FLASH RECAP:
Tim Brown's 88-yard punt return for a touchdown helps Oakland defeat Kansas City before an announced crowd of 60,784 at Network Associates Coliseum on Dec. 9, 2001. The Raiders (9-3) extend their winning streak to five games over the Chiefs (3-9) despite committing five turnovers and surrendering 474 total yards. Kansas City running back Priest Holmes rushes for 168 yards on 28 carries and catches five passes for 109 yards. Holmes single-handedly out-gains Oakland, 277 to 262, in total yards. The Chiefs narrow the deficit to 28-26 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Trent Green to Tony Gonzalez with 1:38 remaining.
On the two-point conversion try, Green fumbles attempting to pass when he is drilled in the back by Oakland's Regan Upshaw. The Raiders' Roderick Coleman recovers the football, and then Jerry Porter recovers the ensuing Chiefs onside kick to secure victory. With a 9-yard catch in the second quarter, the Raiders' Jerry Rice becomes the first NFL player to reach 20,000 receiving yards.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
WR Tim Brown -- Scores his 100th career touchdown on an electrifying 88-yard punt return early in the third quarter, his first punt return for a TD since 1993. Brown also contributes four catches for 35 yards.
WR Jerry Rice -- Burns cornerback Ray Crockett with an inside-out move before making an 8-yard catch for the go-ahead touchdown with 36 seconds remaining in the first half. With a 9-yard catch in the second quarter, Rice becomes the first NFL player to reach 20,000 receiving yards. The future Hall of Famer finishes with five catches for 57 yards.
DE Regan Upshaw -- Sacks Kansas City's Trent Green on a two-point conversion try with 1:38 remaining. Upshaw also sacks Green in the third quarter.
CB Charles Woodson -- Breaks up a fourth-and-goal pass in the right corner of the end zone intended for Derrick Alexander with 3:03 remaining.
WR Marcus Knight -- Makes a touchdown-saving tackle on the Chiefs' Dante Hall, who returns a Sebastian Janikowski kickoff 71 yards to the Oakland 25 in the third quarter.
RB Priest Holmes -- Rushes for 168 yards and has 109 receiving yards on five catches. Holmes becomes Kansas City's first 1,000-yard rusher since Christian Okoye rushed for 1,031 yards in 1991. On the first play of the second quarter, the first-year Chief takes a screen pass from Trent Green and rambles 67 yards for a touchdown. Holmes averages a whopping 6.0 yards on 28 running plays.
FS Jerome Woods -- Prevents a third-quarter touchdown when he out-leaps TE Roland Williams to intercept a Rich Gannon pass at the Kansas City 2-yard line. Woods also makes jarring hits on Oakland's Tim Brown and Charlie Garner.
DE Duane Clemons -- Sets up the Chiefs' final touchdown when he strips Rich Gannon of the football at the Oakland 24-yard line. Clemons also recovers a Tyrone Wheatley fumble in the third quarter at the Kansas City 17-yard line.
TE Tony Gonzalez -- Doesn't do much damage until he catches a 24-yard touchdown pass with 1:38 remaining. The ex-Cal star finishes with four catches for 51 yards.
GOAT OF THE GAME:
Kansas City place-kicker Todd Peterson. After kicking 14 consecutive field goals, Peterson is wide right on a 28-yard attempt with one second remaining in the second quarter. If Peterson extends his streak to 15 straight field goals, the Chiefs take the lead on Trent Green's 24-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez with 1:38 left.
TURNING POINT:
On fourth-and-one from the Oakland 47, Kansas City's Tony Richardson is stuffed for a loss of a yard by the Raiders' Darrell Russell and Greg Biekert with 2:25 left in the first half. Trailing 17-14, the Raiders need only 1:52 to drive 52 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
KEY DRIVE:
The Raiders move 52 yards in six plays for a touchdown after the Chiefs fail to convert a fourth-and-one at the Oakland 47. Rich Gannon completes first-down passes to Tim Brown (for four yards) and Jerry Rice (23 yards) to advance the football to the Kansas City 16. Gannon then passes to Brown for an 8-yard gain. On second-and-two, Gannon throws an 8-yard touchdown pass to Rice to give Oakland a 20-17 lead with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.
BY THE NUMBERS:
-
5: Turnovers by the Raiders (four lost fumbles and one interception).
62: Total yards for Oakland in the second half.
100: Career touchdowns for the Raiders' Tim Brown.
277: Total yards by Kansas City's Priest Holmes (168 yards rushing and 109 yards on five receptions).
THEY SAID IT:
Raiders WR Tim Brown
"I've been returning punts since I was 12 years old, and that was one of the easiest punt returns I've ever had. I didn't have to make anyone
miss. I just had to make it to the sideline, so it was just a matter of
if I was going to get in the end zone or not.”
"That (Tim Brown’s punt return) was the biggest play of the game. If you expect to beat a team like that, you can't give away special-teams
touchdowns. Bottom line."
Chiefs
Chiefs FS Jason Belser
DID YOU KNOW?:
At 35, the Raiders' Tim Brown is the oldest player to return an NFL punt for a touchdown. Brown's 88-yard punt return in the third quarter provide the winning points against the Chiefs. Eric Metcalf, released by the Raiders in training camp, set the previous record when he returned a punt 89 yards for the Washington Redskins against the New York Giants on Oct. 28, 2001. Metcalf was 33 years, nine months and three days old at the time. Brown was 35 years, four months and 18 days old when he scored his 100th career touchdown and broke Metcalf's record.
Tim Brown (81) and Randy Jordan (28) celebrate after Brown scores his 100th career touchdown on an 88-yard punt return.
By Associated Press
