The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the team has released T Jared Gaither.

Gaither (6-9, 340) has played in 43 regular season games (28 starts) and started five postseason contests with Baltimore (2007-10) and Kansas City (2011).

He originally entered the league as Baltimore’s fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Supplemental Draft. He saw action in 23 games (17 starts) in two seasons at Maryland. Gaither played one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Ben Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders and the Pittsburgh Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by Tyler Palko to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 13-9 on Sunday night.

Playing with a broken thumb on his throwing hand, Roethlisberger was 21 of 31 for 193 yards and an interception for the Steelers (8-3), whose defense lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to an injury in the first quarter yet still kept the bumbling Chiefs (4-7) from scoring a touchdown.

Kansas City hasn’t reached the end zone since the third quarter against Denver three weeks ago, a span of 45 offensive drives — including the final one Sunday night.

The Chiefs marched across midfield to the Pittsburgh 37 when Palko dropped back to pass. He was looking for Dwayne Bowe but threw it high and behind him, and Keenan Lewis hauled in the interception with 29 seconds left to seal the game and keep Pittsburgh tied atop the AFC North with Baltimore.Ben Roethlisberger joked that the broken thumb on his throwing hand was “still attached” after Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still tied for lead in the AFC North because of it.

Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders in the first half, and the Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palker in a 13-9 victory that allowed them to keep pace with Baltimore atop their loaded division.

Roethlisberger was 21 of 31 for 193 yards and an interception for the Steelers (8-3), whose defense lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to a head injury in the first quarter yet still kept the bumbling Chiefs (4-7) from scoring a touchdown.

Kansas City hasn’t reached the end zone since the third quarter against Denver three weeks ago, a span of 45 offensive drives — including the final one Sunday night.

The Chiefs marched across midfield to the Pittsburgh 37 when Palko dropped back to pass. He was looking for Dwayne Bowe but threw it high and behind him, and Keenan Lewis hauled in the interception with 29 seconds left to seal the outcome.

Palko, making his second consecutive start in place of the injured Matt Cassel, also fumbled a snap and threw interceptions to Ike Taylor and Ryan Mundy on consecutive plays in the first half.

He fared little better than he did last week against New England, when he tossed three picks in his first NFL start. Palko finished 18 of 28 for 167 yards in what was likely his last chance.

The Chiefs claimed former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off waivers on Wednesday with the intention of having him compete with Palko for the starting job. Orton didn’t arrive in town until Friday, though, and he was inactive Sunday night after participating in only one practice.

Kansas City led 3-0 in the second quarter when Palko’s first interception, which Taylor returned to the Chiefs 8, resulted in a 21-yard field goal by the Steelers’ Shaun Suisham.

The second pick was returned by Mundy, who had taken over at safety for Polamalu, to the Kansas City 24. The defense appeared to hold Pittsburgh when Tamba Hali sacked Roethlisberger on third-and-7, but safety Jon McGraw was called for defensive holding to give the Steelers a first down.

Three plays later, Roethlisberger found Saunders in the back of the end zone.

Ryan Succop added a 49-yard field goal later in the second quarter for Kansas City, his second of the game, but Suisham answered with his own 49-yarder on the final play of the first half.

Succop added a 40-yard field goal with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.

Polamalu left the game in the first quarter when he tackled 290-pound Chiefs offensive tackle Steve Maneri, who had caught a pass in the flat after lining up in the backfield.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year’s head hit Maneri’s knee and he crumpled to the turf, where he lay while trainers came out to check on him. Polamalu was a bit wobbly when he stood up and the team said he was questionable to return with a “blow to the head.”

Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey also left in the first half with an illness.

Roethlisberger showed little evidence of the broken thumb that caused him to be somewhat limited in practice, hitting 10 different receivers. He got some help from Rashard Mendenhall, who ran for 57 yards, and a defense that kept giving the Pittsburgh offense prime field position.

The Steelers squandered a promising opportunity in the first quarter, driving inside the Chiefs 10-yard line. But backup running back Mewelde Moore had the ball poked out by Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali and it was recovered by Javier Arenas in the end zone for a touchback.

Kansas City gave the ball right back when Palko fumbled the snap moments later.

Pittsburgh also had a decent drive end midway through the scoreless third when Roethlisberger underthrew Antonio Brown down the sideline. Kansas City safety Travis Daniels swooped in to make the interception, but the Chiefs’ bumbling offense couldn’t capitalize.

That wound up being the story of the game.

