The Kansas City Chiefs were back in the playoffs and hosting a postseason game for the first time in six years as they faced the Indianapolis Colts on January 11, 2004 in an AFC Divisional Playoff game. In their third season under Head Coach Dick Vermeil, the Chiefs won their first nine games on the way to a 13-3 record and first place in the AFC West. QB Trent Green passed for 4039 yards and 24 TDs and RB Priest Holmes scored a then-record 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1420 yards and gaining 2110 yards from scrimmage. TE Tony Gonzalez was, like Holmes, a consensus first-team All-Pro who caught 71 passes for 916 yards and 10 TDs, although the wide receivers were capable but unexceptional. WR Dante Hall received All-NFL recognition for his outstanding kick returning, in one stretch returning kicks for touchdowns in four straight games. The defense was an area of concern, however, ranking just 29th overall in the league and twice yielding 45 points in late-season losses.
The Colts were in the playoffs for the second straight
year with Head Coach Tony Dungy at the helm and the fourth time in five
seasons. The key to success was sixth-year QB Peyton Manning (pictured above), a consensus MVP
and first-team All-Pro after passing for 4267 yards and 29 TDs with only 10
interceptions. WR Marvin Harrison gained a Pro Bowl selection and both Reggie
Wayne and Brandon Stokley were productive. RB Edgerrin James missed three games
with a back injury but still rushed for 1259 yards and caught 51 passes. The
defense was less impressive but respectable. Indianapolis topped the AFC South
with a 12-4 tally and handily won their Wild Card playoff game the week before
by a 41-10 score over Denver without punting once.
There were 79,159 fans in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Colts took the opening kickoff and advanced 70 yards in 10 plays. Peyton
Manning completed a pass to Marvin Harrison for 13 yards in a third-and-nine
situation and Edgerrin James (pictured below) had a 15-yard run along the way. A Manning throw
to WR Brandon Stokley was completed for a 29-yard touchdown and Mike Vanderjagt
added the extra point.
Kansas City responded with a drive that included seven
carries by Priest Holmes for 52 yards and Trent Green threw to Tony Gonzalez
for 16 yards. But after getting first-and-goal at the Indianapolis six, the
Chiefs were unable to reach the end zone and Morten Andersen kicked a 22-yard
field goal to make it a 7-3 score.
The Colts came back with a six-play, 76-yard series.
Manning passed twice to Harrison for gains of 13 and 38 yards and James ran
around end for 13 yards in between, as well as 11 yards for a TD. Vanderjagt’s
point after put the visitors in front by 14-3.
A 46-yard kickoff return by Dante Hall was nullified by a
holding penalty, but in a series that extended into the second quarter, the
Chiefs advanced 77 yards in 12 plays. Green completed five passes, including
tosses to WR Eddie Kennison for 25 yards and WR Marc Boerigter for 21 to reach
Indianapolis territory. Green ran for nine yards on a third-and-five play and a
throw to WR Johnnie Morton picked up 14 yards to the seven. Hall caught a pass
from Green for a nine-yard touchdown and, with Andersen’s extra point, the
score was narrowed to 14-10.
Still, the Chiefs couldn’t stop the Colts, who drove 71
yards in nine plays. James had an 18-yard run and Manning completed four
passes, including to WR Reggie Wayne for 17 yards, TE Marcus Pollard for 21,
and RB Tom Lopienski for a two-yard TD. It was the only time that the rookie
Lopienski touched the ball in his two-year NFL career and Vanderjagt’s PAT put
the Colts up by 11 points at 21-10 with 4:34 remaining in the first half.
Starting from their 31 following the kickoff, the Chiefs
gained 22 yards right away on a pass from Green to Gonzalez and two more throws
to the tight end picked up eight and nine yards, although a longer completion
was nullified by offensive pass interference. The possession stalled at the
Indianapolis 13 and Kansas City came up empty when the normally-reliable
Andersen missed on a 31-yard field goal attempt. The score remained unchanged
at halftime.
