The Kansas City Chiefs fired coach Romeo Crennel on Monday, but made no move on embattled general manager Scott Pioli despite a 2-14 season marked by blowout losses, fan rebellion and a murder-suicide involving one of their players.

Crennel was fired after one full season as coach, and one day after Kansas City matched the fewest wins in franchise history with an embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Denver Broncos.

“I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. “I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Chiefs. The entire football operation will remain under review and there may be additional changes to come.”

Hunt said that “no final determination has been made” about Pioli’s future.

The Chiefs’ only victories this season came against New Orleans and Carolina, the latter coming one day after linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death and then drove to the team’s practice facility and turned the gun on himself as Crennel and Pioli looked on.

Crennel seemed to know the end was coming Sunday night when he was asked to defend his job and said, “If your criteria is wins and losses, there’s not much defense.”

Kansas City will have the No. 1 pick in the draft after the most disappointing season in its 53-year history. The only other time the Chiefs finished 2-14 was 2008, the year before Pioli was hired. They were 2-12 in 1977, the only other time they’ve failed to win at least three games.

“Words can’t describe it, to be honest with you,” cornerback Brandon Flowers said. “We have to do the best we can to block this out and start from scratch next year.”

With five players voted to the Pro Bowl last week, there are certainly pieces in place for the Chiefs to make rapid improvement. But four of them were inherited by Pioli’s regime, and that haul of Pro Bowl players may have been Crennel’s biggest indictment.

The only other teams with at least five players voted to the all-star game made the playoffs.

The Chiefs’ inept offense managed 18 touchdowns in 16 games, finished minus-24 in turnover ratio and lost nine times by two touchdowns or more. Along the way, they broke an 83-year-old NFL record by not holding a lead in regulation until their ninth game.

Crennel, whose career record as a head coach is 28-55, was hired in 2010 to be the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator. Respected by his players, he was appointed interim coach last December when Pioli fired Todd Haley with three games left in the season.

Crennel immediately brought a sense of stability to a floundering franchise, defeating the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers and winning at Denver in the season finale – after which, players spontaneously started chanting his name in the visiting locker room.

“That’s my guy. Everybody knows that,” defensive tackle Shaun Smith said. “That’s not only my coach, that’s my role model. My father figure. We don’t just talk football, we talk life.”

With the support of the players, Pioli made Crennel the permanent coach a few weeks later, giving him another opportunity as a head coach after going 24-40 in four seasons with the Browns.

The season wound up being a disappointment from the start.

The Chiefs were blown out by the Falcons in their opener, trounced on the road by the Bills and needed an 18-point comeback to force overtime in their win over the Saints.

Then a stretch of eight consecutive defeats.

Empty seats began to multiply at Arrowhead Stadium, once one of the most intimidating venues in the NFL. An organized fan rebellion paid for banners to be towed behind airplanes asking for Pioli to be fired, and the majority of fans dressed in black for a home game against Cincinnati.

Nothing Crennel did seemed to work, either.

He began the season as the defensive coordinator, but fired himself and turned those duties over to linebackers coach Gary Gibbs. He benched Matt Cassel, in the fourth year of a $63 million contract, and went with Brady Quinn, who played just as poorly the rest of the season.

Injuries were numerous, turnovers plentiful, penalties crippling and blown assignments became the hallmark of a team that was rarely in games into the fourth quarter.

Then came the morning of Dec. 1, when tragedy struck.

Belcher, a part-time starter, shot the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, Kasandra Perkins, multiple times at a home not far from Arrowhead Stadium. The linebacker then sped to the team’s practice facility and was confronted by Pioli, who tried to talk him out of more violence.

After thanking Pioli and Crennel for his chance in the NFL, Belcher shot himself in the head.

The Chiefs played the following day against Carolina, and Crennel was praised for the way he stoically led a team in turmoil. Kansas City put together its best performance in a 27-21 victory.

It wound up being their last win, though.

The Chiefs were blown out by Cleveland, shut out by Oakland and beaten by the Colts before an embarrassing season finale against the Broncos.

It was enough to finish Crennel, and enough to put Pioli’s future in jeopardy.

“I want our fans to know that I will do everything I can to provide them a dramatically better team,” Hunt said, “both next season and in the seasons to come.”

