Kansas City's Tyler Thigpen moves well enough in and out of the pocket that he has 251 rushing yards this season, which leads all NFL quarterbacks. It also makes him the Chiefs' third-leading rusher, and his 6.6 yards- per-carry average leads the team's regulars.

And twice in the past three games, Thigpen has topped 40 rushing yards.

"He can go," Broncos defensive coordinator Bob Slowik said Wednesday. "That's something we've focused on and are aware of. He's a real good runner."

The league's passing leaders largely have stayed in the pocket this season - offenses are on pace to set records in scoring and completion percentage - and the Broncos have faced largely stationary passers.

Atlanta's Matt Ryan, with 18 yards, is the only quarterback to have rushed for more than 7 yards against Denver. But it's Jacksonville's David Garrard, who is second in the league among quarterbacks with 231 rushing yards, who was the most mobile quarterback the Broncos have faced until Thigpen. He finished with 7 yards on eight carries in a Jacksonville win Oct. 12.

For the Broncos, it creates a difficult dynamic. Most teams, when trying to pinch a running quarterback and keep him in the middle of the field, try to keep their defensive ends from driving so hard up the field.

But the Broncos have had difficulty for much of the season in creating any consistent pressure in the pass rush without trying to also contend with a quarterback who can run.

"Our rush has always been - we don't care who the quarterback is - we just don't rush past the quarterback, and he has a free reign to take off and go," Slowik said. "It's not any different technique, we just know that this guy, when he does go, we'll damn sure have trouble getting a hold of him if we're not in the right places because he can fly."

"He definitely poses a threat," Broncos linebacker Jamie Winborn said. "He runs better than a lot of the quarterbacks we've faced."

The Broncos had two sacks against the Jets on Sunday, including one by Elvis Dumervil when he forced a fumble on New York quarterback Brett Favre, but they had no sacks in the three previous games.

End Jarvis Moss hasn't had a sack since recording two in the loss to Miami on Nov. 2, and Dumervil had a four-game stretch with no sacks after having two in the loss to New England.

And Kenny Peterson still is the only defensive tackle on the roster with more than half a sack this season.

Thigpen's ability to move also has settled him down in the passing game. After a rocky start - he had played in one game in his rookie season in 2007 before injuries forced him into the lineup this year - he has thrown for at least 235 yards in four of the past six games.

That mobility is what got the 6-foot-1, 224-pounder some attention as he approached the 2007 draft.

Thigpen ran for 667 yards as a senior at Coastal Carolina, in addition to throwing for more than 3,000 yards, and was the Big South Conference's fourth-

leading rusher that year.

"It always helps the quarterback when he can bail himself out and make a first down running the Football," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "Especially on third down, when they can get out and make a play with his legs. . . . They can move the chains."

"The biggest thing is, it's just been fun," Thigpen said. "It's like you're going out there and playing backyard Football."

Ready and willing

Broncos linebacker Nate Webster, who has missed three games because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, said he expects to be on the field against the Chiefs on Sunday.

"I declare myself ready . . . ," Webster said. "I'm ready to get back in there and do some things."

Spencer Larsen has started three games at middle linebacker since Webster was injured at Cleveland.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has praised Larsen's work in the middle, but Larsen has been slowed this week by a hip injury he suffered late in the win against the Jets.

Larsen has been moved back to offense for practice purposes because Webster is back practicing full speed and the Broncos have been happy with what Mario Haggan did splitting time with Larsen at middle linebacker the past two games.

D.J. Williams, who has missed four games because of a sprained left knee, also practiced fully Wednesday for the first time since the injury. He isn't considered as close to playing as Webster, though.

"They've been practicing like 10 days . . . ," Shanahan said. "We'll get a chance to evaluate them over the next couple practices."

Asked if Larsen took his move back to offense well, Shanahan said, "He's always nice to me; you guys check on him yourself."

Stretch drive

The Chiefs are 2-10, the Broncos are coming off one of their biggest wins this year and the game Sunday is being played at Invesco Field at Mile High.

That kind of scenario has resulted in some troubles for the Broncos this season, including a 31-10 loss to the Raiders only two weeks ago. And the Chiefs pounded the Broncos 33-19 in September at Arrowhead Stadium when the Broncos went in feeling good about their 3-0 record.

"This team's funny . . . ," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "I think we learned our lesson about taking teams lightly, but if we go out and turn the ball over and give them some momentum, anything can happen."

"We'll find out if we've learned from it," Shanahan said.

If the Raiders beat the Chargers tonight, the Broncos would need only a win against the Chiefs to clinch the AFC West title and a home playoff game.

"(We) talked about it after the Jets game, about how funny the NFL is, how this season, you really can't tell what's going on from week to week . . . ," Cutler said. " You look at a game and you're almost certain one team's going to win and the other one does. It's a crazy league, I'm sure there will be some more twists and turns before the season's over."

Etc.

* The Broncos filled their open roster spot by signing safety Herana- Daze Jones on Wednesday. The spot came available when defensive tackle Josh Shaw was placed on injured reserve. Jones, a third-year veteran, led the Bengals in special- teams tackles in 2006 and 2007. Jones, who had spent the 2005 season on the Bengals' practice squad, worked out for the Broncos in the morning and then was signed. He played in three games for the Bengals this year and made four tackles before being waived after an injury settlement. He had a hamstring injury.

* The Chiefs returned 360 tickets for the game and they are available at Ticketmaster, online and by phone, and at the Invesco box office.

* Defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban (back) and safety Marlon McCree (left ankle) were the only Broncos not to participate in practice. McCree hasn't practiced since he suffered his injury Nov. 2 against Miami. Cornerback Champ Bailey (groin), who said Monday he expects to play against the Chiefs, practiced on a limited basis.

He said it

"There have been a couple weeks - every week - here where we've dressed some odd numbers because of injury. We found enough guys, we can still dress 45 of them, so we're OK."

Edwards, on filling out the 45-man game-day roster because of injuries. The Chiefs had only four linebackers in uniform Sunday.

Numbers game

3-10 record for the Chiefs in regular- season games played in Denver during Shanahan's tenure as coach.