The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has signed defensive tackle Jerrell Powe and released defensive tackle Kyle Love. Additionally, the team has added FB Toben Opurum to the practice squad roster.

Powe (6-2, 331) originally joined the Chiefs as the club’s sixth-round pick (199th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft. He has played in 10 contests in two NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2011-12) recording six tackles (five solo). Powe was released by the club on Sept. 1, 2013. He saw action in 37 games (22 starts) at Mississippi, recording 69 tackles (49 solo), 24.0 stops for loss (-80.0 yards) and 7.0 sacks (-29.0 yards). He also had an INT, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three QB pressures. Powe spent one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. He was named a Parade All-American as a senior at Wayne County High School in Waynesboro, Miss.

Opurum (6-1, 250) originally joined the Chiefs as a rookie free agent on May 17, 2013. He has served on the club’s practice squad before being released on Nov. 20. Prior to joining the club, he played defensive end and linebacker at the University of Kansas where he recorded 109 tackles (59 solo), 6.5 sacks (-47.0 yards), four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defensed. Opurum played running back for the Jayhawks in 2009, rushing 133 times for 554 yards and nine touchdowns. He also served on the school’s special teams unit. The Richardson, Texas, native prepped at Plano East High School in Plano, Texas.

Love (6-1, 315) has played in 42 games (25 starts) in three NFL seasons with the New England Patriots (2010-12) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013). He saw action in one contest with the Chiefs vs. San Diego on Nov. 24. He has tallied 65 tackles (36 solo), 5.5 sacks (-22.0 yards), one fumble recovery and one pass defensed. Love was acquired via waiver claim by the Jacksonville Jaguars on May 16, 2013 and released by Jacksonville prior to the start of the regular season. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent of the Patriots in 2010. Love played in 44 games at Mississippi State, finishing his career with 71 tackles. Born in the Republic of South Korea, the Fairburn, Ga., native prepped at North Clayton High School in College Park, Ga.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Five former Kansas City Chiefs players have filed suit against the team because of head injuries suffered between 1987 and 1993.

The players, Alexander Louis Cooper, Leonard Griffin, Christopher Martin, Joseph Phillips and Kevin Porter claim that they suffered from post-concussion syndrome and latent brain disease, including, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

According to the lawsuit, the team directly caused of directly contributed to those symptoms, actively downplayed the seriousness of head injuries and prevented the players from ascertaining their injuries.

The lawsuit claims the team’s negligence directly caused or directly contributed to cause the players to suffer from severe and persistent headaches, post-concussion syndrome, depression, mood swings, explosivity, suicidal ideations, and CTE.

The players claim the Chiefs represented to the plaintiffs that concussions are not a serious injury and that concussions cause no long-term health effects. They go on to state that the team was driven by profit motives “so the plaintiffs would continue to play unimpeded by the risks of latent neurological diseases.”

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial, claiming they are entitled to actual and punitive damages in excess of $15,000 for the team’s alleged negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment and for the players’ spouses’ loss of consortium.

The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had no answer for Peyton Manning and Eric Decker.

In two tries this season, they haven’t had an answer for the Denver Broncos, either.

Manning threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns, four of them to Decker, and the Broncos held off a furious rally to beat the Chiefs 35-28 on Sunday and seize control of the AFC West.

Decker had eight catches for a career-high 174 yards for the Broncos (10-2), who moved a game clear of the Chiefs (9-3) in the division. With four games left, Denver also holds the tiebreaker by virtue two wins over Kansas City in the last three weeks. The Broncos have the AFC’s best record.

Jamaal Charles had 93 yards rushing for the Chiefs, and capped a 17-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:32 left in the game to close within a touchdown.

After forcing a punt with 3:32 remaining, Kansas City used three long pass plays to move deep into Broncos territory. But Alex Smith’s pass to Dwayne Bowe in the end zone on fourth-and-4 with 1:45 left fell incomplete, allowing the Broncos to run out the clock.

Smith threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City, while Knile Davis returned a kickoff 108 yards for another score as the Chiefs jumped out to a 21-7 lead.

The Broncos promptly scored 28 straight points to take control.

Denver did it without of slew of injured players, including three starters on defense and tight end Julius Thomas, who has developed into one of Manning’s favorite red-zone targets.

No need to worry. Decker more than shouldered the burden.

The fourth-year pro caught a 41-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, two more TD passes in the third and a short fade for a score in the fourth quarter. Most of the time, Decker was abusing Chiefs defensive back Marcus Cooper, an undrafted free agent who’d become a starter.

Manning now has 41 TD passes, breaking his franchise record of 37 set last season.

