Hammock Parties
01-04-2007, 03:22 PM
I decided to dreg up the last time we played Indy instead of going with the '93 Steelers playoff game.
Part 18 of our ongoing 2006 series here at Chiefsplanet...
THIS WEEK IN CHIEFS HISTORY
October 31, 2004
KANSAS CITY 45, INDIANAPOLIS 35
Let's not forget about the defense
By JASON WHITLOCK
If you examine only the scoreboard, the stat sheet and Dick Vermeil's postgame comments, you might mistakenly reach the conclusion that the Chiefs beat Indianapolis 45-35 on Sunday solely with their offense.
Trent Green threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns. Priest Holmes amassed 225 total yards and three TDs. Tony Gonzalez grabbed eight passes for 125 yards and two scores. The Chiefs gained 590 yards and 33 first downs.
After the game, Vermeil cooed about his offense as if the unit had just laid 50 points on the '85 Bears.
When asked about his defense, the most positive statement Vermeil could muster was a backhanded compliment.
"At least we made 'em punt today," Vermeil joked, referencing last season's puntless playoff debacle.
Vermeil (plus his sidekick, offensive coordinator Al Saunders) is so obsessed with setting offensive records and cementing a reputation as the game's new-millennium Bill Walsh that he can't appreciate or comprehend a defensive contribution.
Kansas City's defense won Sunday's game. And yes, I'm well aware that Peyton Manning passed for five touchdowns and nearly 500 yards. Yes, I'm aware that Indy's offense raced up and down the field in the second half.
But Kansas City's defense, given Sunday's circumstances, was far more impressive than its offense. The cliche "taking candy from a baby" was invented to describe Indy's defense, a unit that has significantly less talent than KC's. We spent so much time last season blasting Greg Robinson's unit for failing to force Indy to punt, we ignored the fact that the Colts' D never forced a punt either.
Indy fields the league's worst pass defense. The only reason the Colts don't have the NFL's worst run defense is because their opposition chooses to pass to keep pace with Indy's quick-strike offense. Vermeil's offensive boasting seems silly given the opponent.
You don't brag about beating up a baby seal.
But Kansas City's defense has a right to crow today. Gunther Cunningham's outfit got the best of Manning in the first half, and that 30-minute advantage decided Sunday's game.
Kansas City's defense forced three punts and one ridiculous, fourth-and-14 fake punt in the first half. A gift pass-interference call against Eric Warfield set up one of Indianapolis' two first-half touchdowns. Gunther's boys surrendered seven legitimate points before the break. KC's defenders pushed the Colts out of a rhythm by getting some early hits on Manning, whose feet get happy after contact.
"We were bouncing the back of (Manning's) head off the turf in the first half," Chiefs defensive end Eric Hicks said.
The Chiefs never sacked Manning, but they pressured and hurried him with an assortment of blitzes and disguised coverages. Unable (or unwilling) to set his feet, Manning over- and underthrew open receivers. In the first half, he completed just 10 of 24 passes. The Colts failed to convert on five of eight third-down plays.
"We held our looks at the line of scrimmage," said outside linebacker Shawn Barber, explaining that the Chiefs often showed their blitzes just before the snap. "(Manning) wasn't 100 percent sure what he was getting."
Defensive end Vonnie Holliday added: "We felt like we rattled him."
Thanks to its defense, Kansas City built a 31-14 halftime lead. That advantage provided the Chiefs' offense the cushion it would need to hold off Manning in a shootout.
Yes, Manning caught fire in the second half. The Colts changed their pass protection and used a lot more "max" protection after the break. Indy receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne zipped past Kansas City corners William Bartee and Warfield.
The Colts didn't run the football one time in the second half. Kansas City's first-half defense (and Indy's putrid defense) made the Colts' offense completely one-dimensional.
Should we be concerned that the Colts scored 35 points and amassed 505 yards of offense?
No. Carl Peterson and Vermeil didn't try to build a great defense last off-season. They hired Cunningham and asked him to improve Kansas City's defense a little bit. Cunningham has done that and a little bit more.
