of the half.
The four-time MVP completed five straight passes before finding Tamme on third-and-goal from the Kansas City 7 with 18 seconds left in the half. The touchdown catch, on which Tamme dragged Eric Berry into the end zone, gave the Broncos a 7-6 lead.
The Chiefs twice had chances to overcome a 14-9 deficit late in the fourth quarter, but they failed to move the ball after taking over at their own 37, and then after getting it back, punted on fourth-and-6 at the Broncos 47 after a series of penalties ruined the drive.
Denver tacked on a field goal by Prater in the closing seconds.
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