The Broncos rebounded nicely from a disheartening overtime loss last week in New England, and are poised to get coach John Fox back on Monday. They went 3-1 under interim coach Jack Del Rio, who stepped in when Fox needed heart surgery during the team’s bye week.

The Chiefs, who lost for the third straight week, squandered far too many chances on Sunday, including one right of the gate. They had marched deep into Broncos territory before Smith was picked off by Wesley Woodyard in the end zone.

Still, Kansas City seemed to have more energy in the first half.

The Chiefs took the first lead when Smith threw a touchdown pass to Junior Hemingway. And after Decker beat Brandon Flowers for a tying score, Davis took the ensuing kickoff deep in his own end zone and stepped out of two tackles before running untouched the rest of the way for a touchdown.

The 108-yard return was the longest in franchise history, and the first return touchdown by a Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles took a kickoff back against the Steelers during the 2009 season.

Smith’s touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano, who made a nice one-handed grab, made it 21-7.

The Broncos closed within a touchdown later in the half when Manning hooked up with Decker for another long gain. This time, it was a short TD pass to Knowshon Moreno that capped the drive.

Manning began the second half off with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Decker, who made a nifty grab with his fingertips as he rolled into the end zone. Then after forcing a punt, the 12-time Pro Bowler hit Demaryius Thomas for 77 yards to set up Decker’s 15-yard touchdown reception.

The Broncos’ run of points ended when Decker caught a fade pass for a 35-21 lead. It turned out to be all the points they needed.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Philip Rivers called it the kind of game that could save the Chargers’ season. Seyi Ajirotutu called its defining play the greatest catch of his career.

The once-embattled quarterback stoically marched San Diego downfield against Kansas City on Sunday, and then found his unheralded wide receiver with a 26-yard scoring strike with 24 seconds remaining that gave San Diego a 41-38 victory and ended its three-game losing streak.

“It’s one of those you’ll never forget, that’s for sure,” said Rivers, who threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns against a Kansas City defense that had been among the NFL’s best.

“It’s kind of what our season’s been about,” Rivers said. “Can you drive and score at the end?”

The touchdown pass to Ajirotutu answered one that Alex Smith had thrown to Dwayne Bowe with 1:22 left in the game — one that had seemingly given the Chiefs (9-2) the victory.

It turned out there’d be more lead change in a game that had eight of them.

“Philip said, `Fly on the boundary,” Ajirotutu said, “so I knew that’s a little code word that he usually says that the ball’s coming to you.”

Smith wound up throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs, who lost their second straight after a 9-0 start. They also lost top pass rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston to injuries, and now face the prospect of playing the Broncos next week without them.

Hali has a sprained right ankle and Houston a sprained left elbow, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that both of them are due for MRI exams on Monday.

“I’m not making excuses,” Reid said. “The next guy has to come in and we expect them to step up and make plays. There’s no excuses.”

San Diego (5-6) finished with 491 yards of offense against a Chiefs defense that had allowed more than 17 points just once: last week’s 27-17 defeat in Denver.

Danny Woodhead had touchdowns rushing and receiving as he picked up the slack for Chargers running back Ryan Mathews, who left with a hamstring injury. Ladarius Green had a 60-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, while Keenan Allen had nine catches for 124 yards.

Of course, it was Rivers who made the entire offense sing.

“I’ll tell you right now, we’ve got a great quarterback,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “There was no doubt in my mind at the end of the game he was going out and scoring.”

Jamaal Charles added 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Chiefs, while Donnie Avery had four catches for 91 yards and a score in their best offensive game of the year.

“I mean, you’d like to take positives away form games,” Smith said, “but right now it wasn’t enough. We didn’t do enough as a team to come out on top.”

The game turned into a back-and-forth nail-biter in the second half.

San Diego pulled ahead 17-14 when a 54-yard pass to Eddie Royal set up a 1-yard TD run by Mathews. But the Chargers helped the Chiefs take the lead right back with three pass interference penalties that gave them the ball at the San Diego 1. Charles’ second touchdown made it 21-17.

The Chargers’ struggling defensive backfield got one back on the Chiefs’ next series. Shareece Wright, who had one of those pass interference penalties, batted a pass to Marcus Gilchrist, who had one of the others. The interception set up Woodhead’s 3-yard touchdown run.

Kansas City retook the lead at 28-24 on Smith’s short pass to Anthony Fasano, but after the teams traded chip-shot field goals, the Chargers took it right back.

Rivers hit Green on a quick slant, and the tight end ran 60 yards for his first career touchdown. It gave the Chargers a 34-31 lead with 7:50 left.

The Chiefs answered the call, only for the Chargers to trump them in the end.

“That’s what the game’s all about,” McCoy said. “When the game’s on the line, who’s going to come up and make the big play? Who’s going to make the big stop?”

— Associated Press —