Broncos bust Chiefs

By DAVE SKRETTA

AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the words of Chiefs safety Eric Berry, Peyton Manning does not discriminate.

If you’re playing wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, and you manage to get yourself open, you can bet that Manning is going to find a way to get you the ball.

On Sunday, he rewarded Eric Decker all afternoon.

Manning threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns, four of them to Decker, and the Broncos held off a rally to beat the Chiefs 35-28 and seize control of the AFC West.

“I think he showed people why he’s so great,” Decker said. “How we run our offense, we’re very versatile as far as going inside, outside, left, right, whatever it may be. Fortunately I had some play calls and took advantage of the opportunities I got.”

Decker had eight catches for a career-high 174 yards for the Broncos (10-2), who moved a game clear of the Chiefs (9-3) in the division.

With four games left, Denver also holds the tiebreaker by virtue two wins over Kansas City in the past three weeks. The Broncos have the AFC’s best record.

“It was a great, gritty effort on the road,” said interim coach Jack Del Rio, who led Denver to a 3-1 mark while John Fox was recovering from heart surgery. Fox is due back Monday.

“We figured they would have some type of surge early and I loved the way our guys responded,” Del Rio said. “It puts us in first place and now we’ll go welcome Coach Fox back.”

The Chiefs jumped out to a 21-7 lead, but the Broncos answered with 28 points. Jamaal Charles scored from a yard out with 6:32 left to get Kansas City within a touchdown, and then the Chiefs forced a punt with 3:32 remaining to get the ball back.

Three long passes moved the Chiefs downfield, but Alex Smith’s pass to Dwayne Bowe in the end zone on fourth-and-4 with 1:45 left fell incomplete, allowing the Broncos to run out the clock.

“Hard-fought game,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Two good football teams playing each other, and it came right down to the end.”

Smith threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City, while Knile Davis returned a kickoff 108 yards for another score. Charles finished with 93 yards rushing.

Denver won despite missing a slew of injured players, including three starters on defense and tight end Julius Thomas, who has developed into one of Manning’s favorite red-zone options.

No need to worry. Decker more than shouldered the burden.

The fourth-year pro caught a 41-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, two more TD passes in the third and a short fade for a score in the fourth quarter.

Most of the time, Decker was going against Chiefs defensive back Marcus Cooper, an undrafted free agent who’d become a starter.

Manning has 41 TD passes, breaking his franchise record of 37 set last season.

“Sometimes, when you play a team close to back-to-back, there are some ideas that are fresh in your mind,” Manning said. “We thought there were some chances to get down the field in that first game that we never got to. We wanted to get to some of those plays.”

The Chiefs, who lost for the third straight week, squandered far too many chances, including one right out of the gate when Smith was picked off by Wesley Woodyard in the end zone.

Still, Kansas City seemed to have more energy in the first half.

The Chiefs took the lead when Smith hit Junior Hemingway for a touchdown. And after Decker beat Brandon Flowers for a tying score, Davis took the ensuing kickoff 108 yards the other direction.

It was the longest return in franchise history, and the first TD return by a Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles took a kickoff back against the Steelers during the 2009 season.

Smith’s touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano made it 21-7.

That’s went Denver scored 28 unanswered points.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, and the Panthers earned a franchise-record eighth straight regular-season victory.

Newton threw touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr. and “Superman” leaped over the pile for another score as the Panthers (9-3) outgained the Buccaneers 426-206.

The Carolina victory sets up a huge showdown next Sunday night with New Orleans with first place in the NFC South on the line. Manning, Tuck lead Giants over Redskins 24-17

LANDOVER, Md. — Eli Manning completed 22 of 28 passes for 235 yards, and Justin Tuck had four sacks to help shut down Robert Griffin III in the second half Sunday night, leading the New York Giants to a 24-17 win over the Washington Redskins.

Andre Brown had a pair of touchdown runs, including a 1-yarder early in the fourth quarter that put the Giants ahead for good.

Griffin was 16 for 17 at halftime, but he went 8 for 15 in the second half, and the Redskins managed only 95 total yards after halftime.

The win keeps the Giants (5-7) two games behind NFC East leaders Dallas and Philadelphia with four to play, while the Redskins (3-9) were mathematically eliminated from the postseason for the 17th time in 21 years.

SAN DIEGO — Andy Dalton threw a go-ahead, 21-yard touchdown pass to wide-open A.J. Green late in the third quarter and the AFC North-leading Bengals (8-4), coming off their bye, kept a two-game lead over Baltimore.