— Associated Press —

Peyton Manning figured one one-handed catch deserved another.

So, up the ladder he went – throwing the ball high in the back of the end zone to Demaryius Thomas.

Thomas leaped and brought it down with his right hand, then got both feet down inside the line for a touchdown. With that, he joined Eric Decker in Denver’s one-handed-touchdown club Sunday and gave the Broncos another otherworldly highlight to go with their home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after a 38-3 runaway over the Kansas City Chiefs.

”They claim they can do that all the time,” said cornerback Champ Bailey, who got to watch the replays of both catches about a half-dozen times on the scoreboard. ”They say they practice that. I don’t see it. But as long as they do it on Sunday, I’m all for it. Those are some great, hard-working boys and I expect nothing less.”

Manning, in search of his fifth MVP award and, yes, a second Super Bowl title, finished 23 for 29 for 304 yards, three scores and a 144.8 passer rating. One of his main competitors for the award, Adrian Peterson of the Vikings, ran for 199 yards to reach 2,097 for the season in a 37-34 win over Green Bay that secured a playoff berth.

That one went down to the wire. Manning was out of his game by the fourth quarter.

This was the second straight Sunday he used a grey-and-orange glove to prepare for the cold, playoff weather he could face at home the next two games.

”I threw it OK today, I guess,” said Manning, who finished the season with 4,659 yards, 37 touchdowns and a 105.8 passer rating, all second best in his 15-year career.

Thanks to Houston’s 28-16 loss to Indianapolis before the Broncos kicked off, Denver (13-3) will be the top seed for the sixth time. The Broncos made the Super Bowl four of the previous five times they’ve had home-field advantage.

Though the Chiefs (2-14) gave the Broncos as tough a tussle as anyone during their 11-game winning streak – in a 17-9 loss last month – this wasn’t expected to be much of a game. It wasn’t.

Leave it to Manning, ever the perfectionist, to ramp up the degree of difficulty.

On the 16-yard touchdown to Decker, Manning slightly overthrew the pass but Decker reached out with his left hand, brought the ball into his helmet, had it pinball against his facemask twice, then cradled it with both hands as he was falling to the ground.

”Peyton throws the ball up, giving us a chance to make a play. It’s our job to catch it,” Decker said.

The 13-yard touchdown to the 6-foot-3 Thomas mirrored a TD pass Manning threw to Decker last week against Cleveland: high in the back of the end zone where only his receiver could catch it.

”That was probably the limit right there,” Manning said. ”But I’ve seen him in practice. He can jump. He can really elevate. It’s hard to throw it over his head, I’ll say that.”

The Thomas touchdown made it 28-3 and the celebration was on. The only trip the Broncos will have to make on their road to a championship would be to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. They’ll open the playoffs at home Jan. 12 against Baltimore, Cincinnati or Manning’s old team, the Colts.

Coach John Fox, in search of his second trip to the Super Bowl, won his 100th career game. Thomas and linebacker Wesley Woodyard congratulated him with a big splash of orange Gatorade at the end.

”It’s an accomplishment, but it’s something that was a lot of people’s work. It wasn’t one guy,” Fox said.

Nor would Manning take all the credit for all he’s accomplished in this, a comeback season in which he didn’t know what to expect.

This marked his 73rd three-touchdown game, surpassing the record held by Brett Favre. Manning closed the regular season only 41 yards short of his career high.

”It’s been a gratifying regular season,” Manning said. ”I will admit that. It is certainly more than I expected. I’m grateful and humble for it.”

On the other end of the spectrum are the Chiefs, who, like the Broncos, had five Pro Bowlers on their roster, but finished with 119 yards of offense and wrapped up the first pick in next year’s draft.

Coach Romeo Crennel watched the game from the sideline, leaning on a crutch, after having his knee drained of fluid earlier in the week. Many in Kansas City expect him to be unemployed soon.

”I told him it’s been a long one,” Chiefs defensive lineman Shaun Smith said about his postgame conversation with Crennel. ”Sorry it didn’t turn out the way (we wanted). I have faith in you and that’s all that matters.”

The Broncos swept their division games for the first time since 1998 – the last time they won the Super Bowl.

