Chiefs Ultimate Power Rankings Of The 2000s

The 1st Quarter

Slot 

Game

32

We started the decade with the left foot. Literally. Because as soon as the ball was kicked by then Raiders’ K Joe Nedney (a lefty), the Chiefs were deprived of the constant success enjoyed throughout the 90’s, and we all found ourselves trying to make the best out of the struggling football times that represented the 00’s. And that “best” is what’s included in these charts, so, enjoy them…by the way, I’m not done with Nedney.

31

In this game, the Chiefs’ ‘02 playoff aspirations were all but buried, Tony Richardson was lost for the season due to a separated shoulder, and Priest Holmes’s dream season was halted after injuring his hip. But because of one Dante Hall, I just can’t let go of the reminiscence.

30

One week after delivering a team-record 90-yard punt return for a touchdown, Dante Hall returned two kicks –a punt and a kickoff– for touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams (in Dick Vermeil’s first game versus his former team). Hall’s late-season outburst ultimately led him to earn a Pro Bowl berth as a return specialist, becoming the first Chief to do so since 1980.

29

Sure enough, I appreciated Dante Hall’s return abilities like everybody else; but the thing that I still haven’t figured out to this day, is how on Earth Julian Battle managed to remain unmentioned after flagrantly pushing not one, but TWO Broncos on the back during Hall’s game-winning TD punt-return. I’m not passing judgment though; I just like my memories unblemished.

28

What’s a greater sight than that of Jerome Woods (46-yard INT return for a TD) bouncing back from the broken leg he suffered a year earlier?…If you answered back that the view of a celebrating Lamar Hunt was a nice image as well, then I’ll call it a draw. Everybody was a winner in this one.

27

The Oakland Raiders were an offensive juggernaut throughout the 2002 campaign (1st in yards, 2nd in points). Meanwhile, the Chiefs were horrendous on defense (dead last in yards, 28th in points). What happened when these two got together in that October game? The Chiefs held the Raiders to their lowest scoring-output of the season, believe it or not. The lesson? Division games are always a crapshoot.

26

They needed 4 games, but the Chiefs finally broke into the ‘04 winning department in primetime fashion. And Will Shields literally helped pave the way to get there. Just ask Ray Lewis.

25

The story wasn’t that Drew Brees made this NFL debut on this day. No, the real story was that the 181 yards gained on 30 carries by Priest Holmes, were the most yards allowed ever by the Chargers to a single player (to that point). And yes, he did it against both Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison.

Not Overlooked – Part I

Slot 

Game

a) 

The first game without Derrick Thomas. And to this day, we still miss him.

b) 

1 minute and 27 seconds into the Vermeil Era, Eric Warfield returned an interception 51 yards for the score; and with 1 minute and 21 seconds left in the game, Snoop Minnis tied the game with a spectacular 30-yard TD reception. But when Sebastian Janikowski connected a 31-yard FG with 15 seconds remaining to give the victory to the Raiders, a microcosm of the next 5 years was unveiled right before our eyes. We were treated to an entertaining ride that didn’t end the way we wanted.

c) 

Chiefs@Seahwawks – November 24th, 2002 (39-32, L)

Would you ignore 307 yards of offense by one player (Priest Holmes - 197 rushing, 110 receiving), even in a losing effort? Good, me neither.

The 2nd Quarter

Slot 

Team 

24

At the present time, Larry Alphonso Johnson is not a very popular figure among K.C. fans; but he holds the franchise record for rushing yards in a game, because he earned that distinction the hard way. To his credit, nobody gift-wrapped it up for him.

23

82,893 fans (the largest on-site attendance in team history — accommodated in both Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums), watched the Chiefs try to compensate for the previous season’s failures versus the Seahawks. And the patrons got their money’s worth because this game was a good one.

22

Fun fact:

The offensive-minded Dick Vermeil reached the 50-point plateau as head coach of the Chiefs, in game No. 55 (versus Atlanta).

The defensive-minded Gunther Cunningham reached the 50-point barrier as head coach of the Chiefs, in game No. 23 — against St. Louis.