San Diego (5-7) lost the momentum it gained with a thrilling comeback win at Kansas City a week earlier and saw its playoff hopes dwindle after its fourth loss in five games.

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Foles threw three touchdown passes and the Eagles held on. Zach Ertz had two TD catches, LeSean McCoy ran for 79 yards and the Eagles (7-5) won their fourth straight to remain tied with Dallas for first place in the NFC East.

Carson Palmer threw for 302 yards and three TD passes, but also had two interceptions and lost a fumble as the Cardinals (7-5) had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Foles picked up where he left off in November, when he was the NFC’s Player of the Month and tied an NFL record with seven TDs in a game. Foles finished 21 of 34 for 237 yards against a defense ranked eighth.

Foles set a team record for most passes without an interception (233), breaking Michael Vick’s mark of 224 set in 2010. He also moved within one TD pass of tying Peyton Manning’s mark of 20 and zero interceptions to start a season.

HOUSTON — Tom Brady threw for 371 yards and two scores, and Stephen Gostkowski made two long field goals in the fourth quarter.

The Texans’ franchise-record skid reached 10 games. Gary Kubiak coached from the sideline for the first time since suffering a mini-stroke Nov. 3. He missed one game before working the last two games from the booth.

New England overcame a 24-point first-half deficit last week to beat the Broncos 34-31 in overtime. The Patriots (9-3) trailed by 10 at halftime in this one and the lead changed five times in a wild second half. New England tied it with a 53-yard field goal and took a 34-31 lead with another one from 53 with about three minutes left.

INDIANAPOLIS — Adam Vinatieri, the best clutch kicker in NFL history, tied his career high with five field goals, including a 49-yarder to give the Colts the lead for good late in the third quarter.

Surprise starter Donald Brown scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 1:56 left, giving Indianapolis (8-4) a three-game lead in the AFC South with four to play. It owns the first tiebreaker thanks to a season sweep of the Titans (5-7).

Vinatieri, who will be 41 later this month, bailed out the Colts, also tying his career high for field goals in a half (four) and equaling Jason Elam’s NFL record for 100-point seasons (16).

Without him, the Colts might be lamenting their first back-to-back losses since December 2011. Instead, they were celebrating a renaissance of sorts. The league’s oldest kicker also made field goals of 47, 48, 45 and 37 yards, and the Colts’ defense, which was so good early in the season, forced four turnovers on a day the offense struggled yet again.

MINNEAPOLIS — Blair Walsh’s 34-yard field goal with 1:43 left in overtime gave the Vikings the victory after both teams missed kicks in the extra period.

Adrian Peterson rushed 35 times for 211 yards for the Vikings (3-8-1), who tied Green Bay the previous week. Peterson had two 11-yard runs on the final drive to get well within range for Walsh, who missed a 57-yard try earlier in overtime.

SAN FRANCISCO — Anquan Boldin caught nine passes from Colin Kaepernick, and Michael Crabtree made his long-awaited season debut six months after Achilles tendon surgery. Kaepernick threw for 275 yards and Frank Gore ran for a 3-yard touchdown as the reigning NFC champion Niners (8-4) boosted their position in the playoff picture. Crabtree had a 60-yard catch, while Vernon Davis hurdled into the end zone on a 17-yard reception.

With Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in the house, Boldin made six of his receptions in the first half on the way to his second-most productive game of the year behind his 13-catch performance in the opener against Green Bay.

Phil Dawson kicked three field goals, and San Francisco’s swarming defense rattled Kellen Clemens and the Rams (5-7) all day.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ryan Tannehill threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, leading Miami past the listless Jets to keep the Dolphins in the playoff mix.

The Dolphins (6-6) played with more of a sense of urgency while sending the Jets (5-7) to their third straight loss. New York also has a quarterback controversy on its hands as Geno Smith was benched in favor of Matt Simms after a dismal first half.

TORONTO — Matt Bryant hit a 36-yard field goal 3 minutes into overtime in Buffalo’s annual “home” game in Toronto.

Falcons safety William Moore set up the decisive score in a back-and-fourth game by forcing a fumble on Buffalo’s second play from scrimmage. He punched the ball out of the arms of Bills tight end Scott Chandler.

CLEVELAND — Cecil Shorts caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne with 40 seconds left, rallying the Jaguars. On third-and-9, Henne lofted a perfect pass to the left corner for Shorts, who had beaten cornerback Joe Haden to get open. Shorts got both feet down in the end zone before tumbling out of bounds. It was a dream moment for Shorts, who grew up in Cleveland.

Henne drove the Jaguars (3-9) 80 yards in nine plays for the winning TD.