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Chiefs feel the turn
Romp over 49ers enforces belief that the team’s season is back on the right track.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
In every football team’s season, there is a defining moment. The Chiefs won’t know for months whether Sunday’s 41-0 win over San Francisco was theirs.
The one-sided result may instead ultimately be one of those unexplained moments in time, one weak team ganging up on another on a glorious fall afternoon.
For now, and at least until they play again Sunday against the Cardinals in Arizona, the 1-2 Chiefs will cling to their belief the 49ers game will eventually carry much more meaning.
The Chiefs dismantled the 49ers in every phase. It was enough to convince the Chiefs they not only rescued their season from a precipice but also evolved into an opponent other teams dread to face.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez said his belief was rooted not necessarily in the game’s lopsided final score, but in its well-rounded nature. Other Chiefs’ routs from recent seasons featured a monster performance by the offense while the defense and sometimes even the special teams were just along for the ride.
Not so against San Francisco. The offense was efficient but, with only 333 yards, hardly imposing.
The defense, meanwhile, strangled the 49ers while the special teams contributed a Dante Hall punt return for a touchdown plus a fumble recovery that led to another score.
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t be confident enough to say this is what we should be, what we will be,” Gonzalez said. “Maybe we won’t always be that dominant but still a very good team. You can’t get a win better than that. We did it on offense, we did it on defense, and we did it on special teams.”
Coach Herm Edwards saw the restorative powers that such a win can have on a losing team while he was coaching the Jets in 2002. His forlorn team bumbled to a 2-5 record before heading to San Diego for a game with the Chargers.
The Jets returned home with a 44-13 victory and won six more games the last half of the season, the AFC East championship and a playoff berth.
While he was careful not to predict a win over the 1-3 Cardinals or in any other upcoming game, Edwards said Sunday’s win could have the same kind of effect on the Chiefs.
“It gives us some confidence on how we’d like to try to play,” Edwards said. “We showed a little bit of that in Denver, playing physical and playing tough. We just didn’t make the plays that we did (against the 49ers). That was the difference.”
Even in the two defeats, the defense had some things to be proud of. They had proved to be stingy against the pass and held the Broncos without a touchdown.
But they didn’t have a shutout. As linebacker Kawika Mitchell said after the game, nothing says results for a defense like a shutout.
That’s why a final score of 41-0 was that much better for the Chiefs than, say, 41-3.
“It’s a hard thing to do, to shut teams out,” Edwards said. “That’s why you don’t see it very often. No coach wants to get shut out. No team wants to get shut out. They’re trying to score.
“We’ve been preaching good defense. We wanted to see how we played with a lead. We did not want to let them get back in the game. That was San Francisco’s strength. They scored 71 points going into the game, 20 in the first half and 51 in the second half. They were a big-time second-half football team.”
The Chiefs also won for the first time with quarterback Damon Huard, eliminating that as an obstacle.
“We lost to two good teams the first two weeks of the season,” Huard said. “We knew we were a pretty good football team. All that was left was to win.
“Any win would have been great, but in this one, everyone played so well. After a win like that, you want to get back on the field again. I can’t wait to get to practice this week. It makes for a good week.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHIEFS AT CARDINALS
•WHEN/WHERE: 3:05 p.m. Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
•TV/RADIO: Chs. 5, 13; KCFX (101.1 FM)
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15664178.htm
Romp over 49ers enforces belief that the team’s season is back on the right track.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
In every football team’s season, there is a defining moment. The Chiefs won’t know for months whether Sunday’s 41-0 win over San Francisco was theirs.
The one-sided result may instead ultimately be one of those unexplained moments in time, one weak team ganging up on another on a glorious fall afternoon.
For now, and at least until they play again Sunday against the Cardinals in Arizona, the 1-2 Chiefs will cling to their belief the 49ers game will eventually carry much more meaning.
The Chiefs dismantled the 49ers in every phase. It was enough to convince the Chiefs they not only rescued their season from a precipice but also evolved into an opponent other teams dread to face.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez said his belief was rooted not necessarily in the game’s lopsided final score, but in its well-rounded nature. Other Chiefs’ routs from recent seasons featured a monster performance by the offense while the defense and sometimes even the special teams were just along for the ride.
Not so against San Francisco. The offense was efficient but, with only 333 yards, hardly imposing.
The defense, meanwhile, strangled the 49ers while the special teams contributed a Dante Hall punt return for a touchdown plus a fumble recovery that led to another score.
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t be confident enough to say this is what we should be, what we will be,” Gonzalez said. “Maybe we won’t always be that dominant but still a very good team. You can’t get a win better than that. We did it on offense, we did it on defense, and we did it on special teams.”
Coach Herm Edwards saw the restorative powers that such a win can have on a losing team while he was coaching the Jets in 2002. His forlorn team bumbled to a 2-5 record before heading to San Diego for a game with the Chargers.
The Jets returned home with a 44-13 victory and won six more games the last half of the season, the AFC East championship and a playoff berth.
While he was careful not to predict a win over the 1-3 Cardinals or in any other upcoming game, Edwards said Sunday’s win could have the same kind of effect on the Chiefs.
“It gives us some confidence on how we’d like to try to play,” Edwards said. “We showed a little bit of that in Denver, playing physical and playing tough. We just didn’t make the plays that we did (against the 49ers). That was the difference.”
Even in the two defeats, the defense had some things to be proud of. They had proved to be stingy against the pass and held the Broncos without a touchdown.
But they didn’t have a shutout. As linebacker Kawika Mitchell said after the game, nothing says results for a defense like a shutout.
That’s why a final score of 41-0 was that much better for the Chiefs than, say, 41-3.
“It’s a hard thing to do, to shut teams out,” Edwards said. “That’s why you don’t see it very often. No coach wants to get shut out. No team wants to get shut out. They’re trying to score.
“We’ve been preaching good defense. We wanted to see how we played with a lead. We did not want to let them get back in the game. That was San Francisco’s strength. They scored 71 points going into the game, 20 in the first half and 51 in the second half. They were a big-time second-half football team.”
The Chiefs also won for the first time with quarterback Damon Huard, eliminating that as an obstacle.
“We lost to two good teams the first two weeks of the season,” Huard said. “We knew we were a pretty good football team. All that was left was to win.
“Any win would have been great, but in this one, everyone played so well. After a win like that, you want to get back on the field again. I can’t wait to get to practice this week. It makes for a good week.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHIEFS AT CARDINALS
•WHEN/WHERE: 3:05 p.m. Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
•TV/RADIO: Chs. 5, 13; KCFX (101.1 FM)
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15664178.htm