"This was the kind of day Broncos fans had been waiting for from Knowshon Moreno for almost two years.

The former first-round draft pick was confidently hitting the holes set by the Broncos' offensive line, accelerating into the second level of the Kansas City defense and breaking tackles and dragging defenders for extra yards.

By halftime of Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, Moreno had 85 yards rushing, more than he had in all but one full game this season. By midway through the fourth quarter, that total had nearly doubled to a career-high 161 yards rushing, and a staggering 7 yards per carry average.

"Everything was flowing," Moreno said. "Up front, they did an extremely great job, and it was easy for us to just run through it."

Yet in the final 10 minutes of the game, with the Broncos trailing by only four points, Moreno — and the running game as a whole — seemed to disappear from the Broncos' game plan. Moreno's final carry went for 24 yards and gave the Broncos a first down near midfield with 10:13 to play. It was also his longest run of the season.

Over the next 2 1/2 drives, the Broncos didn't call one running play. The Broncos took 12 more snaps. There were eight throws by quarterback Kyle Orton, two for completions. Orton was sacked twice and fumbled once. And Britton Colquitt punted the ball back to the Chiefs two times.

"That's what we thought was going to work on the next play. We ran the ball, and we passed the ball when we thought it was the right thing to do," Moreno said. "It's whatever. Whatever's going to get us in the end zone and help us win games."

Yet the pass-happy play-calling late in Sunday's game resulted in only one first down and no points.

Orton said he didn't notice a significant shift away from the run in those final drives, but acknowledged that it was frustrating to have such a productive day by Moreno ruined by the offense's inability to score touchdowns.

"We were able to run the football," Orton said. "They devoted quite a few guys into coverage, so when they do that, we're going to have to run it."

Coach Josh McDaniels said coaches noticed the Chiefs starting to play more man coverage and saw the Chiefs' best corner, Brandon Flowers, coming in and out of the game and decided to throw. Flowers told reporters later that he had been dealing with cramps."