One thing I like to do after a sweet, sweet victory such as our Kansas City Chiefs' last night is go back and review what we thought needed to happen in order to win versus what really happened.

Go back to this post and review what everyone thought needed to happen.  I'd say we were spot on with a few of them.

We Must Protect This House!

Protect Arrowhead we did indeed.  I suggested the crowd wouldn't play much of a factor in the game considering the lack of impact it had on the first game against the Oakland Raiders.  However, at least from the TV broadcast, it appears that the crowd got into it and created some noise despite the level of attendance.

The Mike Shanahan coached Broncos moved to 3-11 all time at Arrowhead as we furthered our dominance over them at home.  For whatever reason, we've got the Broncos number when they come into Arrowhead.  We avoided the 3 year sweep with this victory and reaffirmed my belief that Arrowhead is the toughest place to play despite the team on the field.

Larry, Larry, Larry!

Dead on.  LJ started early with a 60+ yard run on the second play from scrimmage and continued to beat down the Broncos defenders all the way into the 4th quarter.  This moved him just 7 yards from the season rushing leader through 4 weeks.

LJ's performance was a great reminder that when it really comes down to it we're only going as far as he can take us.  Our quarterback situation combined with our less than innovative offense makes LJ moving the chains a necessity and he did that today.

He took the pressure off Damon Huard and the rest of the offense.  Just as importantly, he allowed us to hold the ball for over 33 minutes and I think we saw the advantage that created for our defense.

Early and Often

This was true to an extent.  We didn't get behind early but the Broncos gave us EVERY opportunity to pull away and we wouldn't take it.  We led 6-0 after the 1st quarter, 13-10 after the 2nd, 16-13 after the 3rd, and finished the game with a 33-19 advantage.

What I'm really excited about is the 4th quarter points.  When the pressure was put on and the Broncos pulled to within one score in the 4th quarter our offense responded big time on the shoulders of LJ.

Here are a few predictions from your fellow APers:

"What is success this week? Offense breaks 20 points and we lose by less than 10pts?"

"I can’t stress this enough – Damon Huard staying in the whole game and not being pulled is a big key."

"I cannot wait until Sunday so people might actually remember that Damon Huard is a pathetic quarterback. Thigpen is awful. Huard is pathetic."

Put me on board with that first comment.  I would have been happy to cover the spread but we did oh so much more than that.

So we know what we thought would happen.  Now that we look at what really happened, whose performance surprised you the most?

* End of the longest losing streak in Chiefs history.

* The players made plays.  Larry Johnson 7.1 yds/carry.  Dwayne Bowe 7 Receptions 81 yds.  Tony G 3 receptions 47 Yds.  Damon Huard 75% comp % with no INTs.  Derrick Johnson 1 forced fumble, 1 int.  Dorsey and Tank Tyler stuffing the middle.  Herb Taylor filling in for Brandon Albert.

* Kolby Smith doing the Tomahawk Chop

* Young Chiefs Defense becoming ball hawks.  Every play the Chiefs defense was ripping at the ball.  The result was two fumbles recovered and two interceptions.

* Our young CBs holding their own.  Carr had 2 Tackles, 3 passes defended, an interception and a fumble recovery.  Flowers had 7 Tackles, 2 passes defended and a fumble recovery.  Dmitri Patterson had 8 Combined Tackles.

* Larry Johnson runs for 198 yards and 2 TDs

* Arrowhead Stadium rocking the whole game instead of booing.

* Chiefs score 32 points.  (what is this?  the arena league?)

* Herm going on the field to check on Tony G when he was hurt (which he NEVER does)

* Denver Broncos only had 94 yards total rushing.

*Dantrelle Savages 51 yard Kickoff Return when we needed it most.

* LJ smiling

When: Noon central time

Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

SBN Affiliate: Mile High Report

Chiefs Blogs: Home of the Chiefs, Arrowhead Addict, BobGretz.com, KC Chiefs Football, Red Zone, The Mothership and KC Chiefs Fanatic.

Coverage of the game leading up to now is here.

Injury reports are here.

Listen online here.

Find out what NFL games you get on television by clicking here.

I'll be catching this game via the radio, or the Sling Box if I can get it working. There is a curious lack of sports bars in India. I think I can be around for this entire open thread, which should be a lot of fun.

GOOOOO CHIEFS!!!

