Sunday, December 1, 2013 04:25 PM (ET)

Recap: Broncos 35, Chiefs 28

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 1, 2013


Broncos 35, Chiefs 28: Peyton Manning passed for 403 yards and five touchdowns - four to Eric Decker - as visiting Denver swept the season series from Kansas City to take control of the AFC West race.

Decker caught eight passes for 174 yards and set a franchise record with his four touchdown grabs and Demaryius Thomas added three receptions for 106 yards for the Broncos (10-2), who are 10-0 against AFC West opponents since signing Manning prior to last season. Rookie Montee Ball rushed for 117 yards and Knowshon Moreno compiled 90 total yards and caught a scoring pass for Denver.

Alex Smith was 26-for-42 for 293 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Chiefs (9-3), who have lost three straight following a 9-0 start. Jamaal Charles rushed for 93 yards and a score as Kansas City dropped to 5-2 at home.

Kansas City took a 14-7 lead when Knile Davis answered Manning's 41-yard strike to Decker with a 108-yard kickoff return touchdown, and Manning's second interception of the half set up Smith's 12-yard TD pass to Anthony Fasano to make it 21-7. Moreno capped a 70-yard drive with a 3-yard TD catch to pull the Broncos within a touchdown at halftime.

It was all Denver - and mostly Manning and Decker - in the second half, as the duo hooked up for touchdown passes of 37 and 15 yards in the third quarter and capped a 10-play, 95-yard drive with a 1-yard toss to make it 35-21 early in the fourth. The Chiefs pulled within a touchdown when Charles capped an 80-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge, and Kansas City drove to the Denver 13 before Smith misfired on fourth-and-4 with less than two minutes left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Manning (4,125 passing yards, 41 TDs) surpassed his own franchise record of 37 touchdown passes set last season and became the first player in NFL history with 13 seasons of 4,000 passing yards. … Manning has eight games with at least five TD passes, tying Drew Brees for the most in NFL history. … Decker recorded the sixth 100-yard receiving game of his career and Ball topped 100 yards rushing for the first time.

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