Chiefs of Old Show Up

After three consecutive wins, the Kansas City Chiefs have to be careful not to pout about what might have been.

“What might have been was the 13-3 [record of] last year,” said fullback Tony Richardson. “But the thing that matters most is we’re starting to come into our own.”

Taking advantage of numerous Denver mistakes, the Chiefs (6-8) romped to a 45-17 victory Sunday, knocking the Broncos (8-6) at least temporarily out of a tie with Baltimore for the last AFC wild-card spot.

The Broncos, who have lost three of their last four, committed 100 yards in penalties. They also let Jake Plummer get sacked six times and generally looked nothing like playoff contenders.

“This game was not a fun game,” said Plummer, whose two interceptions both led to Kansas City touchdowns. “It was a bad day.”

Larry Johnson and Eddie Kennison each scored two touchdowns, and Dante Hall returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for another score for the Chiefs, who dropped out of playoff contention with a four-game losing streak in November.

The Chiefs scored on four of their first five possessions en route to their biggest margin of victory in the long series since a 31-point win in 1983.

“It was a Kansas City Chief day,” said Coach Dick Vermeil. “We had a lot of things go our way.”

Kansas City’s third and sixth touchdowns came off Dexter McCleon’s interceptions of Plummer, who was fined $5,000 last week for making an obscene gesture to a fan in Denver.

Plummer has eight interceptions and only one touchdown pass in his last three games. He was 23 for 41 for 292 yards.

Johnson, the second-year running back who spent most of the year in Vermeil’s doghouse, had 151 yards in 30 carries, including touchdown runs of five and 32 yards.Trent Green completed 16 of 19 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Kennison’s second touchdown capped a 10-play, 99-yard drive.