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Chiefs top Vikings for first win

Sep 23, 2007 - 10:22 PM By Marc Bowman PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - The Kansas City Chiefs finally showed some signs of life on offense Sunday in a 13-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Entering the game tied for last in the NFL in points scored, the Chiefs continued to struggle on offense, managing just 56 net yards and four first downs in the first half.

Kansas City (1-2) went three-and-out on their first three possessions and didn't get a first down until the final play of the first quarter.

"We were very frustrated in all phases," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "You could tell at times. Players were emotionally in the game and got mad. They got mad at the calls, got mad at what we were asking them to do, they got mad at the coaches and the coaches got mad at players. I sensed that and it was because guys wanted to win so badly."

After the Vikings shut down Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson, holding him to 42 yards on 24 carries, quarterback Damon Huard began to connect on passes to tight end Tony Gonzalez and rookie Dwayne Bowe.

"We wanted to get the ball to three guys in our offense and it has to rotate among those three guys," Edwards said. "It's 27 (Johnson), it's 88 (Gonzalez), and it's 82 (Bowe). Those guys have to touch the ball."

Huard completed 20-of-29 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown.

"If teams are going to stack eight guys in there to stop the run we'll throw to the outside," Huard said. "This is what we need to do.

"If teams are going to stack eight guys in there to stop the run we'll throw to the outside. This is what we need to do."

Following Kansas City's longest sustained drive of the game, Huard hit Bowe with a 16-yard scoring strike in the left corner of the end zone, giving the Chiefs a 13-10 lead with 9:27 left in the game.

"I told Coach, 'I need the ball'," Bowe said. "He told me, 'I'm going to give it to you, 82.' I love it. I told him (Huard) to put the ball up there and that's what he did. He put it in a great place."

"You can just see his confidence," Huard said of Bowe. "It's in his eyes. He believes now. He's not thinking, he's just playing. It's great to see him come out of his shell the last two weeks."

Minnesota (1-2) played with substitutes for their entire offensive backfield.

Adrian Peterson, who replaced an injured Chester Taylor as the Vikings' featured running back in Week One, rushed for 102 yards and caught three passes for 48 yards.

"I thought he did a good job today," Minnesota coach Brad Childress said. "He's going to be sore tomorrow, but that's being a running back in the NFL."

Peterson carried four times for 29 yards in Minnesota's first drive, which he capped with an 11-yard touchdown run that put the Vikings ahead, 7-0, with 10:02 left in the first quarter.

"Even though I got 102 yards, it doesn't really matter if we didn't get the victory," Peterson said. "We had chances to make plays. When you've got chances, you've got to make plays. It is very frustrating (to lose). There are things we need to sharpen up and be able to finish."

After Spencer Johnson sacked Huard, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Chad Greenway, Minnesota extended the lead to 10-0 on Ryan Longwell's 22-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the first half.

"It was a kind of a tale of two halves out there," Childress said. "Obviously our defense was stingy in the first half. Offensively, we need to do more to contribute. We've got to be able to hit those throws that you have."

After much secrecy from the Minnesota staff during the week, Kelly Holcomb was named quarterback, starting in place of Tarvaris Jackson, who was sidelined with a groin injury.

"I thought he made some decent throws," Childress said. "I thought he was under a little bit of duress there during the course of the day, but I thought he got some out on time and we need a little more help. I don't know if he might need to get rid of the ball a little quicker. I do know that nothing good happens when you hold onto the ball."

Holcomb completed 13-of-26 passes for 160 yards.

"We had it rolling the first quarter, the first half," Holcomb said. "We did what we wanted to do in the first half. We drove the ball up and down the field, but when you get opportunities to stick it in you've got to finish it.

"Finish - that's the big buzz word in the NFL. We've got to get that killer mentality. That's what we've got to get better at. We've got to finish drives and finish games."

Peterson's second-quarter fumble led to the Chiefs' first points. One play after his fumble was overturned on a coach's challenge, Peterson was stripped of the ball by Jared Allen, which was recovered by Patrick Surtain at the Vikings 29.

Seven plays later, Dave Rayner connected on a 39-yard field goal with 3:32 left in the first half.

Rayner added a 49-yard field goal with 2:58 left in the third quarter, cutting Minnesota's lead to 10-6.

Following the Chiefs' first sustained drive of the game, which covered 61 yards on 13 plays and was highlighted by passes by Huard to Gonzalez for 15 and 16 yards, Rayner added a 49-yard field goal with 2:58 left in the third quarter, cutting the Minnesota lead to 10-6.

"We ran into a pack of dogs in the Minnesota Vikings," Huard said. "They're a great defense. They got after us and stuffed the run and put us in third-and- long situations. We were pressing too much. We wanted to come out and score right away and when we didn't, we got frustrated."