Washington, who played collegiately at Florida, spent the 2006 season and part of 2007 on the 49ers practice squad.

The Chiefs have not had starting right guard Adrian Jones available for the past three weeks, and he likely won't play against Denver this week. Wade Smith has replaced Jones, but he had to shift to center when starter Rudy Niswanger went down briefly in a knee problem. And now Smith is ailing and was limited in Wednesday's practice. Tackle Herb Taylor had to play guard against Oakland for a couple series until Niswanger could return.

PLAYER NOTES

--LB Rocky Boiman, who in seven games with the Chiefs has started twice at right outside linebacker and twice in the middle, will go back to the right wing against Denver as the Chiefs take a look at Derrick Johnson's prospects as a middle linebacker.

--RB Larry Johnson had breakaway runs of 65, 34, 17 and 16 yards as part of his 198-yard rushing day in the Week 2 victory over Denver.

--WR Dwayne Bowe had a 9-105 receiving game against Denver last Nov. 10 in a Broncos win in Kansas City.

GAME PLAN: The Chiefs would love to replicate exactly what they did in their 33-19 win over Denver at Arrowhead in Week 4. That is, run the ball effectively, limiting the time for Denver's offense. They can't afford to have QB Tyler Thigpen throwing much more than 33 to 35 times, which would likely mean they are trailing badly.

Defensively, the Chiefs have to contain Jay Cutler on his bootleg runs and rollouts and try to get him to give up the ball, like he did in throwing two picks in the loss in Kansas City. But Cutler is going to get his completions, even on a bad day. The key is holding down the YAC pickup by guys like Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Broncos WR Eddie Royal vs. Chiefs CBs Brandon Flowers or Brandon Carr. Rookies playing against rookies, the Broncos have an edge here in terms of beating coverage and getting open. But KC's rookies have been belting receivers and forcing the ball loose, so making Royal pay for his receptions will be big.

Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez vs. Broncos coverage unit. The Broncos have occasionally covered Gonzalez with a corner, which makes sense as he's still Kansas City's most consistent receiving threat. Gonzalez overpowers most corners, but Champ Bailey has been up to the task before.

INJURY IMPACT:

--WR Mark Bradley did not work out in Thursday's practice and is very questionable this week for Denver. Bradley, nursing a calf injury, did very little work last week and saw minimal action in Oakland.

--G Adrian Jones was limited again in Thursday's workout and could miss a third straight game this week against Denver. Wade Smith, himself limited this week with an ankle injury, likely will start again at right guard against the Broncos.

--LB Pat Thomas continues to recover slowly from a hamstring injury and remains very questionable for Denver. Thomas has missed the last three games.

--CB Patrick Surtain likely will miss a seventh game this year as he continues to battle what the team has called a quad injury.