-- Shaun Phillips had a monster game for the Broncos: 10 tackles, two quart

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. Wholesale China Jerseys . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Jerseys NFL Cheap . Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders. http://www.jerseysnflchina.net/ .com) - Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday that club has signed former on-loan midfielder Jimmy Medranda to a permanent contract from Colombian side Deportivo Pereira. NFL Jerseys China .C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Clearance NFL Jerseys . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees.LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears said Monday that defensive tackle Henry Melton will miss the rest of the season with knee injury. Melton suffered a season-ending torn left anterior cruciate ligament in Sunday nights 40-23 win at Pittsburgh and will have surgery in a few weeks. "We lost a very good player," coach Marc Trestman said. "Unfortunately, its a next-man-up situation where the next guy has got to come up and be ready to play and help our football team. Were not happy about it, but this is the downside of the National Football League, is players are going to get hurt and the teams got to respond." Melton last year had six sacks, third most by a defensive tackle in the NFL. He was designated Chicagos franchise free agent after contract negotiations with his agent broke down, and received $8 million for this season. He will be a free agent next season. "Its sad," wide receiver Earl Bennett said. "I mean any time you see a player go down its sad because you dont know the extent of the injury. And when youre one of those guys whos been working hard all off-season, its just sad to see him go down." Melton had been off to a slow start without a sack, possibly due to another injury. He suffered a concussion on the first play of preseason and did not return until the start of the regular season. Now the Bears defence, which has produced 11 turnovers in three games to go with three touchdown returns, is looking for a tackle to line up alongside Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers. Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Nate Collins, who was once a practice squad player for the New York Giants, gets a chance to start at Detroit on Sunday. Last year Collins made 23 tackles in seven contest, but had no sacks. He had half a sack with the Jaguars in 2011. "Hes an active player, hes got a good motor, hell mix it up in there, hes a finisher," Trestman said of Collins. &quuot;So were lucky to have Nate right now.dddddddddddd And well continue to try to piece together our front with the guys we have and well decide that over the next 24 hours and decide where were going to go for next week." Another player who could get playing time is Zach Minter, an undrafted free agent from Montana State who stood out in a couple of preseason games. Even with Melton healthy, the Bears front four had struggled getting to quarterbacks without blitzing. Last year Chicago was eighth in the league with 41 sacks. The pass rush stepped up against Pittsburgh, but it came about largely due to blitzes. Middle linebacker D.J. Williams had two sacks against the Steelers and linebacker Lance Briggs one. In 2012, the Bears had three sacks total for the season from the linebackers. "Weve been blitzing about a quarter of the time," Trestman said. "We probably picked it up a notch, a little more toward a third. Our guys did a good job of disguising and bringing the blitz and we got some hits on Ben (Roethlisberger) with those blitzes and some sacks." They also gave up plenty of yardage despite coming up with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Roethlisberger threw for 406 yards, most by a quarterback against Chicago since 2008. The pass defence will be challenged in Detroit by quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson. It cant help the Bears that cornerback Charles Tillman left Sundays game with groin tightness. Tillman had been out of practice prior to the Steelers game due to knee soreness, but made it through his playing time with no knee problems. "Were going to be very cautious with him this week," Trestman said. "Hell probably be out on Wednesday and well go through the same progression. But he just tightened up. He was in early this morning, he worked out and got treatment, so were optimistic that hell be ready to go on Sunday." ' ' '