After starting 6-0, the Denver Broncos (8-8) looked like they were headed for a number one or two seed come playoff time.  Things sure did change for the Broncos, and a loss to the dismal Kansas City Chiefs (4-12) on Sunday summed up the second half of their season perfectly.  The Broncos needed to win this game to make the playoffs, and it should have been easy against a Chiefs team that was bad all season.  They may have been missing some key receivers, but that is no excuse to lose by 20 points to a bad team in such a key game.  The Broncos really let their fans down in this game and the whole second half of the 2009 season.

Kyle Orton got a ton of passing yards, but he turned the ball over too much and that was a key reason they lost.  Orton went 32/56 for 431 yards and 1 touchdown, but he also threw 3 interceptions with 2 of them returned for touchdowns.  Both of those interception returns were 45+ yards and both were by the Chiefs’ linebacker Derrick Johnson.  The Broncos have been a run first team all season, but not in this game.  They only got 84 rushing yards and were outscored 17-0 in the 4th quarter after having a close game through the first three.  A very disappointing end to the Broncos 2009 season.