But, at least for the moment, they seem to know where they are.

"Right now, we're in the driver's seat, that's where we are," defensive end Elvis Dumervil said. "We have a few games left, and we're in the driver's seat."

And while the AFC West does resemble a clown car at times - more people climbing out than getting in - the Broncos do, without reservation, have the wheel. They are leading the way by so much, in fact, they could even be the first team in the NFL to clinch a division title.

The Giants and Titans are each 11-1, but they're no further ahead in their divisions than Denver.

The Broncos are 7-5 and with a home win against Kansas City on Sunday and another Chargers loss - San Diego plays Oakland on Thursday night - the Broncos officially will be AFC West champions.

They would have a playoff spot.

And they officially will have been the quirkiest team in the league.

"I know this, this time of year, we have to get it done," wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. "It's pretty simple, really: We play great, we execute, we don't turn the ball over. When we play bad, we don't execute, we turn the ball over, we look, we act, like a bad Football team.

"It would be nice to be consistent."

To this point, and those of you who have tried to connect the dots know this, the Broncos have been consistently inconsistent, consistently maddening to those who buy the tickets to see them and consistently unpredictable to those who would like to know what might be ahead.

"Sometimes, we don't know what's coming," Dumervil said.

It's a young team that plays as if it feels little or no pressure on the road. Sunday's win was just another in which the Broncos were relaxed, opportunistic, lucky and good - all in one afternoon.

They've done it in Oakland, Cleveland, Atlanta and New York. Not since 1998 have they won more than five games on the road in the same season. That might be the first time this year's edition has had a chance to park itself next to the '98 team in any fashion.

But how tenuous it all has been could be seen even through the steady rain Sunday. When Spencer Larsen, Ebenezer Ekuban and Dre Bly left the game on consecutive plays because of injuries, it could have been another chapter in the painful story of this season's injury list.

Yes, sometimes rules and replays give the Broncos a little shove toward the way they hope things would be.

And sometimes, players such as Vernon Fox and Josh Bell, who weren't even Broncos when the season began, are starting and holding up their end of a defense that has almost needed name tags this season.

Hello, my name is . . . and on they have gone.

"There's no doubt this was a great win," Dumervil said. "And we've had some great wins this year. But we have to forget about it, let it go, because we've had some bad losses, too."

And looking at four games remaining - and only one of those against a team with a winning record - Dumervil was asked how the Broncos could make a little more good out of what's been bad so far.

He took a look from that driver's seat and said, "Do what we just did."

Ah, that's been far easier said than done.

INFOBOX 1

GET IT DONE

Sunday was the first time this season the Broncos surrendered a 100-yard game to an opposing running back and still won.

The Broncos had a quality day all around, but Thomas Jones finished with 138 yards on 16 carries. That's 8.6 yards per pop and included touchdown runs of 59 and 29 yards.

This is all relevant since the last time the Broncos faced the Chiefs, Larry Johnson went for 198 yards on 28 carries - good for 7.1 per pop - and two touchdowns.

The result was a "what-just-happened?" loss that rattled the Broncos. Most of the damage that day came against a three-man defensive front the Broncos no longer are playing on run downs.

But Johnson still will be the fuel that would make any Chiefs upset hopes go.

INFOBOX 2

MATCH GAME: Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe vs. Broncos CB Dre' Bly

Tight end Tony Gonzalez continues to be the Chiefs' first option in the passing game, and opposing tight ends have been a trouble spot at times for the Broncos defense.

But with cornerback Champ Bailey saying he will be back in the lineup Sunday "one way or the other," Tyler Thigpen likely will toss the ball the other way.

Bowe traditionally lines up on the offensive left, which would put him across from Bly's right cornerback spot. Bly has played some of his best Football with the Broncos since Bailey has been out of the lineup, including his two interceptions of the season (which have come during the past three games).

Bowe is big at 6-foot-2, 221 pounds and works well along the sideline. He's also decisive when the ball's in the air and goes to get it in traffic.

Thigpen's 6.14 yards per attempt is among the lowest for the league's starters, so the Chiefs aren't pushing the ball down the field, but Bowe can swing a game in one or two plays.

INFOBOX 3

BREAK IT DOWN

Jets coach Eric Mangini once was Bill Belichick's defensive coordinator in New England.

And Belichick is considered by many offensive coaches in the league to be the best at taking away what an offense most wants to do and keeping the ball away from the people it most wants to get it to.

So it's no accident Mangini often does the same.

"They do a great job taking away what you want to do," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.

And it was clear Sunday that Mangini didn't want Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler to push the ball to his wide receivers.

The Jets doubled Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal in most situations. And while Cutler did have his two biggest completions of the day to receivers - a 59-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown by Royal and a 36-yard touchdown to Stokley - he moved the offense by getting the ball to the tight ends.

Tony Scheffler led the team in catches and yards receiving with seven and 90, and Daniel Graham was next with six catches. Marshall and Royal each finished with five receptions.

And while neither Graham nor Scheffler caught a scoring pass, they produced seven first downs between them. They also kept the Jets' four linebackers busy enough and spread across the field enough that the Broncos found some room to run the middle of the field in their two-tight end look.

Peyton Hillis had two 19-yard runs, an 8-yarder, a 7-yarder and two 6-yard runs out of the two-tight-end formation.

INFOBOX 4

Numbers game

The Broncos' up-and-down nature truly began with the Sept. 28 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Outcome Date Score

Big win Oct. 5 Broncos 16, Bucs 13

Tough loss Oct. 12 Jaguars 24, Broncos 17

Big win Nov. 16 Broncos 24, Falcons 20

Tough loss Nov. 23 Raiders 31, Broncos 10

Big win Nov. 30 Broncos 34, Jets 17

INFOBOX 5

HOT SPOT

The last time the Broncos faced the Chiefs, Thigpen did not get in the game.

But he has had some significant impact, even as he has worked his way through his own struggles of late, in the Chiefs offense. And his kind of mobility is not something the Broncos have had to deal with much this season.

Thigpen, before Sunday's win in Oakland when he did not have a touchdown pass, had thrown eight touchdown passes in a three-game span.

He also has rushed for at least 29 yards in each of the past three games - and at least 45 yards in two of the three.

On Sunday, he carried the ball 11 times for 48 yards against Oakland.

The Broncos have faced pocket passers for the most part this season, with the exception of Jacksonville's David Garrard. They kept Garrard hemmed in - he had 7 yards on eight carries - but did not pressure him consistently when he did drop back to pass.