The Kansas City Chiefs are the new Denver Broncos. The Broncos couldn’t decide whether or not to start Kyle Orton(notes) or Tim Tebow(notes) earlier in the 2011 NFL season. Now head coach Todd Haley has a decision to make after the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t move the ball effectively against the Broncos Nov. 13.

Quarterback Matt Cassel.
Wikimedia Commons

Matt Cassel(notes) was victimized for four sacks against the Broncos and threw 13 passes for just 93 yards in four quarters of play. On the final drive, backup Tyler Palko(notes) came into the game and was 5-for-6 with 47 yards. His only incomplete pass was to spike the ball to stop the clock.

Palko had pass completions of 14 yards and seven yards on either side of an eight yard run. Cassel’s longest pass was 15 yards. He also had a run for nine yards on the first drive of the game.

Palko’s final passer rating was 99.3. Cassel finished with 66.5 even though he had a touchdown pass.

The backup’s performance came with a no-huddle offense in the final two minutes of the game that led to a field goal. Before today’s game, Palko had completed four passes over the past two seasons for just 35 yards in his entire career. Now in just the span of seven plays, he had positive yards on all of them save the spike to stop the clock.

Time for another AFC West quarterback controversy. Palko was the third string quarterback last year behind Brodie Croyle(notes). When Cassel had to have an appendectomy in early December, Croyle stepped in against the San Diego Chargers Dec. 12. He was 7-for-17 and 40 yards. Palko came in late to that game and completed two of three passes for eight yards. Palko once again had a better rating than the starting quarterback for one game.

Perhaps the early-season rib injury suffered during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers has hurt Cassel’s performance more than what the Chiefs let on. Cassel has been sacked more this year than he has in his entire career. Maybe the pressure is getting to him.

Choosing a starter for next week’s game at the New England Patriots is going to be interesting for Haley and his staff. The most brutal part of the Chiefs’ schedule is coming up and they need to do something to stay in playoff contention. Kansas City sits in a three-way tie for second place in the AFC West, one game behind the Oakland Raiders.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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The former Heisman Trophy winner connected with Eric Decker on a 56-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, helping the Broncos to a humbling — even humiliating — 17-10 defeat of Kansas City.

“’’It’s just a mindset. It’s a low-risk offense. It’s not an indictment on Tim Tebow or whoever our quarterback is,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “It’s just whatever is working for us. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We tried to possess the ball and keep our defense fresh.”

Willis McGahee went down with a hamstring injury on the Broncos’ first offensive series, and Knowshon Moreno left later in the first quarter with a knee injury. That left journeyman Lance Ball to tote the ball 30 times for 96 yards, churning up the Chiefs’ banged-up defense.

Tebow finished 2 of 8 for 69 yards, but added 44 yards and a score on the ground, as the Broncos (4-5) moved into a tie with Kansas City and San Diego behind AFC West-leading Oakland (5-4).

“I’m not trying to send a message,” said Tebow, who is 3-1 since taking over as the starter. “I’m just trying to be a football player. We can improve from what we did today and get better.”

Fox scrapped a large chunk of his playbook when he made Tebow the starter, trying to cater to his deft ability to run the read-option. And despite losing his best two running backs, Fox stuck with the ground game, content to wear down the Kansas City defense.

The Broncos made that clear when they ran eight straight times on their opening possession.

Moreno had the highlight carry when he hurdled the Chiefs’ Brandon Flowers on a 24-yard scamper, and Tebow finished off the drive when he scored up the middle from 7 yards out.

The way the Chiefs played, that nearly was enough.

“We knew that was going to be a great challenge coming into this game,” Kansas City coach Todd Haley said. “We had a Plan A, B and C for how we were going to stop the run, because it’s a numbers issue, and no plans ended up working like we needed it to.”

Nothing worked on offense, either.

Matt Cassel was 13 of 28 for 93 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs only managed 258 yards of total offense, a performance every bit as ugly as last week’s 31-3 loss to Miami.

“It was a tough game,” said Cassel, who didn’t go out for the Chiefs’ final series because the medical staff decided he was too banged up to continue. “We didn’t do enough offensively, we didn’t execute throughout the day, and we just need to execute better.”

Cassel said he hopes to play next Monday night against New England.

Rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin tried to give Kansas City a spark when he hauled in an acrobatic 58-yard pass in the second quarter, reaching around safety Brian Dawkins to make the grab. Baldwin held onto the ball, still behind Dawkins’ back, as both players fell to the ground, but the play was called back because wide receiver Steve Breaston had lined up illegally.

