Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Denver 37 at Kansas City 34 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Denver Broncos: This game was all about TE Shannon Sharpe on this side of the ball. The veteran still has something in the tank, catching 12 balls for 214 yards and 2 TDs, including an 82 yarder. 214 yards shattered a 40 year old franchise record. RB Clinton Portis looked good carrying the ball 15 times for 70 yards (4.6 ypc). He did fumble once in the third quarter and whether that was the reason or not, Mike Anderson was seen in single back sets more often after this happened. QB Brian Griese played smart, mistake free football and threw for 376 yards and 2 TDs without throwing an interception. WR Rod Smith caught 7 for 92 yards but uncharacteristically suffered 5 drops on the day. Ed McCaffrey only had 1 catch for 4 yards, while rookie Ashley Lelie saw a lot of action in 3 receiver sets catching 3 balls for 33 yards and looking lightning fast while doing it. Kansas City Chiefs: Priest Holmes, Priest Holmes, Priest Holmes. He has totally taken over this team and there's nothing he can't do. He made the league's leading rush defense look mediocre, and he cemented his position as this year's top fantasy running back while accounting for 151 yards of total offense and 3 TDs. QB Trent Green was efficient running the offense, but nothing special finishing with 172 yards, no TDs and no interceptions. He added 18 yards on the ground and didn't seem effected by his taped sprained ankle. TE Tony Gonzalez was the go to receiver as usual, with no wide receivers establishing themselves in the game. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Denver Broncos QB: Brian Griese - played smart, mistake free football and threw for 376 yards and 2 TDs without throwing an int. He also threw a nice deep ball to Ashley Lelie; where if Lelie hadn't fallen down it could have been a long TD. Griese ran the offense with efficiency, and smartly threw the ball away when receivers were covered, rather than throw into coverage. Exploited the middle of the field with TE Shannon Sharpe. RB: Clinton Portis looked good early; getting the vast majority of the carries for Mike Shanahan. He is extremely fast, and as quick as a mouse. He also has good power for a back of his size. He runs with great vision and cutback ability. However, he fumbled the ball once today and saw a reduced role after that point. He still saw action; just not as much with Mike Anderson getting more carries out of a one back set. One might read into this that the fumble was the reason for his reduced role. Or it could have been just the offensive sets dictating the personnel. Anderson seems to be the guy in the one back formations. Portis finished the day with 70 yards on 15 carries and adding 14 yards on 3 receptions. He had a 2 yard TD plunge. While I don't think it's anything like panic time for Portis owners, this is clearly not a good sign. Portis may well be the featured RB, but it doesn't appear he's ready to take on the "put your team on his back" role Terrell Davis carried. Mike Anderson - is a powerful runner and a good receiver. He plays fullback when Portis is in at running back but also saw time as the running back in one back sets. He ran for 34 yards on 9 carries with 1 td. He also had 4 receptions for 19 yards. It seems clear that Coach Mike Shanahan has confidence in the big guy. WR: Rod Smith - broke his streak of 6 straight 100 yard games against the Chiefs. He was close with 92 yards on 7 catches. He was usually Brian Griese's first read, but he uncharacteristically had 5 drops on the day. Ed McCaffrey - didn't see many passes his way and only caught one ball for 4 yards. He was targeted once in the end zone but couldn't haul in a poor pass by Griese in traffic. He had production 'stolen' from him by Ashley Lelie and Shannon Sharpe. Ashley Lelie - showed flashes of a bright future this afternoon. He's Fast with a capital F and showed great running skills in an end around that he took for 24 yards. He's still not a polished NFL receiver but he has the physical skills to be great. TE: Shannon Sharpe - has now caught more TDs than any other tight end in NFL history. He burned single coverages all day long and on one particular play outran the entire Chief secondary for an 82 yard TD. He caught 12 balls on the day for 214 yards and 2 TDs. Pass Defense: Deltha O'Neil and Denard Walker are both excellent cover corners. They shut down the Chiefs wide receivers for most of the day. The linebackers are also very fast and cover well. The defensive line penetrated often and sacked Green 4 times led by Trevor Pryce who got 2 of them. The Kansas City offensive line had only allowed 6 sacks before today. Rush Defense: This unit came in number 1 in the league, but Priest Holmes was able to find rushing lanes today. To their credit, Priest's longest run was only 14 yards. Al Wilson and Ian Gold are tackling machines with 10 and 9 solo tackles respectively. Special Teams: Jason Elam was automatic, hitting 3/3 on the day. Keith Burns blocked a punt in overtime, putting the Broncos offense in great position to eventually win the game. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Kansas City Chiefs QB: Trent Green - had his left ankle taped before the game but his mobility didn't seem to suffer. He was very accurate with his passes and made good, quick decisions. He has an excellent grasp of the offense Dick Vermeil wants to run and he leads the offense with great efficiency. RB: Priest Holmes - is the best fantasy running back so far this year and had another great game, running for 113 yards and 3 TDs. He also caught 7 balls for 38 more yards. Watching Priest run is a treat. He ran with fantastic vision and decision making. He can catch the ball in traffic. Balance, determination, elusiveness, strength, agility - there aren't enough adjectives to describe the way he's running. He's accounting for 40% of the Kansas City offense so far this year, and has 14 TDs through the first 7 games which is a new NFL record. Tony Richardson - looked powerful in limited duty with 3 carries for 21 yards including a TD. WR: Eddie Kennison - caught 4 balls for 37 yards. He had at least 3 drops in the game, and does not work well in traffic. Seems to be easily rattled in close coverage. Johnnie Morton - still hasn't established himself as a go to player in this offense catching only 3 balls for 25 yards. TE: Tony Gonzalez - had a quiet day, by his standards, catching 5 for 58. The best tight end today was on the other side of the ball. Pass Defense: The Chiefs were constantly burned by Shannon Sharpe when trying to cover him one on one with a linebacker. Their safeties don't have the ability to play a cover 2 scheme and Sharpe made them pay. Rush Defense: The Chiefs run defense is not good, allowing 5.2 ypc on the day. Special Teams: Dante Hall is a dynamo in the return game. He's "speedy Gonzalez" fast and could score on any given play. His best return of the day was a 46 yarder. Morten Anderson was 2/3 missing from 42. He looked ok, but its possible his injured hamstring kept him from hitting that 42 yarder.