"The Chiefs quickly became a desperate team Sunday, a fact revealed with nothing more than a quick glance at the postgame stat sheet.

Matt Cassel posted career highs for pass attempts (53), completions (33) and yards (469). Dwayne Bowe did the same for receptions (13) and yards (186).

Those numbers were due more to the fact the Chiefs fell behind by 35 points in the second quarter of what would become a 49-29 loss to the Broncos.

"When you get down like that, you get one-dimensional," Cassel said. "You've got to throw, and you've got to try to get points on the board quickly. That's the mode we went into, more of a 2-minute mode. We had some success here and there, but it was just a tough game for us all around."

The more pertinent statistic to the game's outcome is that the Chiefs were held scoreless until fewer than 2 minutes remained in the first half.

The offense also contributed to Denver's 35-0 second-quarter lead when Cassel, with the Chiefs inside the Broncos' 10 in the second quarter, was sacked by linebacker Mario Haggan, who was unblocked.

Cassel fumbled on the play and the ball was scooped up by Denver's Jason Hunter. He returned it 75 yards for the touchdown that put the Chiefs behind by 35 points.

"It was just one of those plays where at the very last second I saw him," Cassel said.

Facing the massive deficit, the Chiefs found themselves in a most unusual spot. Their previous biggest deficit this season was 10 points, the final margin in last month's loss to the Colts in Indianapolis.

Built around their running game and some play-action passes, the Chiefs were forced into a mode that doesn't suit them best.

Cassel was the first Chiefs quarterback to put up 400-plus yards since Trent Green did it in a 2003 game at Green Bay.

Only Elvis Grbac, with 504 yards in is a 2000 game against Oakland, (504 yards) is ahead of Cassel on the Chiefs' all-time single-game list."