Teicher: Brown’s big play gives Chiefs defense momentum

[Tribal Warfare]

Brown’s big play gives Chiefs defense momentum
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

LANDOVER, Md. | The here-we-go-again thoughts could have made their way into the minds of Chiefs defenders when, midway though the third quarter and the Chiefs trying to maintain a tie with Washington, they allowed a 78-yard run to Clinton Portis.

But safety Mike Brown, one of the victims on two big Dallas plays last week, wouldn’t quit on the play. Despite being shoved away from Portis early, he stayed with him and eventually got Portis down at the 10-yard line.

The Chiefs held from there, and though Washington kicked a field goal and took a three-point lead, it wouldn’t score again. The Chiefs scored the game’s final 11 points and won their first game of the season 14-6 on Sunday.

They pointed afterward to Brown’s tackle of Portis, which allowed the Chiefs to hold an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since late in the 2006 season.

“That was a big boost to us mentally,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. “It sure looked like a long touchdown run, but we got him down.”

Brown missed tackle attempts on two long Miles Austin touchdowns last week against Dallas, the second coming in overtime. Brown didn’t look as if he would be given the chance to become a hero on the Portis run because he was cleared away by blockers early on.

“I knew I would have to make a play there,” Brown said. “I was just trying to stay alive. I had no idea how important that tackle would be. But we didn’t let them score.

“They had some big plays, but we never let them score (a touchdown). In this league, you’re going to give up plays, but we were able to get guys down before they got into the end zone and make them take field goals. That was important for us.”

It also provided some momentum for a Chiefs defense still stunned by the two late Austin touchdowns from last week.

“Those plays hurt us, but the attitude has always been good,” he said. “That’s never changed. We’ve never been down on ourselves. We’ve always thought we’d get the job done. So there was nothing different about this game.”

It helped the Chiefs to erase memories of last week that eight of Washington’s 13 possessions were three plays or fewer. The last Washington first down came early in the fourth period.

“We were getting a lot of three-and-outs,” said safety Jon McGraw, who started in place of injured Jarrad Page. “Those were definitely confidence-builders. We were expecting them to come after us. We weren’t going to relax until we finished the job.”

The Chiefs also finished the defensive job in an emphatic manner. Washington took over for the last time with 31 seconds left. But Tamba Hali sacked Todd Collins for a safety, and the Chiefs ran out the clock.

“Seeing Tamba bring him down in the end zone,” McGraw said, “was one of the greatest feelings in the world.”

[OnTheWarpath15]

Oh.

Em.

Gee.

[Titty Meat]

Good job Brown. Pollard would have looked clueless