John Elway retired after that one. Now, he’s back, running Denver’s front office, and he signed Manning with only one goal in mind: a third Lombardi Trophy.

For a brief glimmer, this could have been a game. The Broncos led 7-0 when Ronnie Hillman fumbled and Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers picked it up and was sprinting toward the end zone.

Manning cut off the Flowers return, allowing tight end Joel Dreessen to drag down Flowers at the 12. The Chiefs settled for a field goal and the Broncos scored the next 31 points.

— Associated Press —

The joke running through Jacksonville these days carries the same punch line as the one in Kansas City:

“Our team is so bad it can’t even stink in the right year.”

The Chiefs and Jaguars will vie for the top pick in the NFL draft in separate games Sunday. But the value of “winning” the race to the NFL’s worst record is debatable in a year without a clear, franchise-changing prospect.

The Chiefs and Jaguars are both 2-13, but the Chiefs hold the tiebreaker for the No. 1 pick because of their weakness of schedule. The only way Jacksonville can take it is by losing to Tennessee and Kansas City beating Denver. That would give the Jaguars the worst overall record.

Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson have highlighted their sensational comeback seasons by making the Pro Bowl.

Also selected Wednesday to the NFL’s all-star game was Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Manning missed all of the 2011 season with neck and back problems that required several operations. He then signed with Denver as a free agent.

Minnesota’s Peterson tore up his left knee on Christmas Eve last year, underwent major surgery, then was back for the season opener.

Griffin is one of three rookie QBs who had superb debut seasons, along with Andrew Luck of Indianapolis and Russell Wilson of Seattle. Luck and Wilson weren’t voted to the Pro Bowl by players coaches and fans, although their teams are in the playoffs; Griffin can get to the postseason if Washington beats Dallas on Sunday.

Despite a 2-13 record, five Kansas City Chiefs players made the AFC roster. Safety Eric Berry, running back Jamaal Charles, punter Dustin Colquitt and linebackers Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson will represent the Chiefs in the NFL’s All-Star game at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, on January 27.

For Berry, Charles, Hali and Johnson it will mark the second time each has officially been selected to the Pro Bowl. This will mark the first time in Colquitt’s career he has earned the accolade.

The expectations placed upon Andrew Luck almost seemed unfair.

Being the heir to Peyton Manning in Indianapolis is heady stuff for a rookie taking the reins of a franchise that won two games last season.

Now, after guiding the Colts back to the playoffs – and breaking Cam Newton’s single-season passing record for a first-year player – it’s safe to say Luck exceeded just about all of them.

Luck threw for 205 yards Sunday, and his 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne on third-and-goal late in the fourth quarter gave the Colts a 20-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. That put them into the playoffs without worrying about anybody else.

”Would we have done it without him?” Colts interim coach Bruce Arians asked. ”No.”

Luck broke Newton’s record of 4,051 yards passing in the second quarter. But it was extending his own rookie record for fourth-quarter comebacks to seven was more important.

The Chiefs had rallied behind Jamaal Charles’ 226 yards rushing to tie the game 13-13 heading into the fourth quarter. The Colts’ defense stuffed quarterback Brady Quinn on fourth-and-inches to give Luck a chance.

That’s all he needed.

After a miserable stretch in which he connected on 1 of 13 passes, the fabulous freshman calmly led Indianapolis (10-5) downfield. He completed a key pass to T.Y. Hilton on third down and made two nice throws to Wayne before hitting the veteran in the back of the end zone.

”We had so many opportunities all game, especially on third down, that we squandered,” Wayne said. ”We wanted to get that done. That was the opportune time to do it.”

Darius Butler returned an interception 32 yards for the Colts’ other touchdown, helping them join the 2008 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to win at least 10 games after losing 14 or more the previous season.

Most of those wins have come under Arians, who has filled in admirably while Chuck Pagano underwent treatment for leukemia. Pagano is expected to rejoin the Colts this week.

”Mission accomplished. That’s all I can say,” Arians said. ”Without getting emotional again, knowing that (Pagano) is going to be back Monday, the work week shouldn’t be as stressful.”

Charles’ big day included an 86-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half. It was his second 200-yard game of the season, and came one week after he managed 10 yards on nine carries against Oakland.

