Chiefs Hammer Rams 31 - 17
Nov 05, 2006, 6:00:00 AM
1 2 3 4 Total
Chiefs 7 17 0 7 31
Rams 0 10 7 0 17
Final
Wilson TD: TE Kris Wilson registered his second career TD catch on an 11-yard reception from QB Damon Huard.
Huard’s Day: QB Damon Huard set a career high with three TD passes.
Thanks to three first-half turnovers by the Rams and 116 rushing yards out of RB Larry Johnson, the Chiefs hold a 24-7 halftime lead at St. Louis in the Governor’s Cup match-up.
St. Louis entered the game with the NFL’s third-best turnover ratio at +10, but that did very little to help its cause Sunday. The Rams fumbled three times in the first quarter and the Chiefs capitalized on all three, jumping out to a 17-0 lead before the I-70 rivals knew what hit them.
On Kansas City’s first possession, RB Larry Johnson helped get the club out of bad field position at their own two-yard line when he broke off a 44-yard run. The drive stalled just across midfield, but Dustin Colquitt’s punt was fumbled by WR Dane Looker at the Rams 14-yard line. Chiefs RB Dee Brown pounced on the loose ball setting up a Johnson one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead moments later. The Chiefs excitement was tempered a bit on the drive when Pro Bowl G Brian Waters was carted off the field with a right knee injury.
Another Rams turnover led to the Chiefs next score as Chiefs DE Jared Allen sacked and stripped St. Louis QB Marc Bulger at the Rams 46-yard line. Rookie DT Stephen Williams recovered the fumble and watched his offense go for a knockout blow on the very next play. QB Damon Huard tossed a perfect 43-yard pass to WR Samie Parker down to the three-yard line. Huard then found TE Tony Gonzalez wide open in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Gonzalez’s 58th career touchdown catch moved him past WR Otis Taylor for the most touchdown receptions in franchise history.
LB Keyaron Fox forced the third St. Louis fumble on the next series when he poked the ball free from RB Steven Jackson. Allen recovered the ball for Kansas City at the St. Louis 33-yard line, giving the Chiefs another short field. KC settled for a 42-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal to open the game with 17 unanswered points. Staring down a 17-0 deficit and searching for answers, the Rams switched to a no-huddle offense to shake things up. The change in gameplan seemed to ignite them as Bulger fired back-to-back big gains to WR Isaac Bruce to move inside the Red Zone. From there Jackson bulled across the goal line from two yards out to cut the Chiefs lead to 17-7 midway through the second quarter.
Unfazed, the Chiefs would answer with a crisp, eight-play, 80-yard scoring march just before halftime. Huard completed three passes on the drive including his second touchdown pass to Gonzalez, this time from 25 yards out. On the play, Huard side-stepped a blitzing CB Travis Fisher and found his Pro Bowl tight end down the seam to take a 24-7 lead with 0:48 remaining before intermission.
The Rams would sneak in a 41-yard field goal from Jeff Wilkins as time expired on the half to make the score 24-10 at the break.
Gonzalez Sets Chiefs TD Reception Mark: Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez caught a three-yard TD pass from QB Damon Huard, marking the 58th TD reception of his career, bypassing WR Otis Taylor (57) for the most TD catches in Chiefs history. Gonzalez extended his franchise-record receiving streak to 92 games, the third-longest streak in NFL history by a tight end.
Johnson’s Day: RB Larry Johnson produced a one-yard TD, his ninth rushing TD of the season and the 39th of his career, moving him into a tie with RB Abner Haynes for fourth in Chiefs history. Johnson produced a season-long 45-yard run. Johnson made his 20th NFL start at St. Louis. Johnson’s 30 rushing TDs and 34 total TDs in his first 20 starts are the most by any player since the AFL-NFL merger.
Turnover Stats: RB Dee Brown recovered a muffed punt by Rams WR Dane Looker. DT Stephen Williams registered his first career fumble recovery, recovering a QB Marc Bulger fumble forced by DE Jared Allen. Allen recovered a RB Stephen Jackson fumble. Allen now has nine career forced fumbles and five career fumble recoveries.
Sack Stats: DE Jared Allen now has 4.0 sacks on the season. His 24.0 career sacks are tied with DE/LB Whitney Paul for 10th in Chiefs history.
Starting/Playing Streaks & Notes: G Will Shields extended his franchise records by starting his 215th consecutive game and playing in his 216th consecutive game. TE Tony Gonzalez extended his string of consecutive starts to 119 games.
CHIEFS INACTIVES
3RD QB 10 TRENT GREEN
20 CB BENNY SAPP
39 RB DERRICK ROSS
60 T CHRIS TERRY
61 G TRE STALLINGS
64 C RUDY NISWANGER
79 T KEVIN SAMPSON
80 WR JEFF WEBB
RAMS INACTIVES
11 - Ryan Fitzpatrick - 3rd QB
23 - Jerametrius Butler - CB
32 - J.R. Reed - S
57 - Jon Alston - LB
63 - Larry Turner - G/C
66 - Mark Setterstrom - G
86 - Dominique Byrd - TE
92 - Tony Bryant - DE
