Chiefs head to Denver seeking first win

? If he gets the chance, Emmanuel Sanders will shake Andy Reid’s hand today when the Denver Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a handshake the Chiefs coveted six months ago.

The Chiefs thought they had a deal with the speedy wide receiver when he visited Kansas City on his free agency tour in March only to watch their AFC West rivals swoop in at the end.

Broncos GM John Elway made Sanders his top target in free agency after letting Eric Decker leave for the Jets.

Sanders, who spent his first four NFL seasons catching Ben Roethlisberger’s passes, chose Peyton Manning over Alex Smith.

“I just feel like I was a better fit here in Denver and it was obvious — they throw the football,” said Sanders, who signed for three years and $15 million.

“In college, I played under a guy by the name of June Jones, who runs the run-and-shoot offense. I like to catch the ball. In college, we threw the ball on third-and-1, on fourth-and-1. I feel like that’s the mold that Denver has up here and I’m enjoying it.”

Sanders admitted he was close to signing with the Chiefs, but insisted he never agreed to a contract: “There was no handshake, there was no agreement.”

The divider, he said, was in the details.

“I think we had the foundation of the contract ready, but I wasn’t happy with the incentives. So that whole ordeal was close, but it wasn’t anything official,” Sanders said. “They tried to make it seem like it was official, but it never was.”

So, Sanders hopped on a flight to Denver — which he called “wide receiver heaven” after watching Manning set NFL records by throwing for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards last season.

In his Denver debut, Sanders lined up in the slot with Wes Welker starting his suspension and caught six passes for 77 yards against Indianapolis.

Manning said his chemistry with Sanders is a season-long work in progress “but I thought he had a heck of a game.”

Sanders was just the kind of playmaker the Chiefs (0-1) could have used when they got routed by Tennessee in their opener.

The Chiefs will try to beat the Broncos (1-0) for the first time since Kyle Orton got the best of Tim Tebow, 7-3, in the 2011 finale.