”It was fun today, competing out there and doing it while we were trying to come back,” Charles said. ”It was fun going out there and putting out a performance like that.”

Charles joined the Titans’ Chris Johnson and former Lions great Barry Sanders as the only players with three runs of 80 or more yards in a season. His third career 200-yard game also set a franchise record, which he had shared with Larry Johnson.

Peyton Hillis added 101 yards on the ground for the Chiefs (2-13), who had 352 yards rushing in a losing effort – the first time that’s happened in NFL history.

A big reason why was Quinn, who was just 10 of 22 for 162 yards with two interceptions.

”This game was without a doubt, 100 percent on my shoulders,” he said. ”You can’t play the way I played today and win a football game.”

His trouble began with the Chiefs’ fifth offensive play, when he threw woefully behind Dexter McCluster – who wasn’t even looking for the ball. Butler picked off the pass in stride, taking it untouched to the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Kansas City managed a field goal by Ryan Succop, but he missed his next try and the Colts went the other direction to set up the first of Adam Vinatieri’s two field goals.

Charles fumbled in the red zone later in the second quarter, and the Colts moved into Vinatieri’s range for a 36-yard field goal and a 13-3 halftime lead.

Charles electrified a sparse crowd on the first play of the second half. He angled to the left and then found room down the sideline, cutting back toward the middle of the field and winning a foot-race with the Indianapolis defense for an 86-yard touchdown run.

The Chiefs were in position to take the lead later in the third quarter, but Quinn was picked off by Vontae Davis in the end zone. The defense forced a three-and-out and Kansas City was driving again before settling for Succop’s tying 47-yard field goal.

The Chiefs got the ball back again late in the fourth quarter, but Quinn was stuffed on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-inches from the Indianapolis 27.

That turned the ball over to Luck, who completed an 11-yard pass to T.Y. Hilton to convert a third down before he and Wayne won it.

”At times it looked a little bleak,” Arians said. ”Guys hung in there, made plays when they had to make them. Offensively we struggled, and then put together a drive, like we have all year.”

— Associated Press —

The defense dominated, the running game clicked and the Oakland Raiders finally ended up on the winning end for the first time in seven weeks.

If only the Raiders could play the Kansas City Chiefs more often.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked five field goals, Darren McFadden rushed for 110 yards and the Raiders shut out Kansas City for the second time ever, beating the Chiefs 15-0 on Sunday.

”It’s extremely hard to shut anybody out. It doesn’t matter who they are. That’s an accomplishment that we take great pride in,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. ”I think it’s huge. Our guys needed something where they get a little bit of confidence.”

The Raiders (4-10) overwhelmed the undermanned Chiefs (2-12) to snap a six-game losing streak. Sandwiched around those losses are two wins over Kansas City, a rare bright spot in this disappointing season in Oakland.

There has been little to cheer for this season for the Chiefs, who have lost 10 of 11 games and are tied for the second most losses in franchise history behind a 2-14 mark in 2008. Kansas City’s only win since September came the day after linebacker Javon Belcher killed his girlfriend before committing suicide at the team’s practice facility.

”Offensively we couldn’t get much done at all,” coach Romeo Crennel said. ”Couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t throw the ball, got into the red zone and couldn’t get any points. Defensively we tried to hang in there but we missed too many tackles and on third down we were unable to get off the field and allowed them to keep drives alive and end up with field goals.”

About the only bright spot from this loss is it kept Kansas City in the running for the No. 1 overall draft pick. The Chiefs and Jaguars are tied with the worst record in the NFL with two weeks remaining.

This matchup between two old AFL rivals lacked the meaning many of the past meetings had with both teams entering the game with at least 10 losses for the first time ever.

The quality of play matched the poor records for much of the day as the Chiefs took nearly 40 minutes to earn their initial first down of the game and the Raiders failed to reach the end zone.

But strong running by McFadden and Mike Goodson giving the Raiders a season-high 203 yards rushing, Carson Palmer playing turnover-free for the first time since September and the Raiders dominating defensively, Oakland came out on top.

”It just feels great to be able to go out there and run the ball the way we did,” McFadden said. ”We did a great job running and the offensive line did a great job. Just a good all-around game for us.”