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Wednesday that the club has been awarded QB Kyle Orton via waiver claim from Denver. The Chiefs also announced that they waived WR Keary Colbert.

Orton (6-4, 225) has played in 67 games (66 starts) with Chicago (2005-08) and Denver (2009-11), completing 1,225 of 2,107 passes for 13,753 yards with 79 TDs and 55 INTs. Orton also has 104 career rushes for 278 yards with three TDs.

Orton started the first five games of the 2011 season, completing 91 of 155 passes for 979 yards with eight TDs and seven INTs. He started 13 games for Denver in 2010.

He originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (106th overall) of the Chicago Bears in 2005.

The Altoona, Iowa native was a three-year starter at Purdue University, where he finished third in school history in passing yards (9,337), touchdown passes (63) and completion percentage (58.8 – 786 of 1,336).

Colbert (6-1, 205) has played in 75 games (49 starts) with Carolina (2004-07), Denver (2008), Seattle (2008), Detroit (2008) and Kansas City (2011). He has caught 130 passes for 1,629 yards (12.5 avg.) with eight TDs. The Oxnard, Calif. native originally entered the NFL as a second-round selection (62nd overall) of Carolina in the 2004 NFL Draft.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Rob Gronkowski somersaulted into the end zone, staggered to his feet and still managed to spike the ball.

“I was just fine,” the Patriots star tight end said. “I just got the wind knocked out of me a little bit.”

New England was more than fine after looking groggy on offense early in the game before finishing big with a 34-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to Gronkowski, who has five in his past three games. Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for another score and Kyle Arrington had two of the Patriots three interceptions.

“We try to be a very opportunistic defense,” Arrington said, “and when plays like that present themselves, you’ve got to capitalize on them. And if I can get into the end zone one of these times, that would be good, too.”

The Patriots (7-3) didn’t need him to do that on Monday when they increased their AFC East lead to two games.

The Chiefs (4-6) weren’t expected to do much on offense behind untested quarterback Tyler Palko, who threw three interceptions in his first career start with Matt Cassel injured. And they didn’t, managing just a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Succop with 1:30 left in the first quarter for their only lead.

“Three interceptions is inexcusable,” Palko said. “The game is hard enough as it is without making mistakes.”

With Gronkowski collecting his ninth and 10th TD receptions of the season, the Patriots had their second straight dominant game after beating the New York Jets 37-16. The Chiefs lost their third straight.

The Patriots didn’t generate much of an attack during their first four series. There were three punts and a fumble by Brady that was recovered by Kansas City’s Allen Bailey on the first play of the second quarter. And on his next series, Brady was sacked twice.

“Obviously, the first half we didn’t do anything,” Brady said. “I don’t think it could have gotten much worse.”

But the protection improved and Brady, who had thrown for just 19 yards in the first quarter, took advantage, leading three consecutive scoring drives.

He connected with Gronkowski for a 52-yard score when the tight end caught the ball over the middle and scampered the last 35 yards, barely managing to remain inbounds on the right side as he neared the end zone.

“When I get the ball, you just don’t want to go down,” he said. “You’ve got to try and do something with the ball. That’s why you get it.”

Arrington, who leads the NFL with seven interceptions, got his first of the game on Kansas City’s next series and Stephen Gostkowski made it 10-3 at halftime with a 21-yard field goal.

“We were still fighting and we knew it was a close game going into halftime,” Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis said. “They got a big play and a big score (Gronkowski’s second touchdown) in the second half and that started their rally.”

The Patriots got the ball to start the third quarter and went 85 yards on nine plays, scoring on Brady’s 19-yard pass to Gronkowski, who went head over heels, landing on his neck in the right corner of the end zone after being hit by Derrick Johnson.

“He’s a great football player,” Patriots guard Brian Waters said. “It doesn’t surprise me for him to be able to bounce up.”

Gronkowski has 20 touchdowns in 26 games, surpassing Mike Ditka’s mark of 31 for the fewest games needed by a tight end to reach 20 touchdowns. He also pulled within three of the single-season, tight end record of 13 touchdown receptions held by Antonio Gates of San Diego and Vernon Davis of San Francisco.

“Everyone’s doing their job and I just happen to be an open guy and Tom hits me in the end zone,” Gronkowski said.

Just 1:03 after his second touchdown, Edelman got his second punt return touchdown of his career as the Patriots jumped to a 24-3 lead with 9:24 left in the third quarter.

