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Broncos Chiefs final score: Peyton Manning drives comeback, defense seals 31-24 Broncos win

Peyton Manning's fourth quarter comeback, combined with five Denver Broncos takeaways, led Denver to upset the Chiefs in Arrowhead 31-24.

Peter Aiken/Getty Images

Denver's first AFC West game did not disappoint. In one of the wildest games in recent history, the Broncos defense enjoyed four turnovers and still needed a Peyton Manning fourth quarter comeback to win.

And come back Peyton did. And win the Broncos did. Thanks to another turnover, no less - a Jamaal Charles fumble recovered by Bradley Robley and taken to the house.

Oh yes.

After being tied at the end of the 1st (0-0), 2nd (14-14), and 3rd quarters (17-17), the Broncos offense and defense came up with 14 points when they needed it: down 7 with 2:27 to play. Peyton Manning hit Emmanuel Sanders for a game-tying touchdown, then Roby did that fantastic thing you see up above, and the Broncos moved to 2-0.

First half

When the Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss and chose to defer, you know their objective: use that loud crowd to stop Peyton Manning. And use the fact they you stopped Peyton Manning to feed the crowd all game long.

The first quarter went according to plan, with Manning and company having to punt after four plays, despite a 14-yard opening run from C.J. Anderson. Chiefs ball. And they marched down the field, aided by two personal foul penalties (DeMarcus Ware; Darius Kilgo) and finding themselves in the Broncos red zone. Then the plan changed as David Bruton read a screen, forced a fumble, and the Broncos recoverd.

Britton Colquitt and Dustin Colquitt exchanged a handful of punts before the Broncos put together an incredibly odd sequence on offense. In field goal range, Peyton Manning and company faced a 2nd and 1 then ran it. Stuffed. They ran it again. Stuffed. Then, instead of kicking a 40-ish yard field goal, they decided to go for it. It was an odd decision of which I wasn't a fan (take the points on the road and start getting this crowd quieted - don't give them the opportunity to get even more fired up after a 4th down stuff), and the execution was even worse. The Broncos burned a timeout and failed to convert, and the Chiefs pounced.

First, Jamaal Charles broke free of Denver's oft-penalized defense, running 34 yards for the first points of the game. Then, a very poor Peyton Manning pass was picked by Marcus Peters and returned quickly for the touchdown. The pick-six put the Chiefs up 14-0, and things were looking dire.

Then the Broncos defense and special teams delivered a couple of gifts, and Peyton Manning took advantage. Two takeaways led to 14 Broncos points as Manning hit Emmanuel Sanders and Virgil Green in a few minutes' time to head into the half 14-14.

Second half

The explosion of 28 points in the 2nd quarter didn't bleed into the beginning second half. The Chiefs and Broncos exchanged field goals to tie it up 17-17. The teams entered the fourth quarter all tied up, again.

What a football game.

Indeed, it is rare. And it wouldn't happen. Although things were looking dire with two minutes to play, The Sheriff showed he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Focusing on Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Peyton drove the Broncos 80 yards down the field for the touchdown.

Then Denver's Orange Crush defense sealed the deal.

What a game. This is one for the history books, folks, and one for the memory banks.