The last time the Chiefs won a game, they responded by going into a virtual coma. They followed their first win, a 33-19 beating of Denver in September, with their worst games of the season in blowout losses to Carolina and Tennessee.Sunday delivered their second win, this one against the Raiders in Oakland. Coach Herm Edwards said he will make it a “big-time” point of emphasis to see that the Chiefs respond better this week than they did after their last victory. more >>
C ount NBC Sports and NFL Network analyst Cris Collinsworth among those saying the Chiefs are on the right track in their rebuilding efforts. “I may end up surprising you with what I think of the Chiefs,” Collinsworth told me a few days before Sunday’s win at Oakland, “but I actually think they’re doing some smart things. more >>
Thigpen’s mistake doesn’t bother Edwards Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said he liked how quarterback Tyler Thigpen responded after a third-quarter interception led to an Oakland touchdown. more >>
OAKLAND, Calif. | The storied history of the Chiefs’ rivalry against the Raiders has a new hero — and a most unlikely one at that. Maurice Leggett, an undrafted free agent cornerback from tiny Valdosta State, seems out of place on a list with Derrick Thomas, Andre Rison, Larry Johnson, Jarrad Page and all the others. more >>
OAKLAND, Calif. | Tony Gonzalez was smiling again. That was new. So were his words. He stood in front of his locker after Sunday’s 20-13 win against Oakland and talked about progress. He mentioned quarterback Tyler Thigpen and Kansas City’s wide receivers and just how different it felt to be standing there after a victory. more >>
OAKLAND, Calif. | Tyler Thigpen has had games with the big stats and the late-game touchdown drives, but never a game with the one thing that sets quarterbacks apart. He has a victory now in his seventh NFL start after the Chiefs’ 20-13 win over the Raiders on Sunday. The Chiefs are eager to see what that does for Thigpen as he tries to establish himself as their quarterback for the long term. more >>
OAKLAND, Calif. | Believe it or not, Brandon Flowers thought in the first quarter Sunday that the Chiefs would win. Flowers, a rookie cornerback, saw Oakland making mistakes and Kansas City’s defense sticking to its assignments and figured that, hey, the 10-loss Chiefs had improved enough to beat the Raiders. more >>
The Chiefs will play today without cornerbacks Pat Surtain and Ricardo Colclough, linebackers Donnie Edwards and Pat Thomas, offensive linemen Adrian Jones and Andrew Carnahan, tight end Michael Merritt and wide receiver Jeff Webb. The Raiders are without two starters, center Jake Grove and linebacker Ricky Brown. Also inactive for Oakland are cornerbacks Michael Waddell and Darrick Brown, offensive linemen Dylan Gandy and James Marten and defensive lineman Greyson Gundheim. Marques Tuiasosopo is the third quarterback. more >>
Strange. Turns out the evil plaguing Kansas City’s pro football and baseball teams the last 15 years looks nothing like Carl Peterson’s ego or David Glass’ wallet. It looks, well, harmless. The evil comes in two parts, each 18 feet long, mostly white with orange tips, and made of aluminum and plastic. It is displayed in the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum. You may know this evil as the Shuttlecocks. more >>
OAKLAND, Calif. | Even 32 years after his retirement from the Chiefs, the mere thought of playing against the Raiders gets Ed Budde riled. He’s reminiscing about incidents from the rivalry and, as he does, it’s evident he’s still in no mood to forgive Oakland’s many sins, like Ben Davidson’s spearing hit on a prone Len Dawson at old Municipal Stadium in 1970. “They were famous for stuff like that, especially Ben,” said Budde, a Chiefs offensive lineman for 14 seasons and a member of the team’s Hall of Fame. “Those guys were always taking cheap shots.” more >>
Bill Grigsby has seen some bad ones in his years, but this year’s Chiefs team is down there with the worst. The old man with the familiar voice has been in the press box for most every Chiefs game since the team came to Kansas City in 1963. He’s an 86-year-old radio man, and he has tried to pump enthusiasm into all of them. He did miss three games five years ago. more >>