The Colts scored three fewer points and punted four more times on Sunday than they did in last season's playoff game. That's the only reason the outcome of Sunday's game was different from January's.
Gunther Cunningham, take a bow. You've made chicken salad out of chicken (you know what).
-------------------------------------------------------
Chiefs best Colts in shootout - AP
Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Trent Green threw for 389 yards with three touchdowns and Priest Holmes ran for 143 yards with three scores, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 45-35 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in another shootout at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs (3-4) gained a measure of revenge for last year's 38-31 playoff loss to Indianapolis at Arrowhead and won their second straight game with a dominating offensive performance. Last week, Kansas City scored eight rushing touchdowns in a 56-10 rout of Atlanta.
This Sunday, the Chiefs finished with 387 passing yards and 203 on the ground for a total of 590, as the balanced attack helped keep Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning off the field -- to an extent.
"We felt all week long we could line up and beat the Indianapolis Colts," said Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil. "It's hard to complain as a head coach when you reach 590 yards and 45 points. We ran the ball today 42 times and had 27 pass completions. We had 69 opportunities to move the football."
Manning threw for a career-high 472 yards and five touchdowns on 25-of-44 passing, but his last-ditch comeback attempt ended with an interception in the end zone in the closing minutes.
Edgerrin James, who ran for 125 yards and two scores in last year's playoff game, was a non-factor on the ground with just 34 yards on 10 carries for the Colts (4-3), who have lost consecutive games for the first time since dropping three straight from October 21 through November 3 of 2002.
"This is foreign territory, a little bit," said Manning of the team's two-game slide. "We just need to regroup and everybody needs to step it up a little bit. We've always responded in the past and we expect to do it."
The Colts finished with 505 total yards and two receivers went over the 100- yard mark, as Reggie Wayne hauled in six passes for 119 yards and Marvin Harrison caught five balls for 119 yards. James also had six receptions out of the backfield for 90 yards.
"We'll continue to move the ball, but if we are in games like this, with scores like this, it takes Edgerrin right out of the game," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy. "Having to throw the ball just to catch up puts a lot of pressure on everyone. We've just got to play better defense and I think we will."
Tony Gonzalez had a big game for the Chiefs, with eight catches for 125 yards and two scores. He also recorded the 500th reception of his career, becoming just the fifth tight end to reach the milestone and the second-fastest. He reached 500 catches in 118 games, while Kellen Winslow did it in 101.
"I'm very proud. I didn't even know I had it in sight until earlier today," said Gonzalez about the milestone. "I've got to give credit to Trent for putting that ball right on the money today. The pass protection by the offensive line was just great. It was a great game for us today."
The Colts trailed throughout most of the contest and rallied from a 31-14 halftime deficit to pull within 38-35 with just over 5 1/2 minutes to play. Manning, on 4th-and-3 from the Kansas City six, hit Wayne in the front corner of the end zone to make it a three-point contest.
But the Indianapolis defense could not stop the Chiefs, who took more than three minutes off the clock and tacked on another score when Green surprised the Colts with a third-down pass that went for a 14-yard touchdown to Gonzalez.
"The thing that helped us before the snap was that I was able to get them offsides," said Green, who had a free play with the penalty. "Once you get a team offsides you have a little bit of freedom to make a riskier throw. Tony's one of those guys where you put it up high and he's going to go get it."
The Colts still had more than two minutes on the clock and started from their own 44 after a 30-yard kickoff return by Dominic Rhodes. Manning completed a pair of passes to put the ball at the 25, but on the second play after the two-minute warning Greg Wesley picked off a throw into the end zone and returned it 65 yards to seal the contest.
"This is a team loss," said Manning, who refused to blame the Indianapolis defense when asked about that unit's performance. "We can do better offensively, and I can do better. Everybody just needs to do their job better, on both sides of the ball and special teams."
Last year's playoff game was the first in NFL history without a punt, but the Colts were forced to punt three times in the first half and the Chiefs did not have to kick it away. That proved to be the difference in Kansas City's 17- point halftime advantage.
"It was a pretty special win," said Green. "If you look at how our defense played in the first half, they put us in a position to get the big lead that we had. In the second half, when they started making a little comeback, the offense stepped up and we were able to put together two big drives to keep that lead big enough that they couldn't overcome it."
