If the Chiefs are going to rebound, the first thing they will need to do is forget about last week’s disappointment and get back to playing the type of football that helped them win four straight games following a terrible 0-3 start.

Standing in the way of Todd Haley’s crew is a rejuvenated Broncos squad and one that is completely different than the one that started the season 1-4.  With Tim Tebow taking over as Denver’s starting QB three weeks ago, the Broncos have become one of the more difficult teams to predict.

Denver has gone 2-1 with Tebow as their starer, including a 38-24 win over the first-place Raiders last week on the road in Oakland.  Tebow and running back Willis McGahee are the headliners for a Broncos offense that is fifth in rushing the NFL and racked up nearly 300 yards on the ground against Oakland.

With five straight 2010 playoff teams up next for the Chiefs, they will need to get the job done Sunday against the Broncos if they have any legitimate hope of staying in the AFC West race.

Here are three players from each team to keep your eyes on.

Chiefs

Offense: Steve Breaston

When the Broncos and Chiefs last faced each other, CB Champ Bailey held Dwayne Bowe without a catch.  With the two expected to face off once again, that will shift a lot of pressure onto Breaston.

Considering the Denver secondary gave up nine plays of 20 yards or more last week to Carson Palmer and the Raiders, there should be no shortage of opportunities for Breaston who already has eight of his own catches of at least 20 yards.

Breaston is fresh off his first 100-yard game as a Chief and is poised for a repeat performance.

Defense: Derrick Johnson

Don’t worry if you don’t watch college football, you’ll see plenty of it Sunday when the Broncos run their option offense.  The key to any option is getting defenders out of position.  While any counter to the option starts up front, it’s Johnson in the middle that will need to cover up for any mistakes by the defensive ends.

After an down week (along with the rest of the defense) against the Dolphins, Johnson will need to get back to his All-Pro playing level that we all saw for most of the first half of the season.

If Johnson ends up chasing after Tebow too much instead of keeping him in front of him, the Chiefs defense will be in for a long, frustrating day.

Special Teams: Dustin Colquitt

Every time you think the Chiefs punter is putting together the perfect game he either shanks a 30 yarder or decides to try and run into the middle of the offensive line during a botched pooch punt.  But Colquitt has had a very solid season and is just over a half yard away from being in the top five when it comes to net average.

Colquitt will need to improve that net average of his to help the Chiefs get past the Broncos.  Last week Raiders punter Shane Lechler had an incredible 50.5 average, but also surrendered an 85-yard touchdown return.  The one thing Colquitt has to make sure he avoids is giving the Broncos any room to work on returns.

Broncos

Offense: Tim Tebow

He’s an easy punching bag for fans and media alike, but there’s no denying that Tebow has lit a fire under his teammates.  That’s saying a lot for a quarterback that has averaged all of 152 yards in his three games a starter.

Because of Tebow’s unique ability to improvise, you cannot let him escape the pocket though that’s something that is usually easier said that done.  Even in very limited duty against Kansas City last season, Tebow managed to find the end zone twice, a three-yard pass and a one-yard run.

Defense: Von Miller

A super-quick, athletic linebacker wearing No. 58 that has a knack of finding his way to the QB became a weekly sight at Arrowhead over the years.  After all, it seemed Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas was always making a big play.  Now the Broncos have a kid that models his game after Thomas and has gotten his career off to quite the start.

Miller has 6.5 sacks already (Chiefs LB Tamba Hali has 6) and constantly throwing quarterbacks to the ground.  Chiefs QB Matt Cassel has taken eight sacks in the last two weeks, including vie against the Miami Dolphins, which likely has the young Miller licking his chops.

Special Teams: Britton Colquitt

The two youngest members in the first-family of punting will once again go head-to-head on Sunday.

Britton has a better average and net average than his brother (49.8-46.7 and 43.1-41.3) this season, but one short of Dustin when it comes to punts inside the 20.  Both Colquitt’s are running neck and neck as we enter the second half of the season.

Three weeks ago the Broncos handed the Chiefs an embarrassing 49-29 loss in Denver, running out to a 35-0 lead in the second quarter.  However, since that game Kansas City seems to be a motivated team as they have won two in a row over NFC West opponents by a combined score of 73-34.

Denver, meanwhile, has gone in the other direction.  Not only are they caught up in the “Spygate” scandal, but they have dropped their last two games over the St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers by a score of 71-47.

With the Chargers just one game behind the Chiefs in the AFC West, this is a win they need for more reasons than just revenge.

Here are the three players from each team that you will need to keep your eyes on.

Chiefs

Offense: Jamaal Charles

For the first time in quite a while, the Chiefs passing game led by Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe is the focus of the local and national media.  It makes sense considering the magical run that Bowe is in on but don’t sleep on Charles who is a week removed from a 173 yard effort against the Cardinals.