Edelman, a wide receiver, also played defensive back, a position hit hard by injuries.

“I do whatever I can to help the team,” he said.

Arrington picked off another pass on the Chiefs’ next possession, leading to a 19-yard field goal by Gostkowski.

And just when it looked as if Palko, who had thrown just 13 passes before Monday night, might direct his team to a touchdown, he threw an interception to Phillip Adams in the end zone with 10:50 left in the game.

“We did too many things that get you beat in this league too many times,” Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said.

The Patriots finished the scoring on rookie Shane Vereen’s first NFL touchdown on a 4-yard run with 1:01 left.

In the previous meeting between the teams, Brady went down with a season-ending knee injury in the 2008 opener and was replaced by Cassel. But he injured his right throwing hand in the Chiefs’ last game, a 17-10 loss, and had season-ending surgery on Nov. 14.

Palko completed 25 of 38 passes for 236 yards and three interceptions. Brady was 15 of 27 for 234 yards and no interceptions.

“All in all, I felt pretty confident,” Palko said. “Obviously, there’s a few things I’d like to have back.”

— Associated Press —

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel could be lost for the season with what his coach calls a significant injury to his throwing hand.

Coach Todd Haley refused to say Monday whether the team had discussed putting Cassel on injured reserve, but he did say “it’s a possibility” when asked whether Cassel would be done for the year.

“He will probably have to have surgery at some time,” Haley said. “The length of it, we’re not sure, but there’s some optimism. Each person it varies, but it’s a difficult injury.”

The Chiefs have already lost All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles, Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry, tight end Tony Moeaki and linebacker Brandon Siler to season-ending injuries.

Cassel hurt his right hand near the end of the Chiefs’ 17-10 loss to Denver on Sunday. The injury appeared to occur when Cassel was sacked by Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller, though Haley wasn’t sure if it was the hit or the way Cassel landed on the turf that caused it.

“This has been a fluid situation,” Haley said.

Tyler Palko played the final offensive series against Denver, leading the Chiefs to a field goal, even though Cassel said after the game that he wanted to play.

“I was a little banged up, so that’s what kept me out,” Cassel said, adding that he thought he’d be OK to play at New England next Monday night. “I wanted to go but I was told not to.”

The injury turned out to be more severe than anyone expected.

Palko was informed by quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn on Monday that he’ll likely get his first NFL start against the Patriots. Fifth-round draft choice Ricky Stanzi, who has been inactive all season, will become the backup, though Kansas City could sign a veteran free agent for some depth.

“I’m really close with Matt and we’ve been through a lot these last two years,” Palko said in the Chiefs’ mostly empty locker room Monday afternoon. “You hate to see anybody go down like this, but it’s football, and you just have to be ready.”

The Chiefs (4-5) are in a three-way tie with San Diego and Denver, all chasing the AFC West-leading Oakland Raiders (5-4). The Chiefs, however, have dropped two frustrating games in a row — 31-3 to the then-winless Dolphins and Sunday to the Broncos, both at Arrowhead Stadium.

It hasn’t helped that the Chiefs are missing several of their best players.

Siler went down in training camp with a torn Achilles tendon, not long after signing with Kansas City. Moeaki tore his left ACL in the Chiefs’ preseason finale, Berry sustained the same injury in the first quarter Week 1 against Buffalo, and Charles tore his left ACL early in Week 2 at Detroit.

“It’s crazy, man, just the game, the NFL, how the season is going,” fullback Le’Ron McClain said. “Whoever is next to step in has to step in and play, because the season’s going to continue.”

It’s not going to get any easier, either.

The Chiefs’ game at New England on Monday night starts perhaps the most grueling stretch any team will face this season. They return home to play Pittsburgh, and then visit Chicago and the New York Jets, before playing host to the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers on Dec. 18.

It’s unclear whether Cassel will be available for any of those games.

Cassel, who signed a six-year, $63 million deal before the 2009 season, has struggled mightily all year, hurting his ribs early on and never quite playing up to the level he did last season.

He’s completing just 59.5 percent of his passes for 1,713 yards, with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His quarterback rating of 76.6 is nearly 20 points below his rating last season, when he led the rebuilding Chiefs to a surprise AFC West championship.

Cassel was just 13 of 28 for 96 yards and a touchdown against Denver. He was sacked four times, one week after getting dropped five times, and spent most of the afternoon running away from the Broncos’ pass rush. Kansas City managed just 258 yards of total offense in the game.