The Chiefs finally punted after their first series of the second half and the Colts wasted little time reaching the end zone with a three-play, 92-yard drive.
Manning completed passes of 44, 26 and 22 yards -- the last to Harrison for a touchdown to pull Indianapolis within 31-21.
Kansas City followed with a march to the Indianapolis 11, but the drive stalled and the snap on a field goal try went through the hands of holder Steve Cheek, keeping the lead at 10.
Indianapolis needed just three plays to again find the end zone, as Manning hit Wayne with a 41-yard touchdown pass to make it a 31-28 game with 4:16 left in the third quarter.
The Chiefs answered with an 11-play, 63-yard march that featured seven carries by Holmes for 31 yards. The last was a one-yard run for a touchdown to restore Kansas City's 10-point advantage with just under 13 minutes remaining in the game.
"We had the mindset that we had to go out and score every time," said Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison. "Because you just never know what Peyton has. The guy is a heck of a quarterback. He stepped up big time for them today. We had to play a little bit harder and a little bit smarter today."
The Colts went three-and-out on their first possession, then tried a fake punt that was stopped. The Chiefs took over at their own 45 and marched to the Indianapolis seven, but Holmes coughed up the ball and the Colts recovered.
Indianapolis followed with a 96-yard drive for the first score. Manning converted a 3rd-and-10 with an 11-yard pass to Wayne early in the series and two pass interference penalties helped the Colts reach their own 48. Manning then found Harrison with a 52-yard scoring pass for a 7-0 lead.
The Chiefs answered with a six-play, 71-yard march to tie it. Green completed each of his four passes to key the drive, including a 21-yard scoring strike to Gonzalez.
The Colts then finally punted and a 46-yard return by Dante' Hall set up the Kansas City offense at the Indianapolis 12. On third down, Green hit Johnnie Morton in the middle of the end zone for a seven-yard score and a 14-7 lead in the first minute of the second quarter.
The Chiefs got the ball back after another Indianapolis punt and needed just five plays to march 83 yards for still another touchdown. Holmes keyed the drive with a 21-yard run on 2nd-and-15, then later scored on another 21-yard burst to give his team a 21-7 edge with 9:08 left in the half.
Manning then directed a five-play, 70-yard drive for an Indianapolis score. A screen pass to James picked up 56 yards to put the Colts at the Kansas City eight and Manning finished it off with a five-yard scoring strike to Marcus Pollard.
The Indianapolis defense again had no answer, as the Chiefs quickly went 63 yards in just two plays for another touchdown. Holmes turned a short pass from Green into a 52-yard gain on the first play, then found the end zone with an 11-yard run to give Kansas City a 28-14 advantage.
The Colts punted it away again and pinned Kansas City at its own seven, but an 18-yard pass to Holmes on the first play ignited another Chiefs drive that reached the Indianapolis 13. The march stalled when Green's pass to the end zone on third down fell incomplete and Lawrence Tynes booted a 31-yard field goal with 47 seconds to play before the intermission.
Manning had two timeouts and plenty of time to get the Colts into scoring range. A 24-yard pass to Dallas Clark on the first play and a 31-yard strike to Brandon Stokley on 3rd-and-10 put Indianapolis at the Kansas City 31. Manning, though, uncharacteristically missed a pair of wide open receivers on his next two throws and a false start penalty was followed by another incomplete pass before Mike Vanderjagt missed a 54-yard field goal try just before the half expired.
Game Notes
The 1,095 yards of offense marked the third-most in NFL history and the most since the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers accounted for 1,102 yards in a December 20, 1982 game. The NFL record is 1,133 yards in a November 1950 game between Los Angeles and the New York Yankees...Gonzalez notched the 11th 100-yard game of his career...Harrison reached 100 yards receiving for the 44th time...Holmes became Kansas City's all-time leader in scrimmage yards, surpassing Otis Taylor's total of 7,467...The Chiefs snapped a seven-game series losing streak to the Colts, including two playoff setbacks, and beat Indianapolis for the first time since November 24, 1985.
NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
INDIANAPOLIS 7 7 14 7 35
KANSAS CITY 7 24 0 14 45 FINAL
TEAM STATISTICS
IND KAN
-------- --------
FIRST DOWNS 23 33
Rushing 2 11
Passing 18 20
Penalty 3 2
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-10 8-15
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-2 1-2
TOTAL NET YARDS 505 590
Total plays 56 77
Average gain 9.0 7.7
NET YARDS RUSHING 33 203
Rushes 12 42
Average per rush 2.8 4.8
NET YARDS PASSING 472 387
Completed-attempted 25-44 27-34
Yards per pass 10.7 11.1
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 3-30
Had intercepted 3 0
PUNTS-AVERAGE 4-46.5 6-36.2
RETURN YARDAGE 168 235
Punts-returns 3-25 2-130
Kickoffs-returns 6-143 2-43
Interceptions-returns 0-0 1-2
PENALTIES-YARDS 7-40 5-46
FUMBLES-LOST 0-0 4-2
TIME OF POSSESSION 22:27 37:33
PLAYER STATISTICS
Missed field goals: Indianapolis (Mike Vanderjagt 54).
Indianapolis rushing: Edgerrin James 10-34, Hunter Smith 1-2, Dominic Rhodes 1--3
Kansas City rushing: Priest Holmes 32-143, Johnnie Morton 2-26, Larry Johnson 1-19,
Derrick Blaylock 3-18, Steve Cheek 1-0, Trent Green 3--3
Indianapolis passing: Peyton Manning 25-44 for 472 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
Kansas City passing: Trent Green 27-34 for 389 yards, 3 TD
Indianapolis receiving: Marvin Harrison 5-119, Reggie Wayne 6-119, Edgerrin James 6-90,
Dallas Clark 3-88, Brandon Stokely 2-35, Marcus Pollard 3-21
Kansas City receiving: Tony Gonzalez 8-125, Priest Holmes 3-82, Johnnie Morton 5-69,
Eddie Kennison 5-50, Dante Hall 3-43, Derrick Blaylock 2-19, Tony Richardson 1-1
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Part 18 of our ongoing 2006 series here at Chiefsplanet...
THIS WEEK IN CHIEFS HISTORY
October 31, 2004
KANSAS CITY 45, INDIANAPOLIS 35
Let's not forget about the defense
By JASON WHITLOCK
If you examine only the scoreboard, the stat sheet and Dick Vermeil's postgame comments, you might mistakenly reach the conclusion that the Chiefs beat Indianapolis 45-35 on Sunday solely with their offense.
Trent Green threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns. Priest Holmes amassed 225 total yards and three TDs. Tony Gonzalez grabbed eight passes for 125 yards and two scores. The Chiefs gained 590 yards and 33 first downs.
After the game, Vermeil cooed about his offense as if the unit had just laid 50 points on the '85 Bears.
When asked about his defense, the most positive statement Vermeil could muster was a backhanded compliment.
"At least we made 'em punt today," Vermeil joked, referencing last season's puntless playoff debacle.
Vermeil (plus his sidekick, offensive coordinator Al Saunders) is so obsessed with setting offensive records and cementing a reputation as the game's new-millennium Bill Walsh that he can't appreciate or comprehend a defensive contribution.
Kansas City's defense won Sunday's game. And yes, I'm well aware that Peyton Manning passed for five touchdowns and nearly 500 yards. Yes, I'm aware that Indy's offense raced up and down the field in the second half.
But Kansas City's defense, given Sunday's circumstances, was far more impressive than its offense. The cliche "taking candy from a baby" was invented to describe Indy's defense, a unit that has significantly less talent than KC's. We spent so much time last season blasting Greg Robinson's unit for failing to force Indy to punt, we ignored the fact that the Colts' D never forced a punt either.
Indy fields the league's worst pass defense. The only reason the Colts don't have the NFL's worst run defense is because their opposition chooses to pass to keep pace with Indy's quick-strike offense. Vermeil's offensive boasting seems silly given the opponent.
You don't brag about beating up a baby seal.