Matt Prater’s 38-yard field goal gave Denver a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Tebow wound up missing all four of his pass attempts in the half, making Denver the first team to lead at the break without a completion since the Green Bay Packers led the Chicago Bears 14-0 on Oct. 31, 1994, according to STATS LLC. Brett Favre was 0 for 6 at halftime of that game.

Kansas City finally scored when Cassel hit Le’Ron McClain on a play-action pass from just outside the goal line midway through the third quarter. It was the first points scored by the Chiefs’ offense since 12:01 left in the fourth quarter against San Diego two weeks ago.

The Broncos snuffed out the comeback bid with 6:44 left in the game, when Tebow hit Decker with the long touchdown pass. Ryan Succop kicked a field goal with 7 seconds left for Kansas City, but the Broncos recovered the onside kick, sending the Chiefs to their second straight loss.

“We have to do a better job of playing on Sundays, because it doesn’t matter how practices go, how things look, you have to do it on Sunday,” Haley said. “The good thing is I know we can. We’ve done it against quality opponents, and we have some quality opponents coming up.”

Notes: Chiefs DE Glenn Dorsey left late in the game with an undisclosed injury. … There were no turnovers in the game, though a fumble by Chiefs RB Dexter McCluster was overturned after video review. … QB Tyler Palko was 5 of 6 for 47 yards while running the Chiefs’ no-huddle offense that set up Succop’s field goal. … Miller finished with seven tackles and 1½ sacks for Denver.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—The Kansas City Chiefs knew what was coming, even
after the Denver Broncos’ top two running backs went down with injuries. Their
AFC West rivals were going to keep running behind Tim Tebow(notes) until the Chiefs
proved they could stop them.

Just when it looked like they finally did, Tebow went to the air.

The former Heisman Trophy winner connected with Eric Decker(notes) on a 56-yard
touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, helping the Broncos to a humbling—even
humiliating—17-10 defeat of Kansas City.

“”It’s just a mindset. It’s a low-risk offense. It’s not an indictment on
Tim Tebow or whoever our quarterback is,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “It’s
just whatever is working for us. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We tried to
possess the ball and keep our defense fresh.”

Willis McGahee(notes) went down with a hamstring injury on the Broncos’ first
offensive series, and Knowshon Moreno(notes) left later in the first quarter with a
knee injury. That left journeyman Lance Ball(notes) to tote the ball 30 times for 96
yards, churning up the Chiefs’ banged-up defense.

Tebow finished 2 of 8 for 69 yards, but added 44 yards and a score on the
ground, as the Broncos (4-5) moved into a tie with Kansas City and San Diego
behind AFC West-leading Oakland (5-4).

“I’m not trying to send a message,” said Tebow, who is 3-1 since taking
over as the starter. “I’m just trying to be a football player. We can improve
from what we did today and get better.”

Fox scrapped a large chunk of his playbook when he made Tebow the starter,
trying to cater to his deft ability to run the read-option. And despite losing
his best two running backs, Fox stuck with the ground game, content to wear down
the Kansas City defense.

The Broncos made that clear when they ran eight straight times on their
opening possession.

Moreno had the highlight carry when he hurdled the Chiefs’ Brandon Flowers(notes)
on a 24-yard scamper, and Tebow finished off the drive when he scored up the
middle from 7 yards out.

The way the Chiefs played, that nearly was enough.

“We knew that was going to be a great challenge coming into this game,”
Kansas City coach Todd Haley said. “We had a Plan A, B and C for how we were
going to stop the run, because it’s a numbers issue, and no plans ended up
working like we needed it to.”

Nothing worked on offense, either.

Matt Cassel(notes) was 13 of 28 for 93 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs only
managed 258 yards of total offense, a performance every bit as ugly as last
week’s 31-3 loss to Miami.

“It was a tough game,” said Cassel, who didn’t go out for the Chiefs’
final series because the medical staff decided he was too banged up to continue.
“We didn’t do enough offensively, we didn’t execute throughout the day, and we
just need to execute better.”

Cassel said he hopes to play next Monday night against New England.

Rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin tried to give Kansas City a spark when he
hauled in an acrobatic 58-yard pass in the second quarter, reaching around
safety Brian Dawkins(notes) to make the grab. Baldwin held onto the ball, still behind
Dawkins’ back, as both players fell to the ground, but the play was called back
because wide receiver Steve Breaston(notes) had lined up illegally.

