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Broncos look to stay unbeaten against woeful Chiefs

Sep 23, 2008 - 7:56 PM Denver (3-0) at Kansas City (0-3), 1:00 pm, EDT

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The first three weeks of the season have produced one thrill after another for the Denver Broncos, who apparently enjoy living dangerously.

The Broncos look to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2004 when they visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in an AFC West battle.

With Jay Cutler emerging as one of the NFL's top young quarterbacks, the Broncos are averaging an NFL-high 38.0 points per game. However, they are allowing 28.0 points, the 28th-worst mark in the league.

"We're feeling good about ourselves and what we're doing, but we have to understand it's just three games and we've got 13 more," Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. "If you let up you're in trouble, so we've just got to keep going and keep getting better."

Following an easy 41-14, season-opening win over Oakland, the Broncos benefited from a controversial late call in Week Two to edge the San Diego Chargers, 39-38. After Denver blew a 14-point halftime lead, Cutler threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal with 29 seconds left, then hit Royal with the two-point conversion pass for the game-winning points.

There was more drama in last week's 34-32 win over the New Orleans Saints, as the Broncos nearly squandered a 21-3 halftime lead. Denver gave up 502 yards, but escaped with the win when Martin Gramatica missed a 43-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining.

"We will get better with our pass defense as time goes on," said Denver coach Mike Shanahan, who has been experimenting with a 3-4 defensive scheme instead of the team's traditional 4-3 formation. "We are doing a number of things that are new in comparison to a year ago."

The Broncos will be looking for a better defensive effort against the winless Chiefs (0-3), who are desperate to beat anybody.

Last week's 38-14 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons extended Kansas City's losing streak to 12 games and left the Chiefs without a victory in exactly 11 months.

Kansas City has not won since a 12-10 victory at Oakland on October 21. The Chiefs proceeded to drop their final nine games last season following a promising 4-3 start.

Unlike the Broncos, the Chiefs have been getting horrendous play at quarterback. Tyler Thigpen, a second-year quarterback out of Coastal Carolina, passed for just 128 yards last week and committed four turnovers - three interceptions and a fumble. Kansas City went three-and-out on its first six possessions.

Thigpen, who replaced injured veteran Damon Huard in Week Two, has a quarterback rating of 38.3, which ranks last in the league.