Broncos Hump Day Hot Reads: Broncos Sweep Chiefs to Improve to 10-2

Dec 1, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno (27) celebrates with running back Montee Ball (28) after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Whoop whoop! The Broncos took care of business Sunday by beating the Chiefs for the second time in the last three weeks. The Chiefs jumped out to an early 21-7 lead. The Broncos responded by scoring 28 unanswered points to take a 35-21 lead before the Chiefs scored once more to make the final score 35-28. Peyton Manning threw for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns but he did have two interceptions. Eric Decker had a huge day, with 8 catches for 174 and 4 touchdowns. This was a huge win for the Broncos and now they basically have a two-game lead over the Chiefs in the AFC West with four games to go. Here is what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what’s next for the Broncos.

What I Liked

Montee Ball Breaking Out

Montee Ball had another good game against the Chiefs on Sunday. In the first outing he scored two touchdowns and this time around he had his first 100-yard game. Ball had 13 carries for 117 yards, which is an average of 9 yards per carry. With Knowshon Moreno dealing with an injury and having 37 carries the previous week at New England, Ball stepped up big time and looked better running the ball than he had all season. Ball continues to improve and as long as he can correct his fumbling issues the Broncos could have a very good 1-2 punch of Moreno and Ball down the stretch and into the playoffs.

What I Didn’t Like

Patriots escaping in Houston

I know this isn’t directly about the Broncos game, but it is that time of the year where teams will have to do some scoreboard watching in hopes of getting situated where they would like to be in the playoffs. The Houston Texans have had a very disappointing season so far. They had a great opportunity to play the spoiler role against the Patriots on Sunday, and help the Broncos out tremendously, but let it slip away. The Broncos still control their own destiny and if they win out they will be the number one seed in the AFC, but the Patriots are sitting just one game back and hold the tie-breaker over the Broncos due to their head-to-head win in Week 12. If the Texans could have held on it would have given the Broncos a 2-game cushion over the Patriots and Colts, who have both beaten the Broncos, as well as a 2-game lead on the Bengals.

What’s Next

Titans at Broncos

The Broncos host the Titans this week and get to come back home after a 2-week hiatus in New England and Kansas City. The Titans are sitting at 5-7 and are holding onto hopes of a playoff berth. The Titans are coming off a close loss in Indianapolis to the Colts last week. Ryan Fitzpatrick has taken pretty good care of the ball so far filling in for the injured Jake Locker. The Broncos need to force Fitzpatrick to make mistakes and they need to keep scoring to make the Titans try to keep pace.

The Broncos and Titans kickoff Sunday at 2:05 p.m. MST.

Make sure you follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook and on Twitter.