Season Finishes on Sour Note
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KC kicks Denver Broncos a new Bottom…..!!
Pay Backs are a Bear….!!
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By Chris Gentilviso
DenverBroncos.com
DENVER -- For defensive captain Mario Haggan, every pro season is equipped with an explicit goal -- reaching postseason play.
Haggan and his teammates left INVESCO Field at Mile High with that January goal left unfulfilled. Thanks to 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points by the Chiefs, the Broncos' playoff expectations evaporated in a 44-24 loss.
"My expectation was to be playing next week and having an opportunity for the big game," Haggan said. "That's my only goal every year. Unfortunately, we didn't get it done."
The Broncos' goals were within their grasp during the first half, as they went toe-to-toe with their AFC West rivals. Kansas City dented the scoreboard first on its opening drive, as fullback Mike Cox rumbled into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown run. That score was set up by fluid passing early on, as Matt Cassel completed his first three throws for 85 yards.
Denver's defense quickly recovered, holding Cassel to 41 passing yards over the remainder of the first half. Their biggest play came with Cassel penciled in at wide receiver, as running back Tim Castille's halfback pass toward the quarterback was intercepted by Andre Goodman at the Chiefs 5-yard line.
The Broncos turned that miscue into a touchdown, as Kyle Orton orchestrated a 10-play, 95-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard run by Knowshon Moreno. The two teams traded field goals before the break, entering the locker room knotted in a 10-10 tie.
But that first-half fire proved to be moot.
"We ultimately didn't play well enough at the end to win the game," Head Coach Josh McDaniels said. "We didn't finish. It's really one of the words that we've tried to use, tried to stress. We didn't finish the game."
Denver's demise was a delayed one, as both teams upped their offensive ante during the third quarter. Five of the seven drives during that frame resulted in points, beginning with Jamaal Charles' 5-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the half.
Charles later added a 56-yard touchdown run, finishing the contest with a franchise record 259 yards on the ground. As a team, the Chiefs racked up 317 rushing yards, averaging 9.1 yards per touch.
"I felt like all week in practice, we emphasized the importance of setting the edge in the running game and getting (Charles) on the ground and getting guys to the ball and swarming and tackling," Vonnie Holliday said. "But for whatever reason, it didn't transpire on the field today."
Kansas City's 17-10 lead was short-lived, as Denver went 73 yards on its ensuing drive to even the score. Jabar Gaffney had 24 of his career-high 213 receiving yards on that series, while Moreno earned his second rushing touchdown of the game on a 1-yard scamper.
Gaffney finished one yard shy of tying Rod Smith's single-game club record, while Moreno's pair of rushing scores tied a personal-best set against the Chiefs in the Broncos' Week 13 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
With 8:25 left in the third, the Chiefs turned to their defense to eliminate the even footing. After a 36-yard field goal by rookie Ryan Succop, Orton and the offense received possession at their own 24-yard line.
In an instant, Orton's opening pass landed in the hands of Kansas City linebacker Derrick Johnson, who rumbled 45 yards for the pick-six.
"The first one I wish I had back," Orton said. (It was) just one of my poor throws of the day."
Facing a 27-17 deficit, Denver's defense turned to the same technique to climb back into the game. Facing his former team, Ty Law recorded his first interception as a Bronco. Cassel telegraphed the pass in Kansas City territory, and Law returned it 37 yards to the Chiefs' 3-yard line.
Three plays later, Orton connected with Brandon Stokley for his fourth touchdown this season. With 15 minutes left on their regular-season clock, the Broncos had pulled to within a field goal.
But the Chiefs cloned their third-quarter surge to put the game out of reach. After settling for a 47-yard field goal by Succop, Kansas City was clinging to a 30-24 lead. Orton had the Broncos in Chiefs territory at the 40, and was looking to make another completion to Daniel Graham.
That's when Johnson stepped in for another suffocating pick. The Chiefs linebacker returned the errant Orton pass 60 yards for another score, putting his team up by what proved to be an insurmountable 13 points.
Despite notching career highs with 32 completions and 431 passing yards, Orton's three interceptions led to those backbreaking 14 second-half points.
"Sometimes you don't see guys," said Orton of the second pick-six. "I think he was supposed to be blitzing, actually, and kind of just came across the line of scrimmage...Obviously, I wouldn't have wanted it to happen tonight but (that's) just kind of how it goes."
As Sunday night marked the close of the 2009 season, McDaniels described the club's 2-8 stretch over the final 10 weeks of the season as disappointing. That feeling will sink in more over the forthcoming weeks, when the Broncos watch six other teams compete for the postseason's biggest prize.
But over that time, Gaffney believes the best results will come from releasing the past pain and fighting for a better future.
"We don't deserve to be in there because of the way we played," Gaffney said. "We'll get over it, look at the playoffs and see what happens -- then come back and fight strong next year."
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