Jamaal Charles (25) runs the ball as Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris (25) defends in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos won 17-9. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

The Kansas City Chiefs are last in points per game (13.9), but that doesn’t mean that they’re not a threat on offense, specifically in the run game. The Chiefs are 5th in rushing thanks to the league’s third leading rusher, Jamaal Charles.

“They’ve got a nice zone run,” Denver Broncos safety Mike Adams said. “Plus, Jamaal Charles, he’s a tough guy to bring down, even though he’s small and compact, he’s that one cut, that sprinter, he’s fast. He’s got a nice stride, deceptive speed, and a nice little quickness. He’s tough to tackle.”

Charles had 226 yards against the Indianapolis Colts last week and 107 yards against the Broncos in the first meeting. That’s the most yards that the Broncos have given up during their 10-game winning streak.

“This is an opportunity to redeem ourselves,” Elvis Dumervil said. “Our house is going to be loud, so we want to make sure we take care of business.”

Charles is putting up 97.1 yards per game, but has just 5 touchdowns on the season. That’s not to say that Sunday couldn’t be any different. He needs just 11 yards to set a career-high for yards during a season.

“He reads the holes and reads his blocks better than most in the league,” safety Rahim Moore said of Charles. “Once he puts his foot in the ground and gets a crease, he is gone. There is no catching him. He has been doing that since he came into the league. He is having a fantastic season. He is a big-time competitor so we’re looking forward to it.”

A test like Charles is a great primer for the playoffs where the Broncos could see Aarian Foster and Stevan Ridley again, both top-10 backs in the league.

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November 25, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) looses the ball as he is tackled by Rahim Moore. (US-PRESSWIRE)

Since the bye week, the Denver Broncos have held their opponents to 16.6 points per game. That includes the team’s 9 points allowed against the 32nd ranked Kansas City Chiefs’ offense.

The Chiefs weren’t expected to put up a bunch of points, but they were coming into the game with the 4th ranked rushing attack, putting up 145.4 yards per game.

The Chiefs opened up the game by running 8 times for 48 yards on their first drive while passing just twice, and converting once for 7 yards. That drive went exactly how the Chiefs planned. They got a field goal out of it, and took nearly six minutes off the clock. Most importantly, they kept Peyton Manning off the field.

“Hats off to our defense,” head coach John Fox said. “We struggled a little bit on the run, but they’re a very good run team. That back combo is as good as there is in the league. (Jammaal) Charles came into the game as the 4th leading rusher in the AFC, so we knew they were going to try to play keep away, run the ball.”

Charles finished the game with 107 yards on 23 carries. He was steady and consistent as his longest run went for 15 yards.

“I don’t think there’s no mistake how talented he is,” Von Miller said of Charles. “If he’s able to crease the edge, on any given play he can take it the distance. I feel like we played alright, but alright won’t cut it down the road.”

“It’s really just stopping that run,” Champ Bailey added. “If you can eliminate that run game, it makes them one dimensional. We’d rather put the weight on their passing game, which hasn’t been that great this year.”

Overall, the Chiefs had three good opportunities for a touchdown, but failed on each. The Broncos held the Chiefs to just 3-for-14 on third down, and 116 yards through the air.

Next week comes the real challenge on the ground. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the 9th ranked rushing attack, but the league’s 3rd best rusher in rookie Doug Martin. Martin is averaging over 100 yards per game on the ground.

The Broncos can consider today’s game a good test for their run defense. Focusing in on stopping a good run team that has a poor passing offense can only help for next week when they face a more balanced offense.

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Demaryius Thomas is tackled by Brandon Carr. (Andrew Carpenean-US PRESSWIRE)

Now that things have settled down a bit after the draft, let’s get back to looking ahead at the Broncos 2012 schedule. We will continue to take a game-by-game look at the season that the team has in front of them. 

Winning at Arrowhead is never an easy thing to do, but the Broncos will test their strength in week 12 against the Chiefs. The Chiefs will be coming off a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Chiefs were hampered by injuries to their stars last season, but they still finished 7-9. Matt Cassel played in just nine games, Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, and Tony Moeaki went down with injuries as well.

When the Broncos and Chiefs met in 2011, the Broncos won in November at Arrowhead 17-10. Then in week 17, the Chiefs won 7-3.

The Chiefs were hurting on offense, literally. The injuries helped them to a 31st ranking in points (13.3 per game). They were 15th in rushing and 25th in passing.

On defense, they were 12th in points allowed (21.1 per game), 26th in rush defense, and 6th in pass defense.

Free agency saw the Chiefs bring in some good talent in former Broncos Peyton Hillis and Brady Quinn. The team also picked up tight end Kevin Boss and offensive tackle Eric Winston. The Chiefs’ backfield is one to be frightened of.

The Chiefs used the draft to stack their lines. They picked the numbers King, DT Dontari Poe, with their first round pick (11th overall). Then it was two guards (Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson) to beef up the offensive line.

Assuming the Chiefs stay healthy this season, this is a deadly bunch.

Early Prediction: Broncos – 21 Chiefs – 17. Sneak one in Arrowhead just like last year.

Chiefs Leaders in 2011:

Matt Cassel – 160-for-269 (59.5%), 1,713 passing yards, TDs, 9 INTs

Jackie Battle – 597 yards (39.8 per game), 2 TDs

Dwayne Bowe – 81 receptions, 1,159 yards, 5 TDs, 1 fumbles

Derrick Johnson – 131 tackles

Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr – 4 INTs each

Tamba Hali – 12 sacks

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