The Raiders held Jamaal Charles to 10 yards rushing on nine carries, giving him 14 yards on 14 carries in two games against Oakland this season. Brady Quinn was 18 for 32 for 136 yards and an interception as he missed injured receiver Dwayne Bowe.

Kansas City’s best play was a 42-yard run by Charles that got called back by a holding penalty on guard Joe Asamoah.

”That was kind of how the day went,” Quinn said. ”We’d have a big play like that and a penalty. A guy wide open and a dropped ball or I wouldn’t be able to have time to throw it. We just weren’t able to sustain any sort of consistency the entire day.”

The Chiefs finally got a first down with just more than five minutes remaining in the third quarter when Dexter McCluster fought for 8 yards on a catch on third-and-6. Two penalties by Oakland gave Kansas City 42 yards and helped set up Kansas City with first-and-goal from the 9. But the drive stalled when Charles was tackled at the 8 by Matt Giordano after a short catch on fourth down.

Kansas City also failed to capitalize on a fumble by McFadden that Justin Houston recovered at the Oakland 18. An offensive pass interference and four straight incompletions by Quinn gave the ball back to the Raiders and helped seal the shutout.

The last time the Raiders recorded a shutout came in the 2002 regular season finale when they beat Kansas City 24-0. That was also the only other time they shutout the Chiefs in this long rivalry.

”We had a rough season, and it was our last home game, so we wanted to go out there and prove to our fans that we’re still playing with heart and passion, we’re still giving it everything we’ve got,” safety Tyvon Branch said. ”So this was one of those games, it was like a fan appreciation game.”

The fans even got to see third quarterback Terrelle Pryor for the first time all season. He entered to cheers on the first series of the second quarter. The former Ohio State star player handed off on his first two plays and threw an incompletion on third down before Palmer returned to the game.

”It’s a steppingstone, a step,” Pryor said. ”I enjoyed the four plays or whatever it was. It’s a stepping stone, and I was excited to get in there at least.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs put wide receiver Dwayne Bowe on injured reserve Saturday night, ending his season and potentially his up-and-down career in Kansas City.

The Chiefs’ leading receiver already had been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Oakland after hurting his ribs while delivering a block in last weekend’s game at Cleveland. Bowe underwent a series of MRI exams and other tests this week to determine the extent of the injury.

“Well, one of the things that Bowe presents is he presents some dependability to our offense, playmaking ability,” Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel said earlier this week.

“We all kind of depend on him a little bit. So now with him being out, what we’re going have to do is, we’re going to have to rely on those other guys to step up and be able to make some plays for us so that we can generate some offense.”

Bowe has 59 catches for 801 yards and three of the Chiefs’ eight TD grabs this season.

“Everybody’s got to do a better job, collectively,” offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said. “Dwayne was a big part of the passing game, obviously. Everybody else is going to have to chip in and make sure they’re doing their jobs really well.”

Bowe was playing this season on a $9.5 million deal as the team’s franchise player, and it’s possible the two sides could agree on a new deal or the Chiefs could franchise him again.

Bowe wasn’t happy about getting the tag last season, though. He refused to sign his tender until well into training camp, forcing him to play catch-up at the start of the year.

The former first-round draft pick rarely speaks to the media, but said a few weeks ago that he wouldn’t mind finishing his career in Kansas City. There were reports in previous weeks that he was unhappy with the Chiefs and wanted to become a free agent.

With Bowe ruled out, the Chiefs head into Sunday’s game against the Raiders and their final two games against Indianapolis and at Denver with precious few down-field options.

Wide receiver Steve Breaston has been inactive more than he’s played in recent weeks, and the Chiefs’ next-leading receivers after Bowe are running back Jamaal Charles and former running back Dexter McCluster, who are more adept at catching short-yardage passes.

Bowe had his best season in 2010, when he was voted to the Pro Bowl after catching 72 passes for 1,162 yards and a league-high 15 touchdowns. He had 81 catches for 1,159 yards last season, and has caught 415 passes for 5,728 yards and 39 touchdowns in his six-year career.

“Any time you lose a guy like Dwayne Bowe, it’s going to hurt you,” Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn said. “He’s a special player. He really is.”

— Associated Press —