KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Denver Broncos are Peyton Manning’s team, or at least they used to be. For the Broncos to win over the last three seasons, they relied on Manning and his ability to distribute the football in the passing game.

However, in a 29-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium, the Broncos showed they are not locked into relying on their future Hall of Fame quarterback. The key in the Broncos’ ninth victory of the season was their running game: 214 yards on 45 carries, including 168 yards from second-year running back C.J. Anderson.

Manning completed just half of his 34 passes for only 179 yards; that’s a paltry figure for a quarterback that averaged 318 yards in 43 previous games with Denver. No, this Broncos team is working to establish other weapons for Manning and the offense.

“It’s something we kind of started isolating on a couple weeks ago and our players have responded,” said head coach John Fox. “Coming in here tonight, we knew it was going to be tough weather conditions. We were able to lean on the run game. The blocking element was there as well as our running backs; they ran the ball very hard and effectively.”

The victory lifted the Broncos (9-3) into a tie with New England for the best record in the AFC with four weeks to play in the regular season. A second straight loss dropped the Chiefs (7-5) to third place in the AFC West behind Denver and the San Diego Chargers. It was Kansas City’s sixth straight loss to Denver.

“There’s really not a phase that I can point to that was a positive in this game for us,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “There were too many things to hit with the special teams error, the interception, the turnovers, interceptions. We could never get it back on track completely.”

Anderson was the offensive star for the Broncos, running for 168 yards and catching a 15-yard touchdown pass. In the last two games, he’s run the ball 59 times for 335 yards.

“Our running back situation has been unique all year and when we’ve leaned on guys, they’ve come through,” Fox said. “C.J. has been no different. He’s got the ability to make people miss. He’s done a good job on his assignments and he’s run the ball hard and he’s made people miss.”

Down 17-0 in the second quarter, the Chiefs tried to make a comeback as quarterback Alex Smith threw a pair of touchdown passes. Running back Jamaal Charles was kept under wraps by the Denver defense, running for just 35 yards. The Chiefs turned the ball over three times in the second half and Smith was sacked six times.

“We couldn’t sustain anything, we couldn’t stay on the field and we couldn’t keep our defense off the field,” said Smith, who threw a pair of touchdown passes and one interception and was under heavy pressure from the Denver pass rush all night. “That’s two weeks in a row for us and now it’s gut-check time. There’s meaningful time left in the season, but that depends on what we do with it.”

Kansas City did nothing with the ball in its first two possessions, going three plays and then a punt each time.

In contrast, Denver put together an eight-play, 74-yard scoring drive between those possessions, with Manning connecting with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for a 23-yard touchdown pass. When the Chiefs punted for the third time after three plays, Denver went on a 10-play, 48-yard drive that finished with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Anderson.

At the end of the first quarter, Denver led 14-0, had a 140-yard edge in offensive yards (130 to minus-10) and Manning was 5-for-5 on third-down passes, generating five first downs and two touchdowns.

It wasn’t until halfway through the second quarter that the Chiefs were able to create any type of energy. The defense stopped Denver on a third-and-goal play at the 4-yard line, forcing a 22-yard field goal by new Broncos kicker Connor Barth and Denver held a 17-0 Denver lead.

Keeping the Broncos out of the end zone seemed to fire up the Kansas City offense as they went 69 yards on seven plays with Smith connecting with tight end Anthony Fasano for a 20-yard touchdown.

At the end of the second quarter, Barth made a 24-yard field goal, setting Denver’s lead at 20-7 for halftime.

What the Broncos said:

“I think you need the ability to win different types of football games. We wanted to come out and establish the run. We thought it was important, and it really went well the entire night.” — Quarterback Peyton Manning, on the Broncos’ offensive game plan.

What the Chiefs said:

“Falling down early against anybody is tough, but it’s hard when you are playing him (Peyton Manning). … He doesn’t need any help.” — Nose tackle Dontari Poe, on Kansas City falling behind 17-0 to Denver.

What we learned about the Broncos:

1. The offensive versatility the Broncos showed the past two games is due to the ability of the line, a group of blockers that seems able to handle the task whether it’s blocking for the running game or protecting quarterback Peyton Manning. Sunday’s performance against Kansas City was a sterling effort, creating running room for 214 rushing yards at 4.8 yards per carry and providing Manning enough pass protection that he was sacked just once. The health of the five-man group of left tackle Ryan Clady, left guard Orlando Franklin, center Will Montgomery, right guard Manny Ramirez and right tackle Louis Vasquez is key for the Denver offense’s productivity and efficiency.

2. The acquisition of Connor Barth on Tuesday paid big dividends out of the chute for Denver, as the veteran kicker hit on all five of his field-goal attempts Sunday, tying a club record. Barth solidified a position that previously featured inconsistent performances from rookie Brandon McManus.

–QB Peyton Manning threw a touchdown pass in his 51st consecutive game, the third-longest streak in NFL history behind only Drew Brees (54) and Tom Brady (52). Manning’s streak is the only one of the top three that is ongoing. Manning finished Sunday’s game 17-for-34 for 179 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions.

–RB C.J. Anderson became the legs of the Denver offense in the last two games, running for 167 yards in a victory over Miami and then 168 yards Sunday night in a winning effort against Kansas City. In two weeks, he has 59 carries for 335 yards. He had fewer than 250 career rushing yards prior to those two games.

–K Connor Barth was unemployed all season until Tuesday, but he obviously was working on his kicking, as he made all five of his field-goal attempts Sunday night in the Broncos’ victory over Kansas City. He was good from 22, 24, 30, 33 and 37 yards, and he did it in cold and windy weather conditions at Arrowhead Stadium. He tied a Broncos record for field goals in a game, a mark set by Jason Elam.

What we learned about the Chiefs:

1. Kansas City is going to have a hard time becoming an AFC West contender if it can’t figure out how to win games in the division. Since Andy Reid took over the team in 2013, the Chiefs are a combined 3-7 against Denver, Oakland and San Diego, including 0-4 against the Broncos, who have controlled the division for several seasons.

2. Suddenly, the Chiefs have a problem stopping the run. In games against Seattle, Oakland and Denver, the gave up 597 rushing yards, and the 214 yards they allowed the Broncos on the ground Sunday night was a season high. Power running games are causing Kansas City the most problems, as it steady pounding that comes along the line of scrimmage appears to create more room when games get into the second half. Luckily for the Chiefs, they have only one game left against one of the league’s better run offenses — Pittsburgh. Their other three remaining opponents, Arizona, San Diego and Oakland, all rank in the bottom 25 percent of rushing teams this season.

–RB Jamaal Charles had just 14 touches in Sunday night’s loss to Denver, running 10 times for 35 yards and catching four passes for 24 yards. Charles did have a 12-yard touchdown catch, his longest play of the evening, but he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.

–WR Donnie Avery returned to the field for the first time since late September. He was finally back from a sports hernia injury that required surgery. However, he was barely a factor in the offense against Denver. Avery was targeted twice, and he caught one pass for 20 yards, but he fumbled at the end of that play, with the Broncos recovering the ball.

–WR Dwayne Bowe was an invisible member of the Chiefs in Sunday night’s game against Denver. The veteran was targeted five times, but he caught just two passes for a mere 18 yards. Through 12 games, he has just 46 catches for 568 yards, approximately four catches a game for less than 50 yards. Bowe has no touchdown receptions this season.