Features
Cowboys Outlast Chiefs 24 - 20
Sep 02, 2004, 7:05:00 PMDAL - 7 - 3 - 14 - 0 - 24
KC -- 0 - 14 - 0 - 6 -- 20
FINAL
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KC turns it over on downs
WR Chris Horn takes punt return 62 yards to Dallas 18.
K Lawrence Tynes hit a 27-yard FG with 8:08 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the Dallas lead to 24-20.
Injuries
38 S Clint Finley (shoulder strain)
65 T Jordan Black (shoulder contusion)
75 DT Lional Dalton (hand)
40 TE Kris Wilson (left ankle sprain)
CB Willie Ford registered an INT in the third quarter, picking off Cowboys QB Drew Henson at the Dallas 34-yard line.
Dallas jumped out to a 24-14 lead with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter thanks to a 28-yard TD run RB ReShard Lee.
P Steve Cheek made his debut in a Chiefs uniform on Thursday night. Cheek's first four punts went for 183 yards, good for a 45.8-yard gross and a 41.5-yard net.
CHIEFS HALFTIME QUOTES
QB Trent Green on the first half: We got started off kind of slow, mainly because of the penalties. Every time we seemed to get something going, a penalty set us back. We (the first unit) never really got into a rhythm until the final drive. We were able to convert some third downs. I thought Derrick Blaylock ran the ball extremely well to convert some big plays for us. Then we got the catch by Dante (Hall) in the end zone.
Did you feel Dante Hall had the ball in bounds before it went to replay?: When I talked to Dante about the coverage after the play, I told him it looked close like he was in. The problem is they really dont show the replays so there was no way to confirm it (on the field). They challenged it on the sideline and Im glad it went our way.
Green on the touchdown pass from QB Todd Collins to WR Richard Smith: It was great. That's a play we were working on at training camp, but we havent had a lot of work on it since. The fact that Richards a young guy and was given an opportunity, T.C. (Collins) put it on the money. It was nice to see Richard finish it. That's something that Al (offensive coordinator Al Saunders) really emphasizes to the guys to finish every play. He got some key blocks downfield and was able to break it."
The Chiefs jumped ahead 14-7 with 4:57 left in the first half when QB Todd Collins connected with rookie WR Richard Smith on a 53-yard TD. Smith caught the ball in stride on a crossing route and dashed into the end zone. Collins completed four of four passes for 85 yards on the 90-yard scoring march, giving him a perfect 158.3 rating on the drive.
QB Trent Green finished the evening completing seven of nine passes for 72 yards with one TD, good for a 137.0 rating.
Kansas City penetrated Dallas territory for the first time on the evening thanks to a 20-yard connection from QB Trent Green to WR Eddie Kennison. After a pair of runs by RB Derrick Blaylock resulted in first downs, the Chiefs got on the board with a 12-yard TD pass from Green to WR Dante Hall. Hall was initially ruled out of bounds, but after KC challenged the ruling on the field, instant replay overturned the decision. The Chiefs drive covered 71 yards in 12 plays, eating 6:57 off the clock.
Dallas was set up at the Chiefs 47-yard line after a fumble by Kansas City RB Derrick Blaylock, but that drive was halted by S Jerome Woods who picked off Cowboys QB Vinny Testaverde at the KC 29-yard line.
The Cowboys took an early 7-0 lead in the preseason finale for both Kansas City and Dallas. Longtime Titans RB Eddie George plowed into the end zone from three yards out, capping an 11-play, 72-yard drive that ate 5:07 off the clock.
Injuries
38 S Clint Finley (shoulder strain)
CHIEFS CAPTAINS
31 RB PRIEST HOLMES - OFFENSE
90 DT RYAN SIMS - DEFENSE
38 S CLINT FINLEY - SP. TEAMS
Chiefs Inactives:
18 WR SAMIE PARKER
26 CB JULIAN BATTLE
30 S LYLE WEST
50 LB KAWIKA MITCHELL
80 WR JOHNNIE MORTON
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-2)
AT
DALLAS COWBOYS (2-1)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 – 7:00 PM (CENTRAL)
TEXAS STADIUM –
IRVING, TEXAS
TV: KCTV-5 (CBS in Kansas City) – Roger Twibell, Jayice Pearson
and Danyelle Sargent.
RADIO: KCFX-FM (101.1) – Mitch Holthus,
Len Dawson, Bob Gretz and Bill Grigsby.
