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Johnson rushes for three TDs, Chiefs make playoffs

Jan 1, 2007 - 5:59 AM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Larry Johnson delivered for the Kansas City Chiefs. Then Joe Nedney kicked them right into the playoffs.

Johnson rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 35-30 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game between AFC teams that entered the day with slim wild-card hopes.

The Chiefs (9-7) needed losses by Cincinnati, Tennessee and AFC West rival Denver on Sunday to keep alive their playoff hopes.

Sure enough, all of those scenarios occurred for the Chiefs, who failed to make the playoffs with a 10-6 record last season in Dick Vermeil's final year as coach. However, coach Herman Edwards was much more fortunate.

"Last year we put ourselves in a situation where it was out of our control and we didn't make it," Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters said. "This year we were in the same situation."

But in a year when the Chiefs lost their beloved founder Lamar Hunt, who died of cancer on December 14, they appeared to benefit from divine intervention.

Cincinnati lost in overtime to Pittsburgh, Tennessee was beaten by New England and Denver, which was favored to beat San Francisco, lost to the 49ers when Nedney kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:56 left in overtime. Even a tie would have been good enough to get the Broncos into the playoffs and bump the Chiefs.

"I heard my wife screaming so I said, 'Something must have happened good,'" Edwards said. "I figured if I started watching, something bad was probably going to happen."

The Chiefs honored Hunt in their first home game since his death with video tributes before and during the game.

The Jaguars (8-8) closed the season with three straight losses. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention when the New York Jets won earlier in the day.

"To walk away, losing three games in a row, that ain't no good feeling," Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said. "If anybody in here says this season was a success, they're lying to you. There's no way in the world this season was a success, after losing three straight games."

It was another successful season for Johnson, who set an NFL single-season record with 416 carries, eclipsing Jamal Anderson's mark of 410 for Atlanta in 1998. Johnson also broke his own club record with 1,789 rushing yards, 39 more than his total last year.

"It's a testament to the offensive line," Johnson said. "And fullback Kris Wilson did an awesome job coming in after being a tight end. The receivers and everybody else had a hand in my success this season.

"Hopefully, I won't have over 400 attempts after every season, but now you know you don't have to worry about tiring me out because you know how far I can go."

LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego won the rushing title with 1,815 yards.

Johnson dove into the end zone for a one-yard score on a 4th-and-goal play with 7:09 left in the second quarter to give the Chiefs a 14-10 lead.

Trent Green connected with Eddie Kennison on a 35-yard touchdown with 1:52 remaining in the first half to increase the advantage to 21-10. Kennison finished with six catches for 144 yards.

"Coach Edwards expressed since day one that there had to be a mindset that anything less than the playoffs was not acceptable," said Green, who was 14-of-21 for 181 yards with two interceptions. "It was the focus from top to bottom."

On the Jaguars' first series of the second half, cornerback Ty Law intercepted a pass by David Garrard and returned it 16 yards to the Jacksonville 2. Johnson scored on the next play to give the Chiefs a 28-10 lead with 12:08 left in the third quarter.

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio then replaced Garrard with Quinn Gray, who had appeared in only one game in three seasons and began the year as the third-string quarterback behind injured Byron Leftwich and Garrard, who was 10-of-18 for 140 yards and a touchdown.

Gray directed three touchdown drives, finishing two of them off with scoring runs of nine and 17 yards. He was 13-of-22 for 166 yards.

"I wanted to give our football team a spark," Del Rio said of his decision to switch quarterbacks. "He did a nice job of giving us the spark and leading us to scores and giving us an opportunity."

The Jaguars pulled within 35-30 when rookie Maurice Jones-Drew scored on a five-yard run with five minutes left in the fourth quarter following a fumble by Green.

However, the Chiefs consumed the rest of the time as Johnson rushed for 27 yards and Green scrambled for seven yards on a 3rd-and-6 play. Kansas City got a break when Michael Bennett recovered his own fumble after a seven-yard run to the Jacksonville 41 with 2:15 left.

"There at the end, we just needed the ball back and they played keepaway," Del Rio said.

Rookie Bernard Pollard blocked a punt by Chris Hanson and recovered it in the end zone to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead 5:50 into the game.

Garrard hit running back Fred Taylor with a 26-yard touchdown 54 seconds into the second quarter to tie the game.