• Huard, in typical veteran fashion, is not saying whether his benching against the Raiders was fair.
• Arrowhead Addict has an idea for this Sunday's game and it involves paper bags.
• Adam Teicher looks at what's next for Tyler Thigpen.
• Damion McIntosh knows he's the old guy on a young guy's team.  [Ed. Note: More info on McIntosh here.]
• Bob Gretz makes a case for this year's version of the Broncos being the best yet.
• Good news for the health of our quarterback: Broncos search for sacks
• From the mothership: Damon Huard and Herm Edwards interviews.
• Mile High Report Chalk Talk Part 1 and Part 2.
• Herm Edwards would be wise to mimic Shanahan and his quarterback.

More to come later today APers.  Don't forget about the Game Day Thread on Sunday amongst other items this weekend.

We Must Protect This House!

Dating back to 1990 the Chiefs have posted a 13-5 record against the Broncos in Arrowhead.  Though I would imagine most, if not all, of those victories came at the hands of a deafening Arrowhead Stadium, a site we're not likely to see this weekend.  If you head on over to the mothership they're still touting tickets for sale which doesn't bode well for home field advantage either.

Last year's game at Arrowhead on November 11th marked the beginning of the Brodie Croyle era.  Damon Huard led the Chiefs into halftime hanging onto an 8-6 lead before succumbing to an injury that would eventually supplant Croyle as the starter for the remainder of the season.  Interestingly enough, we've got the same quarterback issue and the same quarterback starting this game.

Judging by the putrid [actual] attendance at the home opener against the Oakland Raiders, the crowd is unlikely to play much, if any, of a factor this weekend.

Larry, Larry, Larry!

The success of the Chiefs in Sunday's contest lies (or lays?  Help!) on the shoulders of Larry Johnson.  LJ was an important contributing factor when we placed the trifecta on the Broncos in three straight home victories from 2004-2006. 

LJ, by the numbers, in career starts against the Broncos:

Granted the pre-2007 teams are drastically different than today's team but the same principle still holds true.  Get LJ the ball.  It's unlikely we'll see him approach 30 carries, especially with the addition of Jamaal Charles, but against a porous Denver defensive line the yards should/need to come aplenty.

Early And Often

I know this is a Captain Obvious sighting here but getting behind in this game is simply not an option.  Not with our offense against their corners and especially not with the Broncos offense against whichever KC defense decides to show up that day.

The Chiefs have been miserable in the first half thus far while the Broncos have been the league's best.  To be more exact, the Chiefs have scored 0 (!) first quarter points and 10 second quarter points.  The Broncos, on the other hand, have notched 28 first quarter points and 44 second quarter points which puts them atop the first half scoring leaderboard.

This seems like an impossible task but it starts with our ability to run the ball.  I don't want to sound like Herm but this is one scenario in which establishing the run and slowing the game down is pertinent.

Any other keys to victory on Sunday?

No surprises on the Chiefs end.  I still haven't determined the exact timetable for Brodie Croyle's return (Ed. Note: October 19th).  Donnie Edwards may be out longer than one week. 

No real surprises on the Broncos end either.  Defensive tackles Josh Shaw and Dewayne Robertson didn't practice.  Shaw suffered a torn groin is likely out 2-3 weeks but Robertson is expected to be back at practice today and ready to play on Sunday.  Several backups will be filling in in a reserve role along the defensive line which should bode well for LJ and Co.

Kansas City Chiefs:

Denver Broncos:

A quick note from Adam Teicher at The Red Zone:

Herm Edwards said the Chiefs haven't decided whether Tyler Thigpen or Damon Huard will start at quarterback Sunday against Denver at Arrowhead Stadium. It won't be Brodie Croyle, who most likely won't play until Oct. 19, when the Chiefs play Tennessee at Arrowhead.

Herm has to be doing this out of deception, right? The equivocating by the Chiefs coaching staff is really making them look like amateurs. On a side note, do you think that this waffling on the QB decision the last two weeks is part of some power struggle in the front office? I haven't heard anything even remotely about that but it helps explain some of Herm's behavior.

****

In other Chiefs news, the Star has a clip of Tony Gonzalez after yesterday's game. He's pretty frank about his frustrations with the offense but he still manages to do it without sounding like he's complaining.

Herm's thoughts on the team's performance yesterday:

"I don’t know. I think we went in phases. We battled back in the second half. We made it kind of interesting but they drove right down the field after a long kickoff return and that got us out of the game. We came back twice but we couldn’t put any points on the board."

Herm needs to stop trying to act calm and collected like his best bud Tony Dungy. We're not winning. Get fired up about it.