• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Colts Lead Chiefs 31-24 in 4th Quarter

Posted on: Sunday, 11 January 2004, 06:00 CST

The Indianapolis Colts led the Kansas City Chiefs 31-24 in the fourth quarter on Sunday in their AFC playoff game. The winner will play the New England Patriots.

The Chiefs were down 31-17 in the third quarter when Dante Hall returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, bringing the boisterous Arrowhead Stadium crowd back into the game. That crowd had been largely silenced by the brilliant play of quarterback Peyton Manning, who had thrown for three touchdowns.

The Colts scored on their first three possessions of the first half, with Manning hitting touchdown passes of 29 and three yards. Edgerrin James ran for another touchdown on the Colts' second drive after Manning's 38-yard completion to Marvin Harrison.

The Colts added a Mike Vanderjagt field goal and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne in the third quarter.

The dangerous Chiefs offense was held to one field goal in the first quarter. Trent Green completed a nine-yard touchdown strike to Hall in the second, while veteran Morten Andersen missed a 31-yard field goal attempt near the end of the first half.

The Colts struck on the first possession of the game as Manning hit an uncontested Brandon Stokley. Manning completed three of four passes on the 10-play, 70-yard drive.

Kansas City answered with a 73-yard drive of its own. Priest Holmes rushed for 52 of those yards, but the Chiefs were forced into a rare red-zone field goal.

Manning completed 9-of-13 passes for 143 yards in the first half. Green connected on 10 of his 16 attempts for 133 yards.

The Chiefs (13-3) haven't won a postseason game in 10 years. For the Colts (13-4), it's been seven days.

Recent momentum might also favor the Colts, who've won four of their last five, including a 41-10 destruction of Denver last week in a wild-card match. Kansas City started 9-0 but is only 3-3 in its last six games, and took last week off with a bye.

Moreover, the Chiefs' most recent losses were blowouts to Denver and Minnesota. Each scored 45 points against a suspect defense whose confidence might be shaken if Manning and the talented Colts hit a couple of quick TDs.

The Chiefs are supremely confident, however, that they'll own one advantage in deciding which team will play in next week's AFC title game.

It will come dressed in red, barbecue-fed and noisy, noisy, noisy.

It's not just a coincidence the Chiefs have won 13 straight in Arrowhead Stadium, where about 80,000 red-clad fans tailgated all morning and then squeezed into their seats ready to yell and scream and disrupt the Colts in every way that's legal.

"They probably eat their scrambled eggs dyed red and drink red beer," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. "They are Kansas City Chiefs passionate fans. They add a dimension of intensity to how our guys play at home, a consistent intensity. They add a level of enthusiasm. I think it's a huge advantage."

Much is made of Kansas City's 30th-ranked run defense giving up a whopping 146.5 yards per game. But while going 8-0 at home this year, the average yield has been just barely over 100 yards on the ground.

"I don't know what it is, but we do seem to be at our best at home," cornerback Eric Warfield said. "They're out there yelling and cheering for us. The noise is unbelievable. We feed off their energy."

The Colts, however, have the AFC's best road record at 7-1. And although it was eight years ago - a generation in football terms - their last playoff road win was in Arrowhead Stadium.

But aren't dome teams supposed to struggle on the road, particularly in the postseason?

"I don't think so," said Manning, who threw five touchdown passes against the Broncos in one of the finest games of his career. "That's an image that's always out there for dome teams. But we have been good on the road as well this year. It still comes down to whether you're playing well, whether it's on the road or at home."

The Chiefs' scoring differential at home was almost 19 points a game. It's been such a decided edge, Vermeil worries his players might subconsciously rely too much on the crowd disrupting their foe.

"I told the squad, home-field advantage is only a home-field advantage if you make it one," Vermeil said. "First off, you've got to realize no one's going to cover a punt for you, no one's going to tackle for you, no one's going to catch the ball for you. It's all still going to be in your hands. And if you don't play real well you're liable to make (the fans) mad and then they become your enemy."

In Tony Dungy's two years as head coach, the Colts are an impressive 12-5 away from their dome. But in the one playoff road game, they lost 41-0 to the Jets last year.

"We've got to go to Kansas City and expect the same type of environment that Denver ran into in Indianapolis," Dungy said. "We're playing on the road, so that's going to be a little different. The thing we do have is some veteran guys on offense and some good veteran leadership on our team, and we don't really have any phobia about going on the road."

---

AP Sports Writer Doug Tucker contributed to this report.

More News in this Category