It was total, absolute domination of the type the Denver Broncos had never before shown against their AFC West rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Broncos gained 499 yards compared to the Chiefs' 232. The Chiefs had only 24 yards rushing and failed to gain a first down on the ground.Denver's John Elway threw three touchdown passes, while Kansas City's Steve Bono was victimized by Denver's relentless pass rush, his own inaccuracy and dropped passes. The Chiefs' offense failed to score a point.

The result was a 34-7 Denver victory that gave the Broncos (7-1) a two-game lead in their division at the halfway point of the season.

"Seven-and-one is great," Elway said, "but we haven't won anything that counts yet."

The 27-point victory margin was Denver's biggest ever against the Chiefs (5-3), whose only score came on Tamarick Vanover's 97-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.

Elway, at 36, actually seems to be getting better, a scary thought for the rest of the NFL.

"John is playing better right now than I have ever seen him play," said Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer.

He should know. Schottenheimer has been personally tormented by Elway over the last dozen seasons. His Cleveland Browns teams were twice beaten by Elway in AFC championship games, and his Cleveland and Kansas City teams have won only seven of 19 meetings with the Elway-led Broncos.

Elway completed 16 of 31 passes for 286 yards. He left the game early in the final period and thus was deprived of a chance for a fourth straight 300-yard passing game.

Denver, avenging a 17-14 loss to the Chiefs five weeks ago, scored on its first three possessions for a 17-7 lead. Elway's third TD pass, a 25-yarder to Mike Sherrard late in the first half, made it 24-7, and Aaron Craver's 1-yard leap capped a 56-yard drive late in the third quarter.

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Tight end Shannon Sharpe caught Elway's other two TD throws and finished with six catches for 99 yards.

Bono, meanwhile, threw two end-zone interceptions, and the Chiefs' other scoring threat ended on downs at the Denver 21 with 4:17 left.

"We didn't play too well defensively last week," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said, "and those guys made a commitment to play in the style they're accustomed to. Today, we played Bronco football on the defensive side of the ball."

Denver, which came into the game as the NFL's top offense with a per-game average of 396 yards, raised that figure to 409.

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