KANSAS CITY, Mo. - He cut left, then right, stutter-stepped, then ran backward toward the end zone.
Surrounded by Denver tacklers and just a couple of yards from his goal line, Dante Hall cut back left, looped outside and darted 93 yards into the end zone and the record book.
Hall's league-record fourth touchdown return in four games came with 8:20 left Sunday and led Kansas City to a 24-23 win and the first 5-0 start in its 44 seasons.
But to the other Chiefs, the game between previously unbeaten AFC West rivals was almost secondary. They all seemed to want to talk about their remarkable teammate.
"He's a human highlight reel," defensive end Eric Hicks said. "He's like Michael Jordan. It's ridiculous. The play he made, really nobody was blocked on the initial part of the play. My God, I've never seen anything like that in my life."
Hall has alternated between TDs on kickoff returns and punt returns the past four weeks. Until his 97-yard kickoff return for a score against Baltimore last week, nobody had TD returns in three consecutive games.
With 11 games left, Hall has tied the league record for TD returns in a season. Eight players hold the mark; the last before Hall was Denver's Rick Upchurch in 1976.
The Broncos never trailed until Micah Knorr punted to Hall with a little more than eight minutes left.
When he ran backward Hall feared he might be tackled for a safety.
"I thought, "Oh, I've got to get out of this jam,' " he said, laughing.
But by the time he got near the left sideline there were plenty of blockers.
"The first part of that return was not smart at all," Hall said. "I caught it maybe on the 8, then I retreated back to the 5, then the 2. I got dumber and dumber."
Dating to last season, Hall has seven touchdown returns in 10 games.
"He's the best in football," said Broncos receiver Chris Cole, Hall's former teammate at Texas A&M. "Probably one of the best ever. One guy's not going to tackle him. You have to put 11 hats on him."
The Broncos would have led by more with a touchdown on first and goal from the Chiefs 4 late in the third quarter. But three runs netted 2 yards and they settled for Jason Elam's 21-yard field goal and a 23-17 lead.
Earlier in the third Clinton Portis ran 65 yards for a score to put the Broncos on top 20-10.
