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DENVER -- Peyton Manning walked away a winner in the biggest game of the year so far and, as a bonus, the Broncos might not even have to send his uniform off to the cleaners. Manning threw for 323 yards and a touchdown Sunday night and was barely touched by Kansas Citys sack-happy defence in Denvers 27-17 victory over the NFLs last undefeated team. It means the 72 Dolphins can rest easy for another year. And it puts Denver and the Chiefs in a tie atop the AFC West at 9-1, with a rematch set in two weeks. Manning has another big game before that -- at New England in yet another showdown against Tom Brady. If the Broncos offensive line does anywhere near as good a job in that one as it did against the Chiefs, the quarterbacks ailing ankles -- mummified with athletic tape for this critical game -- should be feeling much better. "The protection was outstanding, we ran the ball consistently, tried to keep them off-balance," Manning said. "We wanted a mix of running and passing game and Im really proud of those guys up front." With Lindsey Vonn and boyfriend Tiger Woods on the sideline to watch the NFLs must-see game of the year, the Denver offensive line, featuring tackles Chris Clark and Orlando Franklin, shut out Kansas Citys sack duo of Justin Houston and Tamba Hali along with the rest of the KC defence, which came in with a league-leading 36 sacks. "I think they did a good job of getting the ball out fast," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "They worked the pocket well. A few times we had pressure, you saw him slide and throw the ball out, which isnt easy to do. But we can do a better job there. We can get a little more pressure on him and well work on that." Any pressure at all would be an improvement. The Chiefs didnt record a single hit on Manning and he was barely touched all night. In fact, his most notable contact came in the first quarter when he and Montee Ball flubbed a handoff that Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson scooped up. Johnson was barrelling toward the end zone and what couldve been a 7-3 lead. Manning lowered his shoulder and tripped him up. The Chiefs offence came out and fullback Anthony Sherman promptly fumbled the ball back to the Broncos. "That was a huge turning point," said Broncos interim coach Jack Del Rio, now 2-0 running the show in Denver while John Fox recovers from heart surgery. Three plays after his tackle, Manning made the games biggest play on offence, spotting receiver Demaryius Thomas in single coverage on the sideline for a 70-yard gain that set up the quarterbacks lone touchdown pass -- a 9-yard strike to Julius Thomas for a 10-0 lead. The Chiefs defence, which came into the game also leading the league in points allowed (12.8), remained stout throughout against the leagues highest-scoring offence (41.2). But eventually, Manning and Co., overwhelmed them, going 79, 65 and 62 yards for their last three scores and a 27-10 lead. Ball capped two of the drives, once from 1 yard and another time from 8, to atone for the fumble, which was actually charged to Manning. "We knew that once we got down to the red zone, getting touchdowns was critical," Manning said. "They make teams settle for field goals down there." The Chiefs, who hadnt lost since a 38-3 setback in Denver last December to close out a 2-14 season, hadnt allowed more than 17 points all year -- a simple and effective explanation for one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. But the offence, led by Alex Smith, simply isnt built to win a high-scoring showdown. Smith finished with 230 yards and two touchdowns. He completed four passes for 57 yards to Dwayne Bowe, who started, as promised, while his legal case for marijuana possession plays out. Jamaal Charles, who came in leading the AFC in rushing with 725 yards, added 78 to that. "We didnt do a good enough job offensively," Reid said. "Thats my responsibility. Were a young football team. Well get it worked out and fixed and get better next week. " The game-time temperature of 43 degrees brought Mannings blue-and-grey glove out for the first time this season but didnt slow the quarterback or his offence at all. Knowshon Moreno ran for 79 yards and kept the chains moving for Denver, while Wes Welker took his turn as Mannings favourite target, catching eight passes for 72 yards before leaving to be evaluated for a possible concussion. Though one touchdown pass marked a season low for Manning, it gave him 71 in his year-plus with the Broncos, already tying him for third in franchise history with Jake Plummer and Brian Griese. His 34 on the season are still on pace to break the record of the man hell face next week -- Brady -- in yet another big game for the Broncos, this time at New England. While the Chiefs got shut out on the sack end -- didnt even record a hit on Manning -- Shaun Phillips had a monster game for the Broncos: 10 tackles, two quarterback hits, two pass deflections and 1.5 sacks to more than make up for an off night from Von Miller, who only had one tackle. . