NFL Recap (Kansas City-Oakland)
Posted: Sat December 26, 1998 at 8:59 p.m. EST
KANSAS CITY 31, OAKLAND 24
OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- It was small consolation, but the Kansas City Chiefs ended a
disappointing season on a positive note and continued their decade-long
domination of the Oakland
Raiders.
Elvis Grbac,
making his first appearance since November 8th, tossed a 20-yard touchdown
pass to tight end Tony
Gonzalez with 5:56 remaining as the Chiefs concluded the first losing
season of coach Marty Schottenheimer's career with a wild 31-24 victory.
The Raiders pulled into a 24-24 tie on Jeff George's 15-yard TD
pass to James Jett with
9:07 remaining. That came after Kansas City snapped a 17-17 deadlock when
linebacker Derrick
Thomas returned a fumble 42 yards for a touchdown late in the third
quarter.
It was the first defensive score of the year for the Chiefs (7-9), who
erased a 14-0 first-quarter deficit and defeated their long-time AFC West
rivals for the 17th time in the last 19 meetings.
"Because it was the Raiders, we were able to come back," said Grbac.
"Because it's Jeff George, our spirits picked up."
Grbac was 20-for-35 for 254 yards for Kansas City, which completed the
worst turnaround in the NFL after an AFC-best 13-3 record last season. The
Chiefs suffered their first losing campaign since going 4-11-1 in 1988
under Frank Gansz.
"It was a big one for us," said Schottenheimer. "It will let us go
out of the season on a good note. We were down 14-0 and we didn't give up,
we didn't throw in the towel."
"I would like to beat these guys just once," said Raiders offensive
tackle Lincoln Kennedy.
"We had a lead and we couldn't hold it. It's incredibly disappointing."
The defense helped Kansas City take its first lead as end Leslie O'Neal slapped the
ball out of quarterback Donald Hollas' hands.
Thomas, who had six sacks in a 28-8 season-opening rout of the Raiders,
scooped up the fumble and raced untouched to the end zone to put the Chiefs
ahead, 24-17, with 75 seconds left in the third quarter.
"It surprised us to score that touchdown," said O'Neal. "I honestly
thought we (the defense) wouldn't score anything this year. That fumble
recovery changed the monentum of the game."
"Once I had the ball in my hands I headed for the sideline and didn't
look back," added Thomas. "I was pretty excited about scoring a
touchdown."
But Oakland punter Leo
Araguz pinned the Chiefs inside their 5 early in the final period and
the Raiders took advantage of their ensuing field position, driving 46
yards in three plays for the tying score.
George's 27-yard pass to tight end Derek Brown, coupled with
a 15-yard face mask penalty, set up Jett's touchdown 5:43 into the fourth
quarter. But Grbac, who was benched in November following a four-game
losing streak, responded by marching the Chiefs 76 yards in six plays in
just over three minutes.
Kansas City missed a chance to add an insurance score in the final two
minutes when linebacker Greg Biekert recovered Bam
Morris' fumble at the Oakland 14. The Raiders drove to the Chiefs 45, but
their hopes faded when George's sideline pass to Terry Mickens on 4th-and-5
sailed out of bounds.
Oakland starter Wade
Wilson and Hollas suffered groin injuries, resulting in George's first
appearance since November 29th against Washington.
The quarterback problems began when Wilson was forced to leave with
9:57 left in the third quarter. Hollas took over and engineered a drive
that led to Greg Davis' go-ahead 44-yard field goal.
Hollas suffered his injury on the play before the field goal, but
stayed in for another series and it may have cost the Raiders. With
limited mobility, he had the ball knocked out of his hands by O'Neal. The
quarterback was replaced following the fumble and uttered an obscenity at
coach John Gruden as he reached the sideline.
"I don't remember that exchange," said Hollas. "It was a decision I
had no part of. They must have felt I couldn't throw anymore."
George took over late in the third quarter but could not rally the
Raiders in the final minutes as they completed Gruden's first season at
8-8, dropping five of their last six games.
Wilson, making his third straight start, was 13-of-18 for 127 yards,
while Hollas went 4-of-6 for 60 yards. George connected on 9-of-18 for 142
yards in just over a quarter.
"We're going to have to get some kind of groin-strengthening machine
in the locker room," said Gruden. "I've never seen that many injuries."
The Raiders jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on Wilson's
130-yard TD pass to Tim
Brown and Randy
Jordan's 10-yard run. Jordan, replacing the injured Napolean Kaufman,
gained only 24 yards on 16 carries.
Tim Brown had 10 catches for 140 yards, going over the 1,000-yard mark
for the sixth straight season.
Kansas City tied it on a pair of one-yard TD runs by Morris, who
rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries. The teams traded field goals in the
third quarter, setting the stage for the wild finish.
The contest was a chippy affair with the teams combining for 22
penalties. The Chiefs committed 12 and tied the NFL single-season record
of 156, set by the Raiders in 1994 and 1996.
"It's a dubious distinction that I'd rather not go out with," said
Schottenheimer. "Game after game, it just mounted up. It's all water under
the bridge now."
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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