THE MATCH-UP
Kansas City will meet Dallas in the 2004
preseason finale for both clubs at Texas Stadium on Thursday. It will
mark KC’s first preseason meeting with the Cowboys since the Chiefs
collected a 32-6 victory in an American Bowl contest in Monterrey,
Mexico (8/5/96). Thursday’s contest marks Kansas City’s first preseason
trek to Dallas since Hall of Fame head coach Hank Stram’s final season
with the Chiefs in ’74.
Thursday’s contest features the only active pair of NFL head coaches who have taken two different squads to the Super Bowl. In total, Dick Vermeil (Eagles, Rams, Chiefs) and Bill Parcells (Giants, Patriots, Jets, Cowboys) have combined to guide seven different teams to the playoffs. Remarkably, Vermeil and Parcells have met only once in regular season competition as NFL head coaches. That lone meeting came in ’98 when Vermeil’s Rams claimed a 30-10 win (10/11/98) against a N.Y. Jets squad coached by Parcells that would eventually reach the AFC Championship Game.
Thursday’s preseason contest will feature a pair of squads with contrasting styles. Vermeil and asst. head coach/offensive coordinator Al Saunders have developed an offensive powerhouse in Kansas City. The Chiefs led the NFL in scoring for a second consecutive season in 2003, racking up an average of 30.3 ppg. In Dallas, Parcells and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer have established one of the NFL’s top defenses. In 2003, the Cowboys led the league in total defense (253.5 ypg) and tied for second in scoring defense at 16.3 ppg.
Kansas City is 1-2 after registering a 24-7 victory vs. St. Louis (8/23) and suffering a last-second 21-19 loss last week vs. Cleveland (8/28). Dallas owned a 1-1 preseason mark after two games prior to its Monday Night Football contest vs. Tennessee (8/30). The Cowboys got their initial preseason victory with a 21-20 win at Oakland (8/23).
Both teams will get one final look at their personnel on Thursday before the NFL’s final cutdown date on Sunday, September 5th. KC opens the 2004 NFL regular season in an ESPN Sunday Night Football contest at Denver (9/12), while Dallas travels to Minnesota (9/12).
THE SERIES
Kansas City is 4-4 in preseason action against
Dallas, getting a 32-6 win in an American Bowl outing in the most recent
meeting (8/5/96). The last preseason meeting between the two clubs in
Kansas City resulted in a 24-14 Cowboys victory (8/3/91). The prior six
preseason meetings between the two franchises all took place between
’70-75. KC won the first meeting of any kind between these two
franchises, getting a 13-0 preseason win at Dallas (9/5/70).
The Chiefs are 3-4 all-time in regular season play vs. Dallas. KC hasn’t faced Dallas in the regular season since getting a 20-17 win at Arrowhead (12/13/98). The only team KC has gone longer without facing in the regular season than Dallas is New Orleans, who the Chiefs last played in ’97. The Chiefs aren’t slated to meet Dallas in the regular season again until 2005. KC’s last visit to Dallas resulted in a 24-12 loss on Thanksgiving (11/23/95). KC’s lone regular season win at Dallas was a 34-31 triumph on Monday Night Football (11/10/75).
THE BATTLE FOR BIG “D” – TEXANS VS. COWBOYS
After lobbying
unsuccessfully in the late ’50s for an NFL expansion franchise for
Dallas, Lamar Hunt was prompted to form the rival American Football
League. Dallas then became centerstage in the AFL-NFL rivalry as both
the Texans and the Cowboys called the Cotton Bowl home during their
three-year co-existence from ’60-62. The Texans boasted a 15-6 regular
season record at the Cotton Bowl and claimed the ’62 AFL Championship,
while the Cowboys managed just a 4-12-2 regular season home mark over
the same span.
But by ’63, it was clear that Dallas could not support two pro football teams and despite the superior record of his club, Hunt opted to move his franchise to Kansas City. In ’66, a series of clandestine meetings between Hunt and Cowboys President Tex Schramm began, ironically, at Love Field in Dallas. Those secret talks eventually set the stage for the AFL-NFL merger as Hunt and rest of the AFL’s “Foolish Club” were officially ushered into the NFL fold for the ’70 season.
TRAINING CAMP LOCALES & PLAYOFF BERTHS
The Chiefs and Cowboys
both made the playoffs a year ago and both teams boast two of the NFL’s
training camp locations furthest from their home cities. The Chiefs
train in River Falls, WI (approx. 467 miles from KC), while the Cowboys
held their 2004 camp in Oxnard, CA (1,481 miles from Dallas).
