Broncos face Chiefs with field goals on the mind and on the line

As former Bronco Brandon McManus learned, few remember the made field goals, but they'll always remember the misses. (Tim Rasmussen, The Denver Post)

The Drive II: Mile High Boogaloo. The Sequel. The Chiefs Beef. The Kansas City Cold Shoulder.

The Broncos live and die by the field goal against their real rival, Kansas City. Ask John Elway.

"It ranks right up there with the Drive, especially coming against a good team like Kansas City," Elway said. "In that situation, the way I look at it, you have nothing to lose."

Elway was talking after the Broncos' 24-23 victory over the Chiefs on Sept. 17, 1990 at Mile High Stadium. Facing a fourth-and-10 from his own 17 with 1:11 remaining, Elway hit Vance Johnson for a 49-yard pass. And yadda yadda. ... David Treadwell nailed a 22-yard field goal with time ticking away as the Broncos beat the Chiefs 24-23.

Treadwell was nails. He won it. It was the most memorable play of the game for a big win in the Denver-KC rivalry.

(OK, OK, maybe it wasn't THE most memorable play; this might be the play most fans remember from that game, at least the sound of it):

Anyway, the point is: Field goals matter. Even if we don't remember them.

When the Broncos signed former Chiefs kicker Connor Barth on Tuesday to replace Brandon McManus, who replaced Matt Prater, they put their fate in the foot of a 28-yard old former Tar Heel who at one point looked more like an '80s Dutch soccer player then a future NFLer.

Of course, we don't remember Treadwell's game-winning boot from 1990 that won the game. We remember Steve Atwater's brick wall. But if Treadwell missed that kick, well, we'd remember that.

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Broncos face Chiefs with field goals on the mind and on the line