Matt Prater’s(notes) 38-yard field goal gave Denver a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Tebow wound up missing all four of his pass attempts in the half, making
Denver the first team to lead at the break without a completion since the Green
Bay Packers led the Chicago Bears 14-0 on Oct. 31, 1994, according to STATS LLC.
Brett Favre(notes) was 0 for 6 at halftime of that game.

Kansas City finally scored when Cassel hit Le’Ron McClain(notes) on a play-action
pass from just outside the goal line midway through the third quarter. It was
the first points scored by the Chiefs’ offense since 12:01 left in the fourth
quarter against San Diego two weeks ago.

The Broncos snuffed out the comeback bid with 6:44 left in the game, when
Tebow hit Decker with the long touchdown pass. Ryan Succop(notes) kicked a field goal
with 7 seconds left for Kansas City, but the Broncos recovered the onside kick,
sending the Chiefs to their second straight loss.

“We have to do a better job of playing on Sundays, because it doesn’t
matter how practices go, how things look, you have to do it on Sunday,” Haley
said. “The good thing is I know we can. We’ve done it against quality
opponents, and we have some quality opponents coming up.”

Notes: Chiefs DE Glenn Dorsey(notes) left late in the game with an undisclosed
injury. … There were no turnovers in the game, though a fumble by Chiefs RB
Dexter McCluster(notes) was overturned after video review. … QB Tyler Palko(notes) was 5 of
6 for 47 yards while running the Chiefs’ no-huddle offense that set up Succop’s
field goal. … Miller finished with seven tackles and 1 1/2 sacks for Denver.

Jerheme Urban hasn’t been playing a whole lot of wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs lately. He has only one catch all season, and that was in the opener.

He might as well play quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

Or at least try to imitate it.

You see, Urban stands 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, and he has some experience at quarterback from his younger days, not to mention experience in track. He’s an unusual athlete, which makes him a natural fit to mimic the Broncos’ Tim Tebow, who runs a read-option offense that NFL teams just don’t see very often.

It’s been Urban who has been battered by the Kansas City defense in practice this week as it tries to figure out the best way to shut down Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner they will face in an AFC West showdown Sunday.

“I can only judge Tim as an opposing coach getting ready to defend him,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said Wednesday. “The guy’s a winner and has won everywhere he’s been, and he’s shown that now in the NFL. I think he’s a heck of a player.”

He certainly creates some unique challenges.

There are plenty of running quarterbacks in the league, guys like Michael Vick who are a threat to take off from the pocket at any moment. But few teams script option-style plays more likely to be seen in college for a quarterback who often resembles a battering ram.

Running an offense similar to what he excelled in at Florida, Tebow generally has three options after taking the snap: throw it down field, pitch it to Willis McGahee or one of the other running backs, or simply keep the ball himself and scamper down field. And last week, the Broncos turned their new offense loose.

Befuddling a stingy Raiders defense, Tebow managed to pass for 124 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 118 yards. The attention that Oakland paid him created holes for McGahee, who ran loose for 163 yards and two scores in the 38-24 victory.

Haley said the Broncos’ offense is similar to the wildcat formation in vogue around the league, with one significant difference: Tebow can throw the ball, too, despite what his critics say.

“You got a quarterback running the option,” Haley said, “and that makes it a triple threat.”

It’s clear the Chiefs understand what Tebow brings to the field.

Figuring out how to stop it is another matter entirely.

“You got to get to him,” defensive end Wallace Gilberry said. “He’s a real tough guy, a powerful runner. You see guys hit him at the knees almost getting knocked out.”

Gilberry said it’s not just the yards and points that Tebow is responsible for that dictates how valuable he’s been. It’s the fact that the Broncos, after a slow start to the season, have rallied around him. They’ve won two of the three games he’s started.

“The whole team is feeding off him,” Gilberry said. “They’re riding behind him.”

That makes the job that the guys in practice are doing imitating Tebow that much more important. It’s hard enough defending a style of offense that you only see from one team, but it’s even more difficult if you’re not able to replicate it throughout the week.

That responsibility isn’t falling only on Urban, either.

Backup quarterback Tyler Palko is a left-hander, like Tebow, and athletic in his own right. So Haley has called on him to line up opposite the Chiefs’ defense. But unlike Urban, Haley refuses to let the Chiefs put a hit on their No. 2 quarterback in practice.

Copyright 2011 The

Associated Press.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
We strive to uphold our values for every story published.

