The Broncos locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 38-3 win against the Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday.

The victory guarantees them a first-round playoff bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Quarterback Peyton Manning led the way with 304 passing yards on 23-of-29 passing with three touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 144.8. He set multiple franchise records with his 2012 numbers.

Wide receivers Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas each made highlight-reel touchdown catches. Decker finished with seven catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns while Thomas finished with seven catches for 122 yards and one touchdown.

Denver’s rushing attack was led by a committee of Knowshon Moreno, Lance Ball and Jacob Hester. Ball and Moreno accumulated 15 carries each and Hester finished with seven rushes for a career-high 53 yards. The Broncos finished with 170 yards rushing.

The defense, meanwhile, held Jamaal Charles and the Kansas City Chiefs to just 93 total rushing yards.

It sacked Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn four times and allowed their offense to gain only 26 yards through the air.

Safety Rahim Moore and linebacker Keith Brooking each made their first sack of the season on Sunday.

The Broncos finish with a record of 13-3, tied for the best record in the NFL. They will take the field two weeks from now at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in the Divisional Round.

A three-and-out that featured linebacker Keith Brooking’s first sack since 2010 helped set up the Denver offense for its fifth touchdown drive of the game.

An 8-yard completion to tight end Virgil Green and a 9-yard completion to wideout Eric Decker helped get Denver moving.

A 15-yard defensive pass intereference call on a pass intended for tight end Jacob Tamme put Denver across midfield to the Denver 41-yard line.

A play later, Manning faked a handoff from the shotgun formation and lofted one for wideout Demaryius Thomas, who made a striding, over-the-shoulder catch to the K.C. 3-yard line.

Running back Lance Ball finished the drive off with a 3-yard touchdown run, his first of the season and second of his career.

After the score, Denver leads 35-3 with 1:04 remaining in the third quarter.

On the drive, Manning topped the 300-yard mark for the 72nd time of his career, extending an NFL record he already owns. It is the ninth time this season that Manning has topped that mark, which ties a career-best. In the game, Manning is 23-of-29 for 304 yards and three touchdowns, good for a passer rating of 144.8.

Thomas passed 100 yards receiving on the drive for the ninth time of his career and eighth time in the regular season. He has done so seven times in the 2012 season. It is the second straight week Thomas as topped 100 yards, as he has piled up seven catches on 122 yards in the game – the sixth-highest receiving yards total of his career.

The Broncos began the second half with the ball looking to increase their 18-point lead. 80 yards and nearly six minutes later, Denver accomplished that goal with a remarkable Demaryius Thomas touchdown catch.

Running back Knowshon Moreno ran the ball on the first two plays of the drive and gained 12 yards.

Running back Lance Ball took it on the next two plays, gaining 6 yards and then breaking free for a 22-yarder.

In Chiefs territory, quarterback Peyton Manning connected with Thomas for the fourth time of the game, this time gaining 9 yards to the Kansas City 31-yard line.

The next pass was also to Thomas, picking up 11 to the K.C. 16.

Two plays later, Denver faced a third-and-7. Manning lofted one towards Thomas in the back of the end zone. Thomas leaped in the air and made a high-flying, one-handed touchdown snatch.

The score put Denver up 28-3 early in the third quarter. It also moved Manning past Brett Favre with his 73rd career game with three touchdown passes or more.

Thomas now has a game-high six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown after hauling in three passes on the drive.

Manning is 20-of-25 for 251 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 148.1 to this point.

The Denver defense forced a Chiefs punt to give the offense the ball with 1:37 remaining. Quarterback Peyton Manning used the time efficiently, orchestrating a 59-yard touchdown drive to extend the lead to 21-3 just before halftime.

The drive began with an 11-yard completion to wide receiver Brandon Stokley, which made Peyton Manning the Broncos’ single-season passing yards record-holder.

A play later, Manning hit tight end Jacob Tamme for 13 yards down to the 33-yard line. After an incomplete pass to wideout Eric Decker, Manning hit Stokley again for 9 yards and then fullback Jacob Hester gained 8 yards on a run. Manning spiked it at the 16-yard line to stop the clock with 15 seconds left.

On the next play, Manning threw to Decker in the end zone, who made a juggling one-handed touchdown reception. Click here to view the NFL Network highlight of the scoring play.

The touchdown and extra point conversion put Denver up 21-3 just before the teams entered the locker rooms.

It gave Decker his second straight multi-touchdown game and fourth of the season. It was his fifth touchdown in the last three weeks. In the game, Decker has five catches for 60 yards and two scores — all game-highs.