21

Marty
Schottenheimer’s return to Kansas City was bound to steal the spotlight…until Boerigter (Marc) happened. Sorry Marty.

20

The Week-16 triumph over the Jaguars not only assured that Kansas City would not finish dead last in the 2001 AFC West standings, most importantly, it also broke an eight-game road losing streak against Florida teams. For that alone, such contest deserves a spot in this countdown.

19

The last game of the Vermeil Era. And I enjoyed every second of it.

18

As soon as Trent Green dove head-first for the goal line, on third-and-goal, with his team trailing by 6 points, and with 3 defenders ready to smash the living heck out of him, the conclusion was an easy one…We found ourselves one tough QB.

17

In Marty Schottenheimer’s first game versus his former team, Chris Thomas and Priest Holmes recorded their first TD’s as members of the Chiefs. At least one of them got a couple more of those.

Not Overlooked – Part II

Slot 

Game

d)

We learned 2 things from the 2003 opener:

1. Priest Holmes‘ hip would not be an issue for concern anymore.
   
2. Choosing Vonnie Holliday instead of Hugh Douglas turned out to be a great decision…at least for 1 game.
   

e)

After scoring on Offense (Priest Holmes, Eddie Kennison, Derrick Blaylock), Defense (Shaunard Harts), and Special Teams (Dante Hall) for the second consecutive week, the Chiefs dreamt of returning to Houston later in the season to play in the Super Bowl. Of course, that didn’t happen.

f)

The 100th win as an NFL coach
for Dick Vermeil, was handed to him by one of his favorites, Dante Hall, whose game-winning 97-yard kickoff return for a TD also gave him 3 straight games with a TD return.

The 3rd Quarter

Slot 

Team 

16

The NFL edition of Friday Night Lights was brought to you “thanks” to the continuous efforts of Hurricane
Vilma. As always, necessity spawns all the improbable scenarios.

15

33 years later, Lawrence Tynes redeemed Jan Stenerud. I know, I know, the stakes were higher in 1971, but you have to embrace the next best thing.

14

After coming back from a 17-point deficit in the 4th quarter to overtake the Packers in Lambeau Field, Dick Vermeil would say of Trent Green: “Nobody I’ve ever coached deserves it more than this guy”. And Coach Vermeil pretty much saw it all.

13

How do I know that an October 30th loss at the hands of the Chargers was one of the toughest Dick Vermeil ever endured? The post-game press conference that followed one of the gutsiest football moves ever, explains exactly that.

12

Which of the following is the flashiest feat? Intercepting Tom Brady four times in a game…or defeating the two-time defending world champions?… Given that the Chiefs accomplished both objectives in the same contest, your answer will only serve for rhetorical purposes. But thanks for participating.

11

With apologies to Will Shields, Tony Gonzalez, Trent Green, Willie Roaf, and Dante Hall,
I’ll tell you why Priest Holmes is my player of the decade:

• In 2001 –without Willie Roaf–, he won a rushing title with 1,555 yards.
  
• In 2002, he became one of the best offensive weapons of all-time by getting 2,287 yards from scrimmage (1,615 rushing – 672 receiving) and 24 TD’s in only 13 games and 3 quarters.
  
• In 2003, he recovered from an injured hip to set an NFL record with 27 TD’s (all of them rushing, and that was also an NFL record).
  

All in all, in three consecutive seasons, this man found a way to reinvent himself 3 different times without losing a bit of greatness on the gridiron. Undoubtedly, the true trait of an artist…and we were there to see it.

10

With Paul Tagliabue in the house, the Chiefs and the Giants reignited the flame after the 9/11 events. The outcome of the ballgame was secondary; the true highlight from this date was the colossal $451,413.88 donation — made through a fireman’s boot — that was raised for the relief efforts in New York City. A complete team-effort that was simply amazing.