DENVER (3-5) At KANSAS CITY (4-4)

Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS

OPENING LINE—Chiefs by 4

RECORD VS. SPREAD—Miami 3-5; Kansas City 5-3

SERIES RECORD—Chiefs lead 55-47

LAST MEETING—Chiefs beat Broncos 10-6, Dec. 5, 2010

LAST WEEK—Broncos beat Raiders 38-24; Chiefs lost to Dolphins 31-3

BRONCOS OFFENSE—OVERALL (20), RUSH (5), PASS (31)

BRONCOS DEFENSE—OVERALL (22), RUSH (15), PASS 23)

CHIEFS OFFENSE—OVERALL (24), RUSH (10), PASS (27)

CHIEFS DEFENSE—OVERALL (21), RUSH (19), PASS (21)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES—Kansas City’s four wins have come by combined 40
points. Its four losses have been by 110. … Chiefs have picked off 13 passes,
tied for third in NFL. … Only other team Kansas City has beaten at least 55
times is Oakland (also 55). … Broncos QB Tim Tebow(notes) completing 46.4 percent of
passes (45 of 97). … Tebow has led seven scoring drives in fourth quarter or
OT in last four games. … Tebow has three of top four rushing games by a QB in
Broncos history. Norris Weese ran for 120 yards on Dec. 12, 1976. … Chiefs CB
Javier Arenas(notes), out last week with ankle injury, second in NFL in punt return
average (15.1 yards). … RB Willis McGahee(notes) ran for 163 yards last week, most by
Broncos running back since 2004. He leads league in yards rushing per start
(103.3). … Denver’s 833 yards rushing over last four games are sixth-most over
four-game stretch in franchise history. … During McGahee’s time in Baltimore,
he played with Chiefs FB Le’Ron McClain(notes), OT Jared Gaither(notes), WR Terrence Copper,
DT Kelly Gregg(notes) and DE Amon Gordon(notes). … Broncos OT Ryan Clady(notes) and Chiefs CB
Brandon Carr(notes) are among five players who entered NFL in 2008 to have started in
every possible regular-season game (56) for their team. Others are Baltimore QB
Joe Flacco(notes), Chicago RB Matt Forte(notes) and Miami OT Jake Long(notes).

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jerheme Urban hasn’t been playing a whole lot of wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs lately. He has only one catch all season, and that was in the opener.

He might as well play quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

Or at least try to imitate it.

You see, Urban stands 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, and he has some experience at quarterback from his younger days, not to mention experience in track. He’s an unusual athlete, which makes him a natural fit to mimic the Broncos’ Tim Tebow, who runs a read-option offence that NFL teams just don’t see very often.

It’s been Urban who has been battered by the Kansas City defence in practice this week as it tries to figure out the best way shut down Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner they will face in an AFC West showdown Sunday.

“I can only judge Tim as an opposing coach getting ready to defend him,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said Wednesday. “The guy’s a winner and has won everywhere he’s been, and he’s shown that now in the NFL. I think he’s a heck of a player.”

He certainly creates some unique challenges.

There are plenty of running quarterbacks in the league, guys like Michael Vick who are a threat to take off from the pocket at any moment. But few teams script option-style plays more likely to be seen in college for a quarterback who often resembles a battering ram.

Running an offence similar to what he excelled in at Florida, Tebow generally has three options after taking the snap: throw it down field, pitch it to Willis McGahee or one of the other running backs, or simply keep the ball himself and scamper down field.

It didn’t work very well two weeks ago in a 45-10 loss to Detroit, when the Broncos were still trying to figure out what they were doing. But it worked much better last week.

Befuddling a stingy Raiders defence, Tebow managed to pass for 124 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 118 yards. The attention that Oakland paid him created holes for McGahee, who ran for loose for 163 yards and two scores in the 38-24 victory.

Haley said the Broncos’ offence is similar to the wildcat formation in vogue around the league, with one significant difference: Tebow can throw the ball, too, despite what his critics say.

“You got a quarterback running the option,” Haley said, “and that makes it a triple threat.”

Veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson said he hasn’t faced an option-style offence since his college days at Texas.

“That’s definitely a college game plan when you do so much option,” he said. “How ever you can get a win. It may not be the traditional way, standing in the pocket, delivering, you know, certain routes and all that stuff. As long as you win it doesn’t really matter.”

It’s clear the Chiefs understand what Tebow brings to the field.

Figuring out how to stop it is another matter entirely.

