Tribal Warfare
11-16-2008, 05:41 PM
Chiefs fall to Saints 30-20 in Johnson’s return (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/893699.html)
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Not even the return of running back Larry Johnson could help the Chiefs snap their losing ways.
The New Orleans Saints extended the Chiefs’ losing streak to five straight with 30-20 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs, 1-9, have lost 18 of their last 19 games dating to last year.
The Saints, 5-5, won their first road game of the season in five tries.
Johnson had sat out the last four game, three when the club deactivated him for violating team rules, and one when he was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league’s personal conduct policy stemming from incidents in a bar that have yet to be adjudicated.
Johnson carried 19 times for 67 yards and caught one pass for 20 yards. He failed to get in the end zone on several attempts from inside the 5.
The Chiefs drew within 27-20 with 13:54 to play in regulation on Tyler Thigpen’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe in the corner of the end zone. It was Bowe’s second touchdown catch of the day, a career best.
But the Saints put the game away with Garrett Hartley’s 35-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 28 seconds to play, his third of the game.
The Saints led 13-10 at halftime on Hartley’s 23-yard field goal as time expired.
It took two plays in the second half for New Orleans to make it 20-10 as Saints quarterback Drew Brees got Chiefs cornerback Ricardo Colclough to bite on a pump fake and hit wide receiver Lance Moore for a 47-yard score.
The Chiefs answered with a 21-yard field goal by Connor Barth, making it 20-13 midway though the third quarter, but it was going to take more than field goals to beat the NFL’s top-ranked offense.
Brees responded by driving the Saints on a 75-yard touchdown drive 27-13 lead. The key play was a swing pass to running back Pierre Thomas, who escaped attempted tackles by defensive end Alfoso Boone and Jon McGraw and tight-roped the sidelines for 22 yards to the 1. Thomas scored from the 1 on the next play.
The Chiefs took advantage of safety Jarrad Page’s first-quarter interception and turned it into a 7-0 lead on Thigpen’s 6-yard pass to Duane Bowe.
The drive was highlighted by Johnson’s taking a direct snap from center in a “Wildcat” formation with Thigpen flanked wide. Johnson converted a fourth-and-1 with a four-yard blast up the middle. Johnson fumbled on the next play, but tight end Tony Gonzalez pounced on it at the New Orleans 16. Then, Thigpen hit Mark Bradley for a 12-yard pass along the sidelines to the 4, and after Johnson was dropped for a 2-yard loss, Thigpen hit Bowe in the corner on a fade for the score.
The Chiefs did a poor job covering the ensuing kickoff, allowing Courtney Roby to return it 54 yards to the Kansas City 44. The Saints’ drive bogged down at the Chiefs’ 12, and Hartley made it 7-3 with a 30-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in the first quarter.
More shoddy special teams play led to New Orleans’ taking a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Dantrell Savage, trying to run before he had possession, muffed the kickoff following the Saints’ field goal, and he was tackled at his 11. Two incompletions and a sack of Thigpen forced the Chiefs to punt from deep in their territory, giving the Saints a short field, starting at the Kansas City 43.
A 24-yard catch and run by Thomas was the key play as the Saints took the lead on a 1-yard plunge by Deuce McAlister with 11:23 left in the first half.
The Chiefs squandered a chance to regain the lead and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Barth and 10-10 tie with 3:31 left in the first half.
On a third-and-14, Thigpen rolled and hit rookie Will Franklin, formerly a Missouri Tiger, for 42 yards to the New Orleans 13. The Chiefs had first-and-goal from the 1, and Johnson’s run up the middle was so close, the coach Herm Edwards challenged the spot, but the ruling on the field stood. Johnson was stopped for a 2-yard loss on second down. On third down, Thipen tried a fade into the end zone that went incomplete, leading to Barth’s field goal.
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Not even the return of running back Larry Johnson could help the Chiefs snap their losing ways.
The New Orleans Saints extended the Chiefs’ losing streak to five straight with 30-20 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs, 1-9, have lost 18 of their last 19 games dating to last year.
The Saints, 5-5, won their first road game of the season in five tries.
Johnson had sat out the last four game, three when the club deactivated him for violating team rules, and one when he was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league’s personal conduct policy stemming from incidents in a bar that have yet to be adjudicated.
Johnson carried 19 times for 67 yards and caught one pass for 20 yards. He failed to get in the end zone on several attempts from inside the 5.
The Chiefs drew within 27-20 with 13:54 to play in regulation on Tyler Thigpen’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe in the corner of the end zone. It was Bowe’s second touchdown catch of the day, a career best.
But the Saints put the game away with Garrett Hartley’s 35-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 28 seconds to play, his third of the game.
The Saints led 13-10 at halftime on Hartley’s 23-yard field goal as time expired.
It took two plays in the second half for New Orleans to make it 20-10 as Saints quarterback Drew Brees got Chiefs cornerback Ricardo Colclough to bite on a pump fake and hit wide receiver Lance Moore for a 47-yard score.
The Chiefs answered with a 21-yard field goal by Connor Barth, making it 20-13 midway though the third quarter, but it was going to take more than field goals to beat the NFL’s top-ranked offense.
Brees responded by driving the Saints on a 75-yard touchdown drive 27-13 lead. The key play was a swing pass to running back Pierre Thomas, who escaped attempted tackles by defensive end Alfoso Boone and Jon McGraw and tight-roped the sidelines for 22 yards to the 1. Thomas scored from the 1 on the next play.
The Chiefs took advantage of safety Jarrad Page’s first-quarter interception and turned it into a 7-0 lead on Thigpen’s 6-yard pass to Duane Bowe.
The drive was highlighted by Johnson’s taking a direct snap from center in a “Wildcat” formation with Thigpen flanked wide. Johnson converted a fourth-and-1 with a four-yard blast up the middle. Johnson fumbled on the next play, but tight end Tony Gonzalez pounced on it at the New Orleans 16. Then, Thigpen hit Mark Bradley for a 12-yard pass along the sidelines to the 4, and after Johnson was dropped for a 2-yard loss, Thigpen hit Bowe in the corner on a fade for the score.
The Chiefs did a poor job covering the ensuing kickoff, allowing Courtney Roby to return it 54 yards to the Kansas City 44. The Saints’ drive bogged down at the Chiefs’ 12, and Hartley made it 7-3 with a 30-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in the first quarter.
More shoddy special teams play led to New Orleans’ taking a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Dantrell Savage, trying to run before he had possession, muffed the kickoff following the Saints’ field goal, and he was tackled at his 11. Two incompletions and a sack of Thigpen forced the Chiefs to punt from deep in their territory, giving the Saints a short field, starting at the Kansas City 43.
A 24-yard catch and run by Thomas was the key play as the Saints took the lead on a 1-yard plunge by Deuce McAlister with 11:23 left in the first half.
The Chiefs squandered a chance to regain the lead and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Barth and 10-10 tie with 3:31 left in the first half.
On a third-and-14, Thigpen rolled and hit rookie Will Franklin, formerly a Missouri Tiger, for 42 yards to the New Orleans 13. The Chiefs had first-and-goal from the 1, and Johnson’s run up the middle was so close, the coach Herm Edwards challenged the spot, but the ruling on the field stood. Johnson was stopped for a 2-yard loss on second down. On third down, Thipen tried a fade into the end zone that went incomplete, leading to Barth’s field goal.