9

The Arrowhead Ones may be 0-8 all-time at Invesco Field, but they did NOT finish the decade winless in Denver. Wearing red pants for the first time since 1988, the Chiefs emerged victorious from their last visit to Mile High Stadium back in 2000. That gave Gunther Cunningham his third straight victory over the Broncos. If only he had taken care of the Raiders…

Not Overlooked – Part III

Slot 

Game

g)

Getting 7 turnovers was nice; a Ryan Sims interception was remarkable; and 3 more TD’s by Priest Holmes was business as usual. But the superior blocking shown by Trent Green was indeed, priceless.

h)

The beginning of the Herm Edwards Era signaled the beginning of the end of the Trent Green Era.

i)

Chiefs@Colts – January 6th, 2007 (23-8, L) – Playoffs

Kansas City’s initial first down of the contest came with 3:34 remaining…IN THE THIRD QUARTER. And for the sake of my football sanity, I chose to block anything else from this game.

The 4th Quarter

Slot 

Team 

8

The eight rushing touchdowns that the Chiefs got in this game were not a tribute to Priest Holmes (4), nor Derrick Blaylock (4 as well). Willie Roaf, Brian Waters, Casey Wiegmann, Will Shields and John Tait…please stand up and let us recognize one of the greatest O-Lines in Chiefs’ history.

7

The ultimate what-if game. What if Larry Johnson doesn’t get tackled by A.J. Hawk? What if Donnie Edwards doesn’t get assigned to Greg Jennings? What if Jeff Webb manages to stay inbounds? We’ll never know. But what I do know is that, with the victory, Brett Favre completed the winning circle over the remaining 31 teams in the League; I know that the Chiefs, 4-3 at the time, have lost 35 out of 40 games since this one; and I know that the last scoring play of Priest Holmes’s career (a 2-point conversion) was registered in that afternoon. Yes, in hindsight, this was a much more relevant game than we first thought.

6

This victory represented a Division Championship – the first since ‘97 and the franchise’s last until these days. How long it has been since such feat? Let’s put it this way: back then, Steve Mariucci was working an NFL sideline and not a mic.

5

When he was introduced as the 9th head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Dick Vermeil said: “I’m not a miracle worker…but I believe in the magic of hard work”. First, the
Miracle at the Meadowlands, and then, this miraculous finish in Cleveland. What can I say? The evidence doesn’t lie.

4

The heartbreak from this one still lingers to this day. So, let me switch gears and rather focus on the positives: Even at 5-8, Dante Hall did everything within his powers to carry the Chiefs on this disappointing date, and for that, he deserves nothing but praise. But what about Willie Roaf? Paired against the talented Dwight Freeney, Roaf absolutely manhandled him in what truly stands as one of the greatest LT performances I have ever seen in my life — if not the best. Words can make no justice to the display of power and technique exuded by Roaf in that crushing loss. Now that’s a silver-lining…if there ever is one.

3

Larry Johnson became the first player in NFL history to carry the ball as many as 34 times in a game (for 157 yards) no more than four days after carrying 30 or more times in his previous game. This in route to establishing the NFL record for carries in a season (416). And with that, he helped ease Lamar Hunt’s disappointment of not being able to attend (due to illness) the debut of the third act of what is now a Thanksgiving tripleheader.

2

It took preparation (Jerome Woods would say that although he never marked games on the calendar, he did mark this one); it took mental fortitude (to recover after fumbling the ball in their opening possession and eventually getting behind in the scoreboard); it took a whopping 590 yards of total offense (“I’ve never been involved in 590 yards of offense. I don’t add that high.” Chiefs’ head coach Dick Vermeil said); and it even took Halloween…but once, just once, we got the best of Peyton Manning and his Colts. And it felt good, really good.

1

Back in 2006, to get into the post-season, the Chiefs needed help from several other sources. And on the last day of the regular season, all the chips fell into place. First, the Titans were downed by the Patriots; then the Steelers took care of the Bengals; and last but not least, the Broncos lost on their turf thanks to the foot of Joe Nedney (I told you I wasn’t done with him), and with that, the circle was completed. Nedney took us out of the playoffs to start the decade, and almost 7 years later, he sent us right there. But the Chiefs had to hold their end of the bargain, and that they did against Jacksonville. In the end, they earned the right to be lucky, they earned the right to draw snake eyes…and that’s that.