In 2003, 12 NFL clubs “stayed home” and conducted camp at their own facilities. Three of those 12 clubs (25.0%) made the playoffs – Denver, New England and Tennessee. The remaining 20 clubs used “off-site” locations. Nine of those 20 teams (45.0%) made the postseason a year ago – Kansas City, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, Green Bay, Philadelphia and Carolina.
THE CHIEFS
Kansas City enters its fourth season under head
coach Dick Vermeil in 2004. The Chiefs went 13-3 a year ago, claiming
their eighth division title in franchise history. Al Saunders returns
for his fourth season as Kansas City’s assistant head coach/offensive
coordinator, marking his 14th season as a KC assistant.
The Chiefs return 10 of 11 offensive starters from last year’s squad with the right tackle post previously held by T John Tait (Chicago) serving as the only vacancy in the lineup. In addition to a franchise-record 484 points, the Chiefs also led the NFL with a team-record 348 first downs in 2003, while the club’s 32 rushing TDs were the third-highest single-season tally in NFL history. KC was also the NFL’s best squad in terms of Red Zone TD pct. (77.8%) a year ago and set a team record with a 63.25% completion percentage. The club had five receivers with 50+ receptions for the first time in team history and permitted just 21.0 sacks, the second-lowest tally in KC annals.
Gunther Cunningham returns to KC as the club’s defensive coordinator, a role he previously held from ’95-98 before serving as the Chiefs head coach from ’99-00. During his initial stint as KC’s defensive coordinator from ’95-98, the Chiefs allowed an NFL-low 1,050 actual offensive points, a paltry average of just 16.4 ppg. KC returns all of its defensive starters from 2003, including four players who were starters during Cunningham’s previous tenure with the club: Pro Bowl S Jerome Woods, DT John Browning, DE Eric Hicks and S Greg Wesley. Notable defensive additions to the squad include DTs Lional Dalton and Junior Siavii (D2a-04), as well as LB Keyaron Fox (D3-04).
Kansas City’s record-setting special teams are highlighted by two-time Pro Bowl return man WR Dante Hall, whose seven kick return scores over the past two seasons are by far the highest total in the league. DE Gary Stills also earned a Pro Bowl berth for his special teams exploits last season when the Chiefs became the first team to lead the NFL in both punt return average (16.42) and kickoff return average (25.44) since Washington in ’95. KC’s 16.42-yard punt return average broke the previous franchise standard of 15.03 that was established in the franchise’s inaugural season in ’60. The Chiefs KO return average was the club’s finest since registering a 26.59-yard average in ’69.
THE COWBOYS
The Cowboys offense is headlined by a pair of
former Heisman Trophy winners who are in their initial season with
Dallas. QB Vinny Testaverde (’86 Heisman winner at Miami, Fla.) is in
his 18th NFL campaign. RB Eddie George (’95 Heisman winner at Ohio
State) returns to Texas after beginning his career as a first-round pick
of the Houston Oilers in ’96. George is the all-time leading rusher in
Titans history with 10,009 yards. Eight-time Pro Bowl G Larry Allen
(D2-94) anchors the Dallas offensive front. A pair of former ’96
first-round draft choices man the WR posts – WR Keyshawn Johnson and WR
Terry Glenn. Johnson was tabbed with the the first overall pick by the
Jets, while Glenn was the seventh overall pick by the Patriots in ’96
when Parcells was that club’s head coach.
Dallas boasts a host of former first-round picks on defense. That list includes Kansas State product CB Terence Newman (D1-03), S Roy Williams (D1b-02) and DE Greg Ellis (D1-98), who paced the squad with 8.0 sacks a year ago. LB Dat Nguyen (D3-99) led the Cowboys with 140 tackles (93 solo) in 2003. DE Marcellus Willey joined the club in the off-season after producing 41.0 sacks in seven seasons with the Bills and Chargers, while DT La’Roi Glover has 61.5 career sacks to his credit. LB Dexter Coakley (D3a-97) owns 965 career tackles and has posted at least 100 stops in each of his seven prior NFL campaigns.
Drake product K Billy Cundiff is in his third season handling the kickoff and placement duties. Free agents Mat McBriar and Ryan Flinn are competing for the punting job. WR Zuriel Smith is in his second season handling the punt and kickoff return duties.
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