Manning has a quarterback rating of 138.1 on 17-of-22 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

The Broncos moved the chains 18 times in the first down and allowed Kansas City to do so only six times. They outgained the Chiefs in net yards 277 to 89.

In the second quarter, Peyton Manning became the franchise’s single-season leader in completions with his 385th of the season.

Later in the second quarter, he became the franchise’s record-holder in passing yards in a single season.

His 11-yard completion to wide receiver Brandon Stokley gave him 4,535 yards on the year, surpassing Jay Cutler’s old record of 4,526, set in 2008.

That means that Manning now holds the records for the most completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns in a single season by a Broncos quarterback.

After a missed field goal attempt by Kansas City, the Denver offense took over on the 24-yard line and drove down the field for its second touchdown of the game.

It began with a short Knowshon Moreno run, which was followed by a record-breaking completion by Peyton Manning. The quarterback hit tight end Virgil Green for an 11-yard first-down reception, his 385th completion of the season. That broke the record for most completions by a Broncos quarterback in a single season, previously held by Jay Cutler.

Manning then hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for 9 yards and Moreno moved the chains after that with a 2-yard carry. It was the third catch of the game for Thomas to give him 53 receiving yards.
From just shy of midfield, Manning hit wide receiver Eric Decker and tight end Joel Dreessen for two more first downs, gains of 10 and 12 yards respectively.

Moreno made it three straight first downs with a 17-yard burst to move Denver into the red zone. A play later, Manning hit Decker on an 11-yard touchdown pass, extending the Denver lead to 14-3 following the extra point conversion. Click here to see the NFL Network highlight of Decker’s touchdown.

The 9-play drive covered 76 yards and took up 4:00.

Manning is now 12-of-14 on the day for 166 yards and a touchdown, good for a passer rating of 139.9.

With his 35th touchdown pass of the season, he is one of eight quarterbacks in NFL history to reach that mark multiple times.

Decker’s touchdown was his 12th of the year. His 20 touchdowns in 2011-12 are the most ever by a Broncos receiver in a two-year span.

The Chiefs answered Denver’s early touchdown with a field goal after forcing a turnover.

Following Kansas City’s second punt in as many possessions, Denver started a drive on their own 9-yard line.

The Broncos gained its first 16 yards with runs by Knowshon Moreno and Ronnie Hillman, and then quarterback Peyton Manning hit wideout Demaryius Thomas twice for gains of 20 and 24 yards.

On the play after Thomas’ second catch, Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas tackled Hillman on a carry and put his helmet on the football, knocking it loose.

Cornerback Brandon Flowers scooped up the fumble and returned it 64 yards to the Denver 12-yard line. Manning and tight end Joel Dreessen chased down Flowers for the touchdown-saving tackle.

Looking to convert the turnover into points, the Chiefs gave it to running back Jamaal Charles on the first two plays, and the running back gained 7 yards. The pair of runs ended the first quarter.

To begin the second period of play, the Chiefs faced third-and-3 on the 5-yard line. Quarterback Brady Quinn tried to connect with wide receiver Jon Baldwin, but it fell incomplete through the back of the end zone.

That brought out Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop, who converted on a 23-yard field goal to make the score 7-3.

Kansas City left tackle Donald Stephenson suffered a left shoulder injury in the first quarter. His return is questionable.

The Chiefs’ first-string tackle, Branden Albert, is inactive for today’s game, so while Stephenson is out they are down to their third-string tackle.

On Denver’s first offensive play, quarterback Peyton Manning hit wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who lined up in the slot, for a 29-yard reception.

A pair of receptions by Eric Decker came on two of the next three plays, the first gaining 9 yards and the second gaining 14, to move Denver into the red zone.

With Decker’s second catch, he topped the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. He and Demaryius Thomas are the first pair of Broncos receivers to top the 1,000-yard mark in the same year since 2004.

On third-and-6 from the Kansas City 10, Manning found fullback Jacob Hester for a 7-yard gain and a first down to the 3-yard line.

On the very next play, Manning gave it to running back Knowshon Moreno who took it in for the score. Click here to view the NFL Network highlight of the scoring play.

Following Matt Prater’s extra point, the Broncos led 7-0 in the first quarter.

Manning was 4-of-5 passing on the drive, connecting with three different receivers.

The drive took 8 plays, covered 69 yards of ground and took off 3:06 of clock. Denver has now scored a touchdown on the opening drive in four of its last five games.