CHIEFS FALL TO TEXANS 24-14
Aug 12, 2006, 7:00:00 PM
HOUSTON, TX – The Chiefs officially ushered in the Herm Edwards era with the club’s preseason opener at Houston. However, the outcome wasn’t what he was seeking as the Texans held on for 24 - 14 victory.
After a 22-yard FG by Houston K Kris Brown gave the Texans that advantage midway through the third frame, Brown had a chance to increase his squad’s lead, but his 40-yard attempt sailed wide right. RB Damien Rhodes tacked on a four-yard TD run with 5:42 left in the game to make the count 24-7.
Kansas City’s defense forced the Texans to punt on the game’s opening possession. After the Texans converted a fourth-and-one near midfield, Houston marched downfield and opened the scoring on a three-yard TD run by rookie RB Wali Lundy. Houston’s 13-play, 65-yard drive gave the Texans a 7-0 lead with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter.
Kansas City moved across midfield on its next possession thanks to back-to-back completions thanks to completions from QB Trent Green to WR Eddie Kennison and TE Kris Wilson. The Chiefs knotted the score on a 12-yard TD run by RB Dee Brown, who burst through the middle untouched. Kansas City chewed up 7:21 off the clock its 13-play, 71-yard scoring march. RB Larry Johnson converted a pair of first downs on the drive and left the game after carrying the ball seven times for 30 yards.
QB Casey Printers and a host of other substitutions entered the lineup on Kansas City’s third offensive possession. Houston broke a 7-7 tie late in the second quarter after backup QB Sage Rosenfels dove into the end zone to cap a five-yard TD run. Printers attempted to get the club into field goal range late in the first half, but an intentional grounding call effectively halted the Chiefs scoring chance as Kansas City entered the locker room trailing 14-7.
Printers was sacked by DE John Chick early in the third quarter. The ball was knocked loose on the play and was recovered by DT Earl Cochran. Houston took over on the Kansas City 22-yard line, but was limited to a 22-yard field goal by the Chiefs defense.
The Chiefs finished the scoring on a 1-yard plunge by RB Quentin Griffin to make the final score 24 - 14.
CHIEFS HALFTIME QUOTES
Head Coach Herm Edwards on the first half: “Obviously we have to contain the boot play. A couple times we didn’t do that and that’s a problem. They had a couple runs, but that’s what they were hitting us with, the boot. We know it’s coming, so we’ve got to do better. Our offense is moving the ball, so we’ll see what happens in the second half.”
QB Trent Green on the first half: “We hurt ourselves a little bit on the first drive with the penalty. The second play we got a good chunk of it back. Then on third down they did a good job and we didn’t convert. The second drive we did much better. We mixed up the run and the pass. We had some third-down conversions. Eddie (Kennison) made a big catch on third down. Kris Wilson made a big catch to keep the drive going. Once again, we ran the ball well with Larry (Johnson) and then when Dee came in, he finished it off with a couple big runs at the end of that drive.”
Green on the play of the first unit: “It was good to actually get out there in live action. It was good for our offensive line. Kevin Sampson did a good job, as did Chris Bober filling in for Brian Waters. Kyle Turley got his first live action in a couple years. All of those things are very positive for an offensive line that’s going through some transition.”