But Kansas City's defense has a right to crow today. Gunther Cunningham's outfit got the best of Manning in the first half, and that 30-minute advantage decided Sunday's game.
Kansas City's defense forced three punts and one ridiculous, fourth-and-14 fake punt in the first half. A gift pass-interference call against Eric Warfield set up one of Indianapolis' two first-half touchdowns. Gunther's boys surrendered seven legitimate points before the break. KC's defenders pushed the Colts out of a rhythm by getting some early hits on Manning, whose feet get happy after contact.
"We were bouncing the back of (Manning's) head off the turf in the first half," Chiefs defensive end Eric Hicks said.
The Chiefs never sacked Manning, but they pressured and hurried him with an assortment of blitzes and disguised coverages. Unable (or unwilling) to set his feet, Manning over- and underthrew open receivers. In the first half, he completed just 10 of 24 passes. The Colts failed to convert on five of eight third-down plays.
"We held our looks at the line of scrimmage," said outside linebacker Shawn Barber, explaining that the Chiefs often showed their blitzes just before the snap. "(Manning) wasn't 100 percent sure what he was getting."
Defensive end Vonnie Holliday added: "We felt like we rattled him."
Thanks to its defense, Kansas City built a 31-14 halftime lead. That advantage provided the Chiefs' offense the cushion it would need to hold off Manning in a shootout.
Yes, Manning caught fire in the second half. The Colts changed their pass protection and used a lot more "max" protection after the break. Indy receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne zipped past Kansas City corners William Bartee and Warfield.
The Colts didn't run the football one time in the second half. Kansas City's first-half defense (and Indy's putrid defense) made the Colts' offense completely one-dimensional.
Should we be concerned that the Colts scored 35 points and amassed 505 yards of offense?
No. Carl Peterson and Vermeil didn't try to build a great defense last off-season. They hired Cunningham and asked him to improve Kansas City's defense a little bit. Cunningham has done that and a little bit more.
The Colts scored three fewer points and punted four more times on Sunday than they did in last season's playoff game. That's the only reason the outcome of Sunday's game was different from January's.
Gunther Cunningham, take a bow. You've made chicken salad out of chicken (you know what).
-------------------------------------------------------
Chiefs best Colts in shootout - AP
Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Trent Green threw for 389 yards with three touchdowns and Priest Holmes ran for 143 yards with three scores, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 45-35 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in another shootout at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs (3-4) gained a measure of revenge for last year's 38-31 playoff loss to Indianapolis at Arrowhead and won their second straight game with a dominating offensive performance. Last week, Kansas City scored eight rushing touchdowns in a 56-10 rout of Atlanta.
This Sunday, the Chiefs finished with 387 passing yards and 203 on the ground for a total of 590, as the balanced attack helped keep Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning off the field -- to an extent.
"We felt all week long we could line up and beat the Indianapolis Colts," said Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil. "It's hard to complain as a head coach when you reach 590 yards and 45 points. We ran the ball today 42 times and had 27 pass completions. We had 69 opportunities to move the football."
Manning threw for a career-high 472 yards and five touchdowns on 25-of-44 passing, but his last-ditch comeback attempt ended with an interception in the end zone in the closing minutes.
Edgerrin James, who ran for 125 yards and two scores in last year's playoff game, was a non-factor on the ground with just 34 yards on 10 carries for the Colts (4-3), who have lost consecutive games for the first time since dropping three straight from October 21 through November 3 of 2002.
"This is foreign territory, a little bit," said Manning of the team's two-game slide. "We just need to regroup and everybody needs to step it up a little bit. We've always responded in the past and we expect to do it."
The Colts finished with 505 total yards and two receivers went over the 100- yard mark, as Reggie Wayne hauled in six passes for 119 yards and Marvin Harrison caught five balls for 119 yards. James also had six receptions out of the backfield for 90 yards.
"We'll continue to move the ball, but if we are in games like this, with scores like this, it takes Edgerrin right out of the game," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy. "Having to throw the ball just to catch up puts a lot of pressure on everyone. We've just got to play better defense and I think we will."