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. . As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events. . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. . Its Wu-Tang and Outkast in the final. Now, we all know youve played the role of Andre 3000 in the past, does that mean Outkast is getting your vote?AJ: You know it, you know it. . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014.TORONTO - In a trade intended to maximize the value of a player, and contract, already on the way out, the Toronto Raptors swapped the partially guaranteed deal of veteran forward John Salmons to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Lou Williams and seven-foot prospect Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, the team announced Monday evening. Toronto will also send a 2015 second-round pick to Atlanta in the deal. Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri had been shopping Salmons and his cap-friendly contract through last weeks draft, hoping to turn him into an asset that can help the team next season. The 34-year-old can be bought out of the $7 million hes owed in 2014-15, the final year of his deal, for just $1 million if hes waived prior to Monday evening. Toronto was planing to cut Salmons prior to that deadline if a suitable trade could not be found. The Hawks are sure to do the same, saving $6 million in the process and adding to the cap space theyll have at their disposal this summer. Entering the final year of a reasonable contract that will pay him just south of $5.5 million next season, Williams is a low-risk gamble for the Raptors, hoping to add depth and scoring off their bench. One of the NBAs premier reserves when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, the 27-year-old Williams has struggled to regain his form following surgery to repair a torn ACL in 2013. Williams averaged a career-best 14.9 points in his seventh and final campaign with the 76ers before signing with the Hawks as a free agent in 2012, sustaining the injury midway through his initial season in Atlanta. The nine-year vet appeared in 60 games last year, recording 10.4 points, his lowest mark since 2006-07. Another year removed from serious knee surgery, the hope for Toronto is that the 6-foot-2 combo guard can provide instant offence off the bench and bolster the teams depleted second unit. The Raptors ranked 27th in bench scoring a year ago. Although the acquisition of Williams shouldnt impact the future of soon-to-be free agent Kyle Lowry, as hes not considered to be a true point guard, the versatile scorer gives Toronto another option in the backcourt if Lowry or last years backup Greivis Vasquez are not retained. The move jives with Ujiris repeated philosophy of winning now while continuing to accumulate assets and build for the future.dddddddddddd Although the Raptors should flirt with the luxury tax this coming season, assuming they re-sign Lowry, Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, they were not expected to be big players in this offseasons free agent market anyway and with Williams contract set to expire theyll still have significant cap space to work with in the summer of 2015. Ujiri had targeted Nogueira, an intriguing Brazilian prospect, in the 2013 draft but was unable to obtain a pick. Nogueira was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics and flipped to the Hawks before spending last season in the Spanish ACB League. The 21-year-old has one year left on his contract in Spain and its unknown whether hell be permitted to join his countrymen Bruno Caboclo in Toronto this season. Like Caboclo, Nogueira is very raw offensively and needs to get stronger to compete in the NBA but he has strong potential as a shot blocker, addressing one of the Raptors primary needs. Salmons was acquired from Sacramento in Decembers seven-player trade involving Rudy Gay, averaging 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 60 with the Raptors. The 12-year vet was a big part of Torontos initial post-trade success and became a fixture in Dwane Caseys rotation thanks to his defence and leadership. He struggled with a lingering back ailment and inconsistent shooting late in the season and fell out of favour as the Raptors made their playoff run in April. Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough had a similar clause in his contract, permitting Toronto to waive him for $1 million this weekend. However, they opted to pick up their team option and keep him around for the final year of his deal, which will pay him roughly $3.3 million in 2014-15. If waived, the savings on Hansbroughs deal would have been minimal, as they would have used the bulk of it to pay a replacement. The 28-year-old averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first year with the Raptors, seeing decreased playing after the arrival of Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. He figures to return as the fourth or fifth big man in Caseys rotation. ' ' '
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