Lawless
All About Brad!
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Registered: Jun 2003
Local time: 03:53 PM
Location: Freezing in Colorado
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By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI - Trying to become the first team since 1998 to start 10-0, the Kansas City Chiefs instead unraveled against the up-and-coming Cincinnati Bengals and lost their first game of the season.
Cincinnati's Peter Warrick eclipsed Kansas City's celebrated playmakers with a 68-yard punt return and a 77-yard touchdown catch, setting up a 24-19 victory Sunday.
Receiver Chad Johnson — who had repeatedly guaranteed the victory — was in the trainer's room getting an intravenous injection for cramps when Warrick made the biggest play of the Bengals' renaissance season (5-5).
The victory moved them into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North. The Bengals haven't been in contention this late in a season since 1990, the last time they had a winning record.
Warrick, a top draft pick who symbolized their 12 years of misery, pulled off the plays that pulled them out of the malaise.
He made one cut and headed upfield on a punt return early in the fourth quarter, pulling away from the pack for a 68-yard score that made it 17-6. He hoisted the ball in celebration when he reached the 20-yard line.
At that moment, members of the undefeated '72 Dolphins — the NFL's only unbeaten team — could get ready to hoist their annual ritual and give a toast to their distinction.
Johnson was back in time to see the clinching score six minutes later. Warrick grabbed a long pass from Jon Kitna down the middle, made a 360-degree spin to shake tackler Eric Warfield at the Chiefs' 44-yard line and took it the rest of the way for a 77-yard score.
Rudi Johnson ran for 165 yards and Kitna threw two touchdown passes and avoided a game-turning mistake as Cincinnati positioned itself to pull off the upset.
The Bengals' inspired defense made the difference, stuffing one of the NFL's most dangerous teams until it was too late.
Smoke from fireworks during the Bengals' player introductions obscured the coin toss and still hung over the field at the kickoff. For most of the game, the Chiefs' offense played like it was in a fog.
Kansas City had tremendous field position for most of the game, but didn't moving until Warrick gave the Bengals a lead big enough to let their defense relax.
Trent Green threw two touchdown passes in the final seven minutes, the last one a 3-yard toss to Jason Dunn with 3:19 to go. The Chiefs never got the ball back.
Not even extraordinary kick returner Dante Hall could make a dent in the Bengals' momentum. In one telling moment, he drew a penalty for kicking the ball away angrily after a botched return.
Warrick, a top pick in 2000, finished with six catches for a career-high 114 yards. Chad Johnson had seven catches for 74 yards, and threw the final block on Rudi Johnson's 54-yard run in the game-ending drive.
As Kitna took the snap to take a knee in the closing seconds, Chad Johnson stood on the field with his right index finger raised and Bengals players doused head coach Marvin Lewis on the sideline.
The crowd of 64,923 — a record for Paul Brown Stadium — broke into one final cheer when Baltimore's 9-6 loss to Miami in overtime was shown on the scoreboard, meaning the improbable Bengals were back in first place for the first time in 13 years.
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:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<::: |
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11-16-2003 10:59 PM