Tony Gonzalez had a big game for the Chiefs, with eight catches for 125 yards and two scores. He also recorded the 500th reception of his career, becoming just the fifth tight end to reach the milestone and the second-fastest. He reached 500 catches in 118 games, while Kellen Winslow did it in 101.
"I'm very proud. I didn't even know I had it in sight until earlier today," said Gonzalez about the milestone. "I've got to give credit to Trent for putting that ball right on the money today. The pass protection by the offensive line was just great. It was a great game for us today."
The Colts trailed throughout most of the contest and rallied from a 31-14 halftime deficit to pull within 38-35 with just over 5 1/2 minutes to play. Manning, on 4th-and-3 from the Kansas City six, hit Wayne in the front corner of the end zone to make it a three-point contest.
But the Indianapolis defense could not stop the Chiefs, who took more than three minutes off the clock and tacked on another score when Green surprised the Colts with a third-down pass that went for a 14-yard touchdown to Gonzalez.
"The thing that helped us before the snap was that I was able to get them offsides," said Green, who had a free play with the penalty. "Once you get a team offsides you have a little bit of freedom to make a riskier throw. Tony's one of those guys where you put it up high and he's going to go get it."
The Colts still had more than two minutes on the clock and started from their own 44 after a 30-yard kickoff return by Dominic Rhodes. Manning completed a pair of passes to put the ball at the 25, but on the second play after the two-minute warning Greg Wesley picked off a throw into the end zone and returned it 65 yards to seal the contest.
"This is a team loss," said Manning, who refused to blame the Indianapolis defense when asked about that unit's performance. "We can do better offensively, and I can do better. Everybody just needs to do their job better, on both sides of the ball and special teams."
Last year's playoff game was the first in NFL history without a punt, but the Colts were forced to punt three times in the first half and the Chiefs did not have to kick it away. That proved to be the difference in Kansas City's 17- point halftime advantage.
"It was a pretty special win," said Green. "If you look at how our defense played in the first half, they put us in a position to get the big lead that we had. In the second half, when they started making a little comeback, the offense stepped up and we were able to put together two big drives to keep that lead big enough that they couldn't overcome it."
The Chiefs finally punted after their first series of the second half and the Colts wasted little time reaching the end zone with a three-play, 92-yard drive.
Manning completed passes of 44, 26 and 22 yards -- the last to Harrison for a touchdown to pull Indianapolis within 31-21.
Kansas City followed with a march to the Indianapolis 11, but the drive stalled and the snap on a field goal try went through the hands of holder Steve Cheek, keeping the lead at 10.
Indianapolis needed just three plays to again find the end zone, as Manning hit Wayne with a 41-yard touchdown pass to make it a 31-28 game with 4:16 left in the third quarter.
The Chiefs answered with an 11-play, 63-yard march that featured seven carries by Holmes for 31 yards. The last was a one-yard run for a touchdown to restore Kansas City's 10-point advantage with just under 13 minutes remaining in the game.
"We had the mindset that we had to go out and score every time," said Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison. "Because you just never know what Peyton has. The guy is a heck of a quarterback. He stepped up big time for them today. We had to play a little bit harder and a little bit smarter today."
The Colts went three-and-out on their first possession, then tried a fake punt that was stopped. The Chiefs took over at their own 45 and marched to the Indianapolis seven, but Holmes coughed up the ball and the Colts recovered.
Indianapolis followed with a 96-yard drive for the first score. Manning converted a 3rd-and-10 with an 11-yard pass to Wayne early in the series and two pass interference penalties helped the Colts reach their own 48. Manning then found Harrison with a 52-yard scoring pass for a 7-0 lead.
The Chiefs answered with a six-play, 71-yard march to tie it. Green completed each of his four passes to key the drive, including a 21-yard scoring strike to Gonzalez.
The Colts then finally punted and a 46-yard return by Dante' Hall set up the Kansas City offense at the Indianapolis 12. On third down, Green hit Johnnie Morton in the middle of the end zone for a seven-yard score and a 14-7 lead in the first minute of the second quarter.
