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RB C.J. Anderson
C.J. Anderson made it possible for something rare to happen Sunday Night. It had been more than seven years since a Peyton-Manning led club won a game when Peyton completed 50% of his passes (or less) for less than 200 yards in a game. Incidentally, that victory also came against the Kansas City Chiefs (11/18/07).
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On this day, C.J. ran the ball like a workhorse, carrying the rock 32 times for 168 yards (5.2 avg.) and allowing the Broncos to control the game from start to finish. When all was said and done, the Broncos converted close to 50% of their 3rd down opportunities and held the ball for almost 40 minutes thanks to the powerful running of Mr. Anderson.
Now that C.J. is in the backfield punishing opposing fronts, the Broncos are capable of winning tough, physical games, even when their signal caller is struggling. Can you say balance? - Bronco Mike
DE DeMarcus Ware
There was hardly a play on defense that DeMarcus Ware wasn't near or having direct involvement in. Though his stat line kind of explains itself, two sacks, one interception and three tackles (two for a loss). With the lead, the Broncos' defense went full-on insanity mode showing levels of domination that haven't been seen from a Denver defense in quite some time.
The Broncos have won 11 consecutive divisional games on the road, which is one game behind the all time record of 12 by the San Francisco 49ers. - Ian Henson
OC Adam Gase
My game ball goes to Adam Gase for staying dedicated to our run game. We showed last week that we had a talent at RB who could make plays if given some holes. What we did this week was put the NFL on notice: you better be able to stop our run game or you will get dominated. A big credit for this needs to go to our Offensive Coordinator for putting the game plan into place, and sticking to it on a cold day at Arrowhead. The Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to have the unstoppable run game, not us. 214 yards on the ground in 45 plays for an average of 4.8 yards per carry speaks for itself. - Sadaraine
Broncos defense
Under the gun after two weeks of rather pathetic showings, the Broncos Defense was firing on all cylinders last night, and it was fun, fun, fun to watch.
With seven tackles for a loss, three takeaways and six sacks from six different players (and really seven sacks, in my opinion, if you could count Ware's first spinning slam on Alex Smith), our defense was unstoppable. And it was about time. The Broncos held possibly the best running back in the NFL to 35 yards and the Chiefs' passing game to just over a buck-fifty on the night while also becoming the NFL's leader in number of forced three-and-outs.
And among the defense's stellar plays was an "alleyoop" interception via a Terrance Knighton tip to DeMarcus Ware plus a heads-up fumble recovery from rookie Bradley Roby. Peyton Manning and Chris Harris Jr. both said the defense dominated all night, and they were right. - Laurie Lattimmore-Volkmann
WR Emmanuel Sanders
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AKA HEManuel Sanders, didn't have a chart-topping night, but even when the Broncos are having a slow night at passing Sanders proves to be a reliable target. Sanders caught 6 of his 11 targets for 73 yards, in a windy and bone-chillingly cold game at Arrowhead. This came on a night when Manning didn't look his best, completing just 50 percent of his passes- tied for his lowest since he joined the Broncos. It has become obvious that Sanders is a weapon with his speed and catching ability; he has gained the trust of Peyton. He is a valuable asset to the Broncos' passing game. - Kelly Fleming
LB Von Miller
The Denver Broncos pass rush returned in force on Sunday, and Von Miller's 1.5 sacks led the way. John Elway's first move as a GM continues to pay dividends on defense. It's truly a blessing to have one of the most explosive defenders in the NFL. An empty Arrowhead stadium in the fourth quarter was awesome, and I am sure the defensive domination played a huge part in that. - Tim Lynch
Coach John Fox
Let's see... a fake punt. Going for it on 4th and 1. Pretty much totally agreeing with the NYT 4th down bot. Blitz-happy Broncos. Grinding it out in the ground game. Feeding C.J. Anderson early and often. You certainly credit your offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinators for each of these decisions in a vacuum, but combined, it suggests the head coach had a lot to do with it.
Who is the man on the sideline wearing that John Fox costume tonight?
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) December 1, 2014
I've always said my favorite part about Fox is his ability to adapt. He's doing that for the Broncos now, in front of our very eyes. The only thing familiar with this game was Denver's win over a division opponent on the road. John Fox is good at that. - Monty
K Connor Barth
Barth was signed earlier last week to replace the struggling Brandon McManus, and I was anxious to see if Barth was the answer to our kicking game. Well last night Barth became only the third kicker in Denver Broncos history to make 5 kicks in one game without any misses joining Jason Elam who did it twice and Rich Karlis.
Now most of Barth's kicks would be considered "chip shots" on most nights, but he was kicking on the slick Arrowhead grass, it was windy, and it was cold. Combining all those conditions usually makes life hard for teams' kicking specialist. So it was encouraging to see Barth be successful in these playoff-like conditions. - Scotty Payne
Honorable mentions
S David Bruton - For the best fake punt play I've seen us do in recent memory. Or at least the second one, since Bruton is 2/2 on successful fake punt plays. Without giving that one away too much, we should definitely pull that out more often! - Laurie
CB Omar Bolden - Hell of a play on special teams for Bolden too, who hurried to get back in bounds (suck it Cris Collinsworth) and fall on the football. - Monty
The fella @Os_Island constantly balling in the kicking game!!
— David BRUTON JR. (@D_Brut30) December 1, 2014
Offensive Line - Ryan Clady and Orlando Franklin were particularly brilliant against the Chiefs. C.J. Anderson made the most of his opportunities, but the offensive line gave him some big holes to opportune through. - Monty
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