Broncos report: Russell flies home with team after scare

Jeff Legwold and Lee Rasizer

Published September 28, 2008 at 2:09 p.m.

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Denver's Dre' Bly watches as a medical personnel examine teammate Cliff Russell (not shown) who was injured against the Chiefs and taken off the field in a stretcher.

Joe Mahoney / The Rocky

Broncos medical personnel check Cliff Russell after he was injured trying to break up blockers during a kickoff return in the fourth quarter Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Russell initially experienced numbness on his right side after suffering a sprained neck.

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Broncos receiver Cliff Russell accompanied the rest of the team on its charter flight to Denver after a scary fourth-quarter incident Sunday that left him numb, strapped to a backboard and hospitalized.

"All the tests have been normal so far," head athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos said in the locker room after the game. "His symptoms have resolved. . . . Everything looks good now."

Russell was covering a kickoff return when he was tripped up behind the play and suffered a sprained neck.

Linebacker Jamie Winborn, who came to Russell's aid after the play, said he asked the receiver if he was OK and Russell responded that he couldn't feel his arm.

Coach Mike Shanahan later added Russell was "numb on his right side. He had a little feeling in his toes, that was it. He couldn't feel anything in his fingers."

But Russell did give a thumbs- up with his left hand as he was led off the field in the cart.

Antonopulos said the numbness in Russell's arm and down his legs later dissipated.

"It's always a reminder that it's a violent game when stuff like that happens," Broncos linebacker/fullback Spencer Larsen said. "I saw him moving his hands, so thankfully it's not completely serious. But injuries to the head and neck are always scary."

Winborn termed the fact Russell returned home with the club "great news."

"We spend more time with these guys sometimes than our own families," he said. "So when something like that happens, it hits home."

BOILING POINT

Things got heated at times between the teams.

Especially at one point when Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler pushed Chiefs linebacker Demorrio Williams - who dramatically went to the ground after the shove. Cornerback Dre Bly and Chiefs running back Larry Johnson also exchanged words after several plays.

Asked about a comment Williams had made after the game about trying to rattle Cutler, the quarterback said "I don't know who that is."

Told it was the player he had pushed, Cutler said, "I still don't know who that is."

Asked if Williams had said something specific, Cutler said, "He hit me first and I was kind of walking away - he just flopped - whatever. We lost the ballgame and we've got to get back to work now."

For his part, Johnson said he had some history with Bly.

"When I was a second-year player and he was with the Lions, he always was busting on me about getting scrap time - something about Penn State running backs were busts," Johnson said.

"I got hurt last year and didn't get a chance to go at him, so I definitely wanted to go at him (Sunday)."

PERSONNEL SWITCH

The Broncos benched cornerback Karl Paymah in the nickel and instead played rookie Jack Williams.

"Karl wasn't making some of the plays against bump coverage and we were going to give Jack an opportunity to show us what he can do," Shanahan said.

Williams was in the area on three Dwayne Bowe catches on third downs.

"I made a lot of mistakes, but it's good getting in there and getting experience," he said.

FALLING SHORT

It wasn't the homecoming Broncos center Casey Wiegmann expected, going against the team he played for the past seven seasons.

Chiefs fans did remember him, though.

"I heard one person say, 'Traitor,' but that's people not knowing what's going on," said Wiegmann, who signed with Denver after Kansas City let him go.

"But I got to see who I wanted to see, my ex-teammates that I love and have longtime friendships with. That's all that really matters. I don't care what the fans think."

SWING SHIFT

With two defensive tackles hurt, the Broncos revamped the interior of the front four.

Kenny Peterson got the start for Dewayne Robertson (knee), Nic Clemons was activated for the first time in three weeks and Ebenezer Ekuban moved inside from defensive end to bolster the interior.

Robertson said he could have played, "but I guess they wanted me to rest up and let it heal."

He added that while his knee was "stiff" at the beginning of the week, it calmed down near the weekend.

Shanahan, though, explained he didn't want to risk Robertson leaving early, given the strength of Kansas City's rushing game, which might have left Denver with seven linemen.

Robertson expects to practice this week.

MISSED BY THAT MUCH

The Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez did set a record, but it wasn't the yardage mark for tight ends he has been chasing.

With 47 receiving yards, Gonzalez now has at least 1,000 yards against three opponents: Denver, Oakland and San Diego. He's the only tight end in NFL history to accomplish that feat.

But Gonzalez, who had no first-half catches but three in the second half, including a touchdown, fell 4 yards short of breaking Shannon Sharpe's career yards total (10,060).

INJURY REPORT

* In addition to Russell, Broncos safety Marlon McCree, guard Chris Kuper (left thigh) and running back Andre Hall (left wrist) left the game because of injuries.

McCree, who had suffered a stinger - a hit to nerves in the head and neck that can cause arm and shoulder pain and some numbness - last week against the Saints, was shaken up on a 13-yard run by Johnson early in the third quarter.

He returned five plays later. Kuper also returned to the game.

All will be evaluated more today in Denver.

* The Chiefs lost rookie first-round left tackle Brandon Albert in the third quarter because of a hyperextended right elbow.

ETC.

* Kansas City linebacker Donnie Edwards' streak of 156 straight starts - the NFL's fourth-longest among active players - ended because of a foot problem.

* Russell replaced Hall on kickoff returns in the second half after Hall was sidelined by a sprained right wrist. But when Russell went down with just less than eight minutes remaining on kickoff coverage, running back Selvin Young was forced into return duties. Hall might have a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his wrist today.

* The Chiefs led 13-10 at halftime. The last time they led a game at the half was Dec. 16. The win against the Broncos also snapped a 12-game losing streak overall, dating to last season.

* Prater, with four made kicks Sunday, is 9-for-10 on the season because he missed a 28-yard attempt in the second quarter. "I have to hit those," he said. The 56-yarder made him 3-for-3 from at least 50 yards on the season, while he is now 2-for-3 between 20 and 29 yards.

* In addition to Robertson, receiver Darrell Jackson, who has dealt with a calf injury since the regular-season opener, linebacker Louis Green, who continues to recover from a hamstring injury, and defensive tackle Josh Shaw with a groin injury, were game-day inactives.

Also deactivated were guard Dylan Gandy, tackle Erik Pears, running back Ryan Torain and safety Vernon Fox.

• September 29, 2008

  7:15 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  MarcoPolo writes:

  Asked about a comment Williams had made after the game about trying to rattle Cutler, the quarterback said "I don't know who that is."

  Told it was the player he had pushed, Cutler said, "I still don't know who that is."

  I'm sure Demorrio now knows who Jay Cutler is. LOL

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