FLASH RECAP:
Larry Johnson's 1-yard touchdown run as time expires lifts Kansas City to a pulsating victory over Oakland before an announced crowd of 79,033 at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 6, 2005.
With 5 seconds left, the Chiefs trail by three points and have a first-and-goal at the Raiders 1. Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil calls a running play instead of opting for a short field goal to force overtime.
Following blocks from center Casey Wiegmann and right guard Will Shields, Johnson vaults into the end zone to set off a wild Arrowhead celebration. On the previous play, Johnson sets up his second TD of the game with a 36-yard catch and run.
An emotional Vermeil, 69, tells reporters after the Chiefs' sixth straight win over the arch rival Raiders: "Wow! I was scared. I just figured I’m too old to wait. If we had not made it, then you guys (reporters) would have had a lot of fun with that. It was not an impulsive thing. It was the right thing for us to do.”
Said Oakland QB Kerry Collins: "This is about as bitter a defeat as you could have. It's tough. You fight your way back in a rough game, and find a way to get ahead, and then it doesn't work out. That's about as tough as it gets."
The Chiefs’ decisive drive is aided by a controversial tripping penalty on Raiders defensive tackle Ed Jasper. The television replay shows Jasper being thrown to the turf by Kansas City's Shields before Jasper’s legs inadvertently trip Green. The 10-yard penalty gives Kansas City a first down at midfield with 27 seconds left.
"I bull-rushed the dude, he held me, he threw me down over the top of him and I got a tripping call,” Jasper tells reporters after Oakland's two-game win streak is snapped. “When I got up, the ref threw the flag late, so I’m thinking they called holding. He did tackle me. I didn’t even see the quarterback. How am I going to trip him? I was too busy being yanked to the ground.
The Raiders take a 23-20 lead on Collins' 7-yard TD pass to Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan's subsequent run for a two-point conversion with 1:45 left. Trailing 20-9, Oakland narrows the deficit on a 4-yard TD pass from Collins to Jerry Porter early in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski (3-for-3) and the Chiefs’ Lawrence Tynes (2-for-2) combine for five first-half field goals as Oakland builds a 9-6 lead at the intermission.
The Chiefs, who enter the game ranked 29th in total defense, hold the Raiders to a season-low 263 total yards.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
RB Larry Johnson — Delivers a dagger to the Raiders on the game's final two plays. Johnson takes a short pass 36 yards to the Oakland 1 and then seizes victory with his dramatic leap into the end zone for the winning TD as time expires. The former Penn State star finishes with 107 rushing yards on 22 carries and two TDs.
QB Trent Green — Is 13-of-17 passing for 148 yards and one TD in the second half. Green completes 5 of 6 passes for 73 yards on K.C.'s game-winning drive in the final 1:45.
Coach Dick Vermeil — With 5 seconds left and the outcome on the line, Vermeil goes for the win with a gutsy running play instead of kicking for a tie. Bravo.
Chiefs secondary — The unit surrenders only 162 net passing yards despite the injury absence of CB Patrick Surtain, arguably among the team's top defensive players.
TE Tony Gonzalez
— Has 5 catches for 70 yards. Gonzalez's 33-yard catch in the third quarter helps set up Tony Richardson's 6-yard TD reception.
QB Kerry Collins — Rallies the Raiders with two fourth-quarter TD passes to Jerry Porter (4 yards) and Randy Moss (7 yards).
WR Jerry Porter — Has 7 catches for 68 yards and a TD.
DT Tommy Kelly — Has three sacks for 28 yards on Chiefs QB Trent Green and forces two fumbles.
RB LaMont Jordan
— Rushes for 93 yards on 19 attempts and catches 5 passes for 25 yards.
KR Chris Carr — The rookie from Boise State averages 38.2 yards on five kickoffs. His 62-yard return late in the first half sets up a go-ahead 48-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski.
KEY STAT (S):
The Raiders are held to 162 net passing yards. The Chiefs enter the game ranked 31st against the pass, allowing 222.1 yards per game.
The Raiders and Chiefs combine for 28 points in the final quarter. They scored 22 points in the first three quarters.
TURNING POINT:
QB Trent Green drives the Chiefs 72 yards in 8 plays for the winning score in the final 1:45. Green is 5-for-6 passing for 73 yards (each team commits a penalty on the drive) to set up Larry Johnson's 1-yard TD run.
BY THE NUMBERS:
6: Consecutive Raiders losses to the Chiefs.
10: Consecutive field goals by Oakland's Sebastien Janikowski.
0-5: Raiders coach Norv Turner's record against the Chiefs. Turner is 0-4 with Oakland vs. K.C. and 0-1 as coach of the Washington Redskins.
THEY SAID IT:
Raiders MLB Danny Clark
"That was one of the worst defeats we’ve had. We put ourselves in position to win the game. We all the effort we put forth, there was no way I saw us coming out of that game without a win."
"This means a lot. This is the first game in my career where someone has trusted me to put the ball in the end zone with four seconds. If we don’t score, we don’t win."
Chiefs RB Larry Johnson
DID YOU KNOW?:
Six of the last seven Chiefs-Raiders games at Arrowhead Stadium have been decided in overtime or the last 25 seconds of regulation. The teams are 3-3 in those six games, but Kansas City has won the past three.
Since 1989, the Raiders are 3-15 (including 0-1 postseason) against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chiefs RB Larry Johnson (27) leaps into the end zone
over a pile of players for the winning TD as time expires.