A good chunk of that came when Palko came on for the Chiefs’ final series.

The journeyman quarterback signed with New Orleans as an undrafted free agent out of Pitt in 2007, and spent some time with the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, along with playing in the CFL. He signed with the Chiefs last year and did enough to earn the backup job this season.

The son of a high school coach, Palko has only appeared in four regular-season NFL games.

“Tyler is the next in line, and he’s done a terrific job, like I said, of keeping himself ready,” Haley said. “That’s what the No. 2 quarterback has to do, because you don’t know. At a moment’s notice, you could be in there playing, just like any other position.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs knew what was coming, even after the Denver Broncos’ top two running backs went down with injuries. Their AFC West rivals were going to keep running behind Tim Tebow until the Chiefs proved they could stop them.

Just when it looked like they finally did, Tebow went to the air.

The former Heisman Trophy winner connected with Eric Decker on a 56-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, helping the Broncos to a humbling — even humiliating — 17-10 defeat of Kansas City.

“It’s just a mindset. It’s a low-risk offense. It’s not an indictment on Tim Tebow or whoever our quarterback is,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “It’s just whatever is working for us. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We tried to possess the ball and keep our defense fresh.”

Willis McGahee went down with a hamstring injury on the Broncos’ first offensive series, and Knowshon Moreno left later in the first quarter with a sprained knee. That left journeyman Lance Ball to tote the ball 30 times for 96 yards, churning up the Chiefs’ banged-up defense.

Tebow finished 2 of 8 for 69 yards, but added 44 yards and a score on the ground, as the Broncos (4-5) moved into a tie with Kansas City and San Diego behind AFC West-leading Oakland (5-4).

“I’m not trying to send a message,” said Tebow, who is 3-1 since taking over as the starter. “I’m just trying to be a football player. We can improve from what we did today and get better.”

Fox scrapped a large chunk of his playbook when he made Tebow the starter, trying to cater to his deft ability to run the read-option. And despite losing his best two running backs, Fox stuck with the ground game, content to wear down the Kansas City defense.

The Broncos made that clear when they ran eight straight times on their opening possession.

Moreno had the highlight carry when he hurdled the Chiefs’ Brandon Flowers on a 24-yard scamper, and Tebow finished off the drive when he scored up the middle from 7 yards out.

The way the Chiefs played, that nearly was enough.

“We knew that was going to be a great challenge coming into this game,” Kansas City coach Todd Haley said. “We had a Plan A, B and C for how we were going to stop the run, because it’s a numbers issue, and no plans ended up working like we needed it to.”

Nothing worked on offense, either.

Matt Cassel was 13 of 28 for 93 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs only managed 258 yards of total offense, a performance every bit as ugly as last week’s 31-3 loss to Miami.

“It was a tough game,” said Cassel, who didn’t go out for the Chiefs’ final series because the medical staff decided he was too banged up to continue. “We didn’t do enough offensively, we didn’t execute throughout the day, and we just need to execute better.”

Cassel said he hopes to play next Monday night against New England though the Kansas City Star reported that Cassel left the stadium with a cast on his right hand.

Rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin tried to give Kansas City a spark when he hauled in an acrobatic 58-yard pass in the second quarter, reaching around safety Brian Dawkins to make the grab. Baldwin held onto the ball, still behind Dawkins’ back, as both players fell to the ground, but the play was called back because wide receiver Steve Breaston had lined up illegally.

Matt Prater’s 38-yard field goal gave Denver a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Tebow wound up missing all four of his pass attempts in the half, making Denver the first team to lead at the break without a completion since the Green Bay Packers led the Chicago Bears 14-0 on Oct. 31, 1994, according to STATS LLC. Brett Favre was 0 for 6 at halftime of that game.

Kansas City finally scored when Cassel hit Le’Ron McClain on a play-action pass from just outside the goal line midway through the third quarter. It was the first points scored by the Chiefs’ offense since 12:01 left in the fourth quarter against San Diego two weeks ago.

The Broncos snuffed out the comeback bid with 6:44 left in the game, when Tebow hit Decker with the long touchdown pass. Ryan Succop kicked a field goal with 7 seconds left for Kansas City, but the Broncos recovered the onside kick, sending the Chiefs to their second straight loss.

“We have to do a better job of playing on Sundays, because it doesn’t matter how practices go, how things look, you have to do it on Sunday,” Haley said. “The good thing is I know we can. We’ve done it against quality opponents, and we have some quality opponents coming up.”

— Associated Press —