The whole team should be looking for redemption, but none more than Charles.  In the loss to the Broncos, he was held to a season-low 41 yards on 14 carries.  That was against the same team that allowed him to pick up a near-league record 259 yards at the end of last season.

While Todd Haley will no doubt look to ride the hot hand in the passing game, look for Charles and Jones to get a chance to show why they are the league’s leading rushing duo.

Defense: Jon McGraw

You can find fault for the Chiefs blowout loss in every unit, but the defense got cut up from the opening by the Broncos offense.  Hard to imagine how things would have been different if Kansas City had more depth in the secondary thanks to injuries to Kendrick Lewis and McGraw.  Lewis might find himself on the sidelines Sunday after being downgraded to questionable but McGraw should be back after missing three games.

No one is saying that McGraw is an ultimate game changer, but he is a huge upgrade over a Donald Washington.  Getting him back should allow for a much wider margin of error in the secondary.

Special Teams: Dustin Colquitt

Round one of Colquitt vs. Colquitt went to Dustin’s brother Britton.  Since then it looks like the elder Colquitt is starting to round back into the form he has shown throughout most of his 6 seasons in Kansas City.  Britton has continued to pound the ball for Denver, making this quite the game for you punting enthusiasts.

If you ask Haley, I’m sure he would be happy just to see all of the punts go past the line of scrimmage after the Broncos blocked a Colquitt punt and returned it for a touchdown.

Broncos

Offense: Knowshon Moreno

Wait a minute, a game with two teams that combined for 732 passing yards a few weeks ago will feature their running backs?  In Moreno’s case, he had the best game of his young career against Kansas City and will be looking to get back on track after a slow two weeks.

At no point did Moreno rip off a huge run against the Chiefs, but consistently picked up 5-6 yards as the Broncos wore down the Kansas City defense.  While it’s a must to smack Kyle Orton in the mouth, Moreno cannot be allowed to help keep drives alive.  Hold him to his usual 50-60 yards and there’s little chance of another Denver victory.

Defense: Mario Haggan

Haggan was in this position the last time these two teams met and proved why: 6 tackles, 3 sacks and a forced fumble that ended up being returned for a touchdown.  Over the last two weeks he’s had 7 tackles and 1 sack, but will be looking to at least put up those numbers against the Chiefs tackles.

Consider that Matt Cassel has only been sacked 15 times this season and Haggan is responsible for 20 percent of those.  Before Kansas City can try and get Charles or Cassel going, they better prove they can get Haggan blocked somewhat consistently.

Special Teams: Britton Colquitt

He only kicked the ball twice last time out against the Chiefs but still had the advantage over his brother due to none of his punts being blocked.  This time around it might not be so easy to win the family battle.

The one positive thing that Haley and special teams coach Steve Hoffman could take from that first game (yes, probably the only positive) was that the only Colquitt kick that was returnable was taken by Javier Arenas for 16 yards.  If the defense can actually force the Broncos offense to punt the ball, the struggling Chiefs return unit should feel confident that they can get something going against Colquitt’s big leg.

Dustin is a right-hander who, through sheer will, made himself into a left-footed punter.

“The drop is everything in punting, and he didn’t really know what to do,” Britton said.  “So he had to get ambidextrous fast.  So he started brushing his teeth left-handed, dribbling a basketball left-handed, doing all kinds of things to be as ambidextrous as possible so he could drop left-handed.”

Dustin ranked in the top 10 in net punting yardage in each of the last four seasons.

“I think it ended up being a strength for him because he’s had to put so much focus on it,” Britton said.  “His left hand, it’s only job is making the drop.  And it’s made him really consistent.”

The Colquitts — mom, dad and their two sons who were raised in Knoxville, Tenn., and punted for their hometown Tennessee Volunteers — will gather for an early dinner Saturday in Denver.

And the story of the punting Colquitt’s adds one more chapter.

Dustin and Britton are having eerily similar seasons.  Both have a net average of 37.5 and are only a half yard apart in overall punting average.  The biggest difference has to do with Dustin’s biggest problem of late: touchbacks.  For the season, Britton has only put 3 punts in the end zone while Dustin has that many over the past two games and 6 on the year.

The past few games have not been kind to Dustin, but maybe going up against his brother will help snap him back to his early season form.

Dustin’s brother Britton worked out for the Miami Dolphins today, according to his agent via NFP, though he wasn’t signed.

“Great workout today for the Dolphins by new client Britton Colquitt,” Paul Sheehy said.  “No quick signing, but maybe down the road. We’ll see.”

His father punted for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  And his cousin, Jimmy, punted for the Seattle Seahawks.

Sorry…  Slow day.