Chiefs on Broncos’ tail
Chiefs 31 Broncos 27 K. C. pulls within one win of Denver in AFC West race Johnson rush total in last three games at 470 yards
KANSAS CITY, MO.—
The Kansas City Chiefs gained a muchneeded victory — and greater respect for the courage of officials viewing instant replay.
Reversing a crucial call on the field, referee Bill Leavy took a first down away from Denver near midfield with 2: 01 to play. The Chiefs, relieved of the danger of facing a final threat from the Broncos’ offence, ran the clock down to three seconds and danced away with a 31- 27 victory.
“ Sometimes it’s just a lot easier for them to go with the flow of the game and not make the big reversal,” said Chiefs guard Brian Waters. “ I think that was a gutsy call.” The win brought the Chiefs ( 8- 4) within one game in the AFC West of the Broncos ( 9- 3), who had won four in a row and could have buried Kansas City in the division. Instead, the Broncos have a fight on their hands and are left with virtually no chance of overtaking unbeaten Indianapolis for the top seed in the AFC.
“ This is a big win for us,” said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil. “ A big, significant win.” Mike Anderson, on fourthandfrom the Denver 47, plunged into the right side of the line.
Officials on the field gave him a first down and Chiefs players went into a frenzy of protest over the spot, particularly cornerback Patrick Surtain.
“ You saw me going berserk out there,” said Surtain, who earlier intercepted Jake Plummer’s pass from the KC 4. “ I was saying, ‘ It’s our ball, it’s our ball.’ ” A few minutes later, the call was reversed.
“ It was clear to me he didn’t reach the first down and the right thing to do was reverse it and give the ball to (Kansas City),” Leavy said. When the Broncos got the ball back, they had time for one desperate heave as the Chiefs won their 17th straight home game in December.
Trent Green threw two touchdown passes and Larry Johnson rushed for 140 yards and two more scores for the Chiefs, who have won four of their last five to climb back into contention. Plummer, who went 229 passes without an interception until the Dallas Cowboys got one last week, was also picked off by Kawika Mitchell on his first throw of the second half.
“ We had opportunities we didn’t take advantage of,” said Plummer, 18 of 29 for 276 yards and one TD. “ If you do that on the road, and at a place like this, you are going to end up on the wrong side of the win- loss column.’’
Following Mitchell’s interception, Lawrence Tynes kicked a 34- yard field to put Kansas City up 24- 21, but Jason Elam tied the game with a 22- yarder.
After Darrent Williams intercepted Green’s pass on the Chiefs’ next possession, Elam kicked a 40- yarder to put the Broncos on top 27- 24. Johnson scored on a four- yard run to make it 31- 27 with 9: 58 left. His fifth straight 100- yard rushing game tied a club record set by Priest Holmes in 2002.
His 470 yards in the last three games is the best three- game total in team history.
Eddie Kennison caught four passes for 108 yards for the Chiefs.