THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2013
PAGE 9
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The guys up front really answered the bell. They had a great challenge against an excellent pass rush. It was critical to the game tonight."
— Peyton Manning on his offensive line Sunday to the New York Daily News
FACT OF THE DAY
Coming into the Denver game, the most points the Chiefs had given up was 17. The Broncos scored 27 points.
ESPN.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: In what game did Peyton Manning have his worst QBR rating?
A: Washington Redskins, 52.7
— ESPN.com
THE MORNING BREW
Chiefs defense brings Manning's stats down a notch
It's Monday morning after the Chiefs vs. Broncos game — the NFL game of the year thus far. As usual with my morn- routine, I scroll through a timeline full of tweets, many relating to last night's 27-17 win by the Broncos.
I was fortunate to see one of my buddies, a Broncos fan, make a fabulously bold claim. And I took the bait.
"So much for that mean Chiefs D owning the old immobile Peyton.. wait what?" the tweet read.
It usually takes about 15 minutes for me to sloth out of bed each morning. But after seeing this, it was a must that I rush to my laptop, crunch the numbers and prove him wrong.
The initial look at Manning's numbers is impressive. He played a mistake-free game while still amassing over 300 yards through the air. And Denver thoroughly won the two most important in-game matchups.
An injury-riddled offensive line was supposed be fresh meat for the Chiefs' NFL leading pass rush. The hobbling Manning was never sacked, nor even knocked down. Perhaps the Chiefs' greatest perceived advantage entering the game proved to be just the opposite.
The other matchup featured the physical defensive backs of Kansas City against a Denver receiving group prone to struggle against that type of play. Kansas City's Marcus Cooper looked like the rookie he is against Denver's Demaryius Thomas, giving up combinations of penalties and big plays.
Couple those with a turnover and leaving points on the field, and that's no formula for beating the Broncos.
But if you really do crunch the numbers, that "mean Chiefs D" my friend satirically mentioned was still actually much closer to living up to its billing. Because you can't own Manning, but you can change him.
Peyton Manning's numbers against the Chiefs
24 completed passes of 40 attempts,
60 percent completion
323 yards passing
1 touchdown
0 interceptions
Manning's 66.5 QBR for the game puts him just above the season averages of Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Russell Wilson and Matt Ryan — good, but highly elite quarterbacks in the game. The number falls far short of Manning's NFL leading 82.2
QBR average and would move him from a distant first to crowded sixth on that list.
ESPN QBR rating of 66.5
So essentially, that "mean Chiefs D" transformed the world's best quarterback from elite to above average.
The 60 percent completion rate Manning posted was his second lowest in his 10 games this year. His only lower percentage (59.2) came in Denver's loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Sunday's percentage was 9.9 percent lower than Manning's season average and would rank him 20th in the NFL if that were his season average. That percentage would trail the less-than-impressive names of Chad Henne, Sam Bradford and Jake Locker.
So essentially, that "mean Chiefs D" made a future Hall-of-Famer look like a Jaguars quarterback.
Also, Denver wasn't shy about throwing the football Sunday. Manning dropped back to throw 40 times on the night, just one attempt under his season average. He trails only Matthew Stafford and Andy Dalton in this category. So if the argument is that the sample size was skewed against this "mean Chiefs D", it's actually a perfect match.
Kansas City did not sell out to stop Denver's passing attack either. The Broncos ran the ball 36 times for 104 yards. The result was an average of less than three yards-per carry and no rush longer than 11 yards.
Give credit where credit is due, of course. Manning is a stud, and the definite reason the Broncos can beat the Chiefs — and anybody — on any Sunday. He didn't make a costly mistake and never took a sack. But he's not the kryptonite to the super Chiefs defense. His numbers were good, not great. It's proof he breathes oxygen and needs like the rest of us humans
Manning is no Superman, merely a beatable Batman with lots of toys.
Neither team has time to look ahead to "The Rematch" on Dec. 1 at Arrowhead. The Broncos travel to New England for another Sunday night showdown and the Chiefs host a capable San Diego team. Adjustments will be made on both teams. In two weeks, America will get to watch it all again — likely with the division, home-field advantage and legitimate playoff aspirations on the line.
But before everyone crowns Denver champions of AFC, that "mean Chiefs D" will have another chance to settle the score with Peyton Manning. And this time with the loudest open-air stadium in the world on their side.
This week in athletics
— Edited by Emma McElhaney
Wednesday
Thursday
No Events
Volleyball
Iowa State
6:30 p.m.
Ames, Iowa
Friday
women's Basketball
Minnesota
7 p.m.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Soccer Semifinals TBA Kansas City, Kan.
Saturday
Men's Basketball
Towson
7 p.m.
Lawrence
Swimming Kansas Classic 10 a.m. Topeka
Sunday
Football
Oklahoma State
3 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla.
Football Iowa State 7 p.m. Ames, Iowa
Volleyball
Texas Tech
1 p.m.
Lawrence
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Cross Country
NCAA Championships
TBA
Terre Haute, Ind.
Monday
No. 6 Duke beats East Carolina 83-74
DURHAM, N.C. — Rodney Hood scored a career-high 30 points Tuesday night to help sixth-ranked Duke beat East Carolina 83-74 in the NIT Season Tooff.
Duke led by a single point with about 7 minutes left but stayed in front and did enough in the final $ \frac{2}{2} $ minutes to turn away East Carolina (4-1).
No Events
Prince Williams scored 15 for the Pirates, who shot 40 percent but helped themselves by hitting the offensive glass for a 16-3 edge in second-chance points East Carolina fell to 0-21 all-time against Duke, though the Pirates flirted with earning their first win against a
The Blue Devils advanced to next week's semifinals in New York's Madison Square Garden.
Freshman Jabari Parker had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils (4-1), who survived a tougher-than-expected fight from the underdog Pirates to improve to 24-2 all-time in the early season tournament.
ranked opponent in nearly 11 years.
Duke helped itself by playing with composition down the stretch, hitting all eight
tanked opponent in early 19 years.
Duke led by 18 points late in the first half after a hot-shooting start, but the Pirates didn't let the Blue Devils put together a knockout run. Instead, the Pirates closed the gap to 11 by halftime, and then kept inching closer and closer after halftime.
Tuesday
East Carolina twice got within a point, the last coming on Williams' free throws with 6:58 left, but never could push in front.
Volleyball Denver 6:30 p.m. Lawrence
of its free throws in the final 2:34 to stay in control. Parker also came through with a big defensive sequence with Duke protecting a 75-70 lead, swatting a leaner from Williams out of bounds and then stuffing a driving shot from Antonio Robinson.
Hood hit two free throws to make it 77-70, and East Carolina didn't get closer than five again.
Duke finished 24 for 31 from the foul line, including 19 for 24 after halftime. The Blue Devils beat UNC Asheville 91-55 on Monday night, getting 21 points
and 10 rebounds from Parker while Hood finished with 18. The Blue Devils shot 57 percent in that one, the fourth straight time they had shot better than 50 percent to open Mike Krzeyzewski's 34th season in Durham.
The Pirates had a much tougher time in their Tipoff opener, needing to rally from 17 down to beat Norfolk State 76-74. That game at Cameron Indoor Stadium marked a return to unfriendly surroundings for Pirates coach Jeff Lebo, who played for Dean Smith at hated rival North Carolina in the 1980s.
When Duke couldn't miss to start the game, it looked as if Lebo's Pirates were in for a miserable night.
The Blue Devil hit their first 11 shots and didn't miss until nearly 9 minutes into the game, with Parker's dunk and Hood's driving basket giving them a 23-9 lead in that opening play.
Associated Press
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