The Chiefs got the ball back after another Indianapolis punt and needed just five plays to march 83 yards for still another touchdown. Holmes keyed the drive with a 21-yard run on 2nd-and-15, then later scored on another 21-yard burst to give his team a 21-7 edge with 9:08 left in the half.
Manning then directed a five-play, 70-yard drive for an Indianapolis score. A screen pass to James picked up 56 yards to put the Colts at the Kansas City eight and Manning finished it off with a five-yard scoring strike to Marcus Pollard.
The Indianapolis defense again had no answer, as the Chiefs quickly went 63 yards in just two plays for another touchdown. Holmes turned a short pass from Green into a 52-yard gain on the first play, then found the end zone with an 11-yard run to give Kansas City a 28-14 advantage.
The Colts punted it away again and pinned Kansas City at its own seven, but an 18-yard pass to Holmes on the first play ignited another Chiefs drive that reached the Indianapolis 13. The march stalled when Green's pass to the end zone on third down fell incomplete and Lawrence Tynes booted a 31-yard field goal with 47 seconds to play before the intermission.
Manning had two timeouts and plenty of time to get the Colts into scoring range. A 24-yard pass to Dallas Clark on the first play and a 31-yard strike to Brandon Stokley on 3rd-and-10 put Indianapolis at the Kansas City 31. Manning, though, uncharacteristically missed a pair of wide open receivers on his next two throws and a false start penalty was followed by another incomplete pass before Mike Vanderjagt missed a 54-yard field goal try just before the half expired.
Game Notes
The 1,095 yards of offense marked the third-most in NFL history and the most since the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers accounted for 1,102 yards in a December 20, 1982 game. The NFL record is 1,133 yards in a November 1950 game between Los Angeles and the New York Yankees...Gonzalez notched the 11th 100-yard game of his career...Harrison reached 100 yards receiving for the 44th time...Holmes became Kansas City's all-time leader in scrimmage yards, surpassing Otis Taylor's total of 7,467...The Chiefs snapped a seven-game series losing streak to the Colts, including two playoff setbacks, and beat Indianapolis for the first time since November 24, 1985.
NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
INDIANAPOLIS 7 7 14 7 35
KANSAS CITY 7 24 0 14 45 FINAL
TEAM STATISTICS
IND KAN
-------- --------
FIRST DOWNS 23 33
Rushing 2 11
Passing 18 20
Penalty 3 2
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-10 8-15
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-2 1-2
TOTAL NET YARDS 505 590
Total plays 56 77
Average gain 9.0 7.7
NET YARDS RUSHING 33 203
Rushes 12 42
Average per rush 2.8 4.8
NET YARDS PASSING 472 387
Completed-attempted 25-44 27-34
Yards per pass 10.7 11.1
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 3-30
Had intercepted 3 0
PUNTS-AVERAGE 4-46.5 6-36.2
RETURN YARDAGE 168 235
Punts-returns 3-25 2-130
Kickoffs-returns 6-143 2-43
Interceptions-returns 0-0 1-2
PENALTIES-YARDS 7-40 5-46
FUMBLES-LOST 0-0 4-2
TIME OF POSSESSION 22:27 37:33
PLAYER STATISTICS
Missed field goals: Indianapolis (Mike Vanderjagt 54).
Indianapolis rushing: Edgerrin James 10-34, Hunter Smith 1-2, Dominic Rhodes 1--3
Kansas City rushing: Priest Holmes 32-143, Johnnie Morton 2-26, Larry Johnson 1-19,
Derrick Blaylock 3-18, Steve Cheek 1-0, Trent Green 3--3
Indianapolis passing: Peyton Manning 25-44 for 472 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
Kansas City passing: Trent Green 27-34 for 389 yards, 3 TD
Indianapolis receiving: Marvin Harrison 5-119, Reggie Wayne 6-119, Edgerrin James 6-90,
Dallas Clark 3-88, Brandon Stokely 2-35, Marcus Pollard 3-21
Kansas City receiving: Tony Gonzalez 8-125, Priest Holmes 3-82, Johnnie Morton 5-69,
Eddie Kennison 5-50, Dante Hall 3-43, Derrick Blaylock 2-19, Tony Richardson 1-1
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