“You got to get to him,” defensive end Wallace Gilberry said. “He’s a real tough guy, a powerful runner. You see guys hit him at the knees almost getting knocked out.”

Gilberry said it’s not just the yards and points that Tebow is responsible for that dictates how valuable he’s been. It’s the fact that the Broncos, after a slow start to the season, have rallied around him. They’ve won two of the three games he’s started.

“The whole team is feeding off him,” Gilberry said. “They’re riding behind him.”

That makes the job that the guys in practice are doing imitating Tebow that much more important. It’s hard enough defending a style of offence that you only see from one team, but it’s even more difficult if you’re not able to replicate it throughout the week.

That responsibility isn’t falling only on Urban, either.

Backup quarterback Tyler Palko is a left-hander, like Tebow, and an athletic guy in his own right. So Haley has called on him to line up opposite the Chiefs’ defence. But unlike Urban, Haley refuses to let the Chiefs put a hit on their No. 2 quarterback in practice.

“It’s good we’ve got a lefty quarterback in Tyler who’s extremely athletic, but at the same time — though he doesn’t want this — I don’t want our backup quarterback have something happen there,” Haley said. “Tyler’s not happy about that — he thought I was questioning his toughness. I had to let him know that I had to look out for the team, and he’s the No. 2 quarterback.”

Trying his best to play the part of Tebow, the Broncos’ clear No. 1.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Haley said of the former first-round draft pick. “They tried to kill him last week. Physically, Oakland sent bodies at him from everywhere, and it’s pretty clear this guy won’t back down in the face of pressure, and that’s always good to have.”

The Denver Broncos are the perfect remedy for the Kansas City Chiefs as they look to rebound from a humiliating loss. When the Chiefs were downed 31-3 at home by the winless Miami Dolphins Nov. 6, it was the third blowout of the year suffered by the Chiefs.

Tamba Hali of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wikimedia Commons

Now the Broncos come to Arrowhead Stadium in a key AFC West matchup Nov. 13. Three of the four teams in the AFC West are all tied at 4-4. Kansas City is about to enter its most brutal part of the schedule.

The perfect remedy, and the best send-off for the Chiefs, is a game against the Broncos.

The one thing Kansas City has done well this year is get to quarterbacks that are struggling. Against the Oakland Raiders Oct. 23, the Chiefs intercepted Carson Palmer(notes) and Kyle Boller(notes) three times each. Both men were adjusting to the offense after Jason Campbell(notes) went down with an injury.

The following week on Halloween, the Chiefs and their fans got to San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers(notes). He was sacked three times and had two interceptions. His fumble from center with 48 seconds to go was recovered by the Chiefs and allowed them to hang on for a 23-20 victory in overtime.

The Broncos had a quarterback controversy earlier this year before Tim Tebow(notes) took over the starting quarterback duties from Kyle Orton(notes). Tebow had 118 yards rushing for Denver in a 38-24 victory where he had touchdown passes. He is a second-year quarterback still learning how to play in the NFL.

The secondary of the Chiefs need to step up big and make it hard for Tebow to complete his passes early on. The sooner he gets flustered, the more he will panic and start to make more mistakes. Tamba Hali(notes) and the defensive line also need to get into Tebow’s backfield early as well. Head coach Todd Haley might consider trying to rattle the young quarterback with some blitzes on the first drive of the game for Denver.

Kansas City needs to stop Tebow early. If they can put him on ice, then they can focus on the running game of Denver which is the fifth-best in the NFL. Matt Cassel(notes), as the more experienced quarterback, should be able to use this game to get better this season as well. The Broncos give up 258 yards passing per game.

Bring on Tebow and the Broncos. They are the perfect remedy for the midseason blues of the Chiefs.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs both have identical records through four games: 1-3. One week ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were the last team in ESPN’s NFL power rankings after they lost to the San Diego Chargers and were 0-3. A win over the now 0-4 Minnesota Vikings has things looking slightly better for the Chiefs. They are now No. 28 in ESPN’s power rankings.

That isn’t good news for the Broncos, who drop one spot from No. 26 to No. 27. Their 49-23 loss to the undefeated Green Bay Packers certainly showed that the team is a far way off from being among the league’s best.

However, as ESPN’s write up suggests, hosting the Chargers this coming Sunday should be a better indicator of how things are coming along. Similarly, the Chiefs did defeat the Vikings, but Minnesota is among the league’s worst teams. They face the 0-4 Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, hardly a strong test.

For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report.