The Chiefs had the ball first in the third quarter, but
Holmes fumbled at the end of a 48-yard run and CB David Macklin recovered for
the Colts at the Indianapolis 22. With James and RB Dominic Rhodes running
effectively and Manning completing passes of 11 yards to Stokley and nine to
Wayne, the visitors moved into KC territory and, after LB Shawn Barber stopped
James for a loss of five yards on third down, Vanderjagt kicked a 45-yard field
goal to increase the Indianapolis margin to 24-10.
The Chiefs, benefiting from a 27-yard kickoff return by
Hall that had them starting from their 45, drove 55 yards in eight plays, six
of them runs by Holmes (pictured at right), the first of which picked up 24 yards and the last
reached the end zone from a yard out for a touchdown. Andersen’s conversion
made it a seven-point game.
The Colts went largely to the air on their next series as
Manning completed five passes, three of them to Wayne, including the last that
was for a 19-yard TD. Vanderjagt kicked the extra point, but it was a
seven-point game once more shortly thereafter when Hall returned the ensuing
kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Andersen added the PAT and the score was
31-24.
The game entered the fourth quarter and the Colts
remained unstoppable on offense. Manning converted a third-and-three situation
with a pass to Wayne for 17 yards and followed up with a throw to Harrison for
a gain of 27 to the KC 30. Manning completed three more passes to get the ball
inside the ten, and James finished the drive off with a one-yard carry for a
TD. Vanderjagt again converted to put the visitors up by 38-24.
A long series by the Chiefs followed. Starting from their
24, Kansas City picked up a first down thanks to defensive holding on a
third-and-six play and converted a fourth-and-six situation with a pass from
Green to Kennison for 19 yards. Green had four more completions as the Chiefs
chipped away. Facing fourth-and-five at the Indianapolis seven, Green again
connected with Kennison for six yards to get a first-and-goal at the one, and
from there Holmes went up the middle for a touchdown. Andersen’s extra point
once more made it a one-touchdown contest.
The clock was down to 4:16 remaining in regulation as the
Colts again took over on offense. Manning threw to James for 16 yards and a
first down, and James ran for another first down to keep the ball away from the
Chiefs as the time ticked away. Rhodes was stopped for one yard on a fourth-and-three
play, but the ball was at the Kansas City 27 and there were just eight seconds
left to play. Green completed one last inconsequential pass and Indianapolis
came away the winner by a final score of 38-31.
For the first time in NFL playoff history neither team punted and, equally unprecedented, the Colts managed to play two consecutive postseason games without punting. The teams combined for 842 total yards, with the Colts
gaining 434 to Kansas City’s 408 and also leading in first downs (27 to 24) and
time of possession (32:13 to 27:47). The Chiefs gained 196 yards of their total
on the ground, while Indianapolis had 292 net passing yards. There was only one
sack, which was by the Chiefs, and one turnover, also by Kansas City.
Peyton Manning completed 22 of 30 passes for 304 yards
and three touchdowns, with none intercepted. Edgerrin James ran for 125 yards
and two TDs on 26 carries. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne each had 6 catches,
for 98 and 83 yards, respectively, and Wayne scored once.
For the Chiefs, Trent Green was successful on 18 of 30
throws for 212 yards and a TD with no interceptions. Priest Holmes had 176
rushing yards on 24 attempts that included two touchdowns and also pulled in
five passes for 32 more yards. Tony Gonzalez gained 55 yards on his four pass
receptions and Eddie Kennison contributed 50 yards on three catches. Dante Hall (pictured at right),
in addition to two receptions for 19 yards and a TD, had 208 yards on seven
kickoff returns that also included a touchdown.
“I am hot right now, we’re hot as an offense,” said
Peyton Manning.
The Indianapolis offense was cooled off in the AFC
Championship game the following week in a 24-14 loss to New England. The Chiefs
fell back to 7-9 in 2004 and, while they rebounded to 10-6 in Dick Vermeil’s
last year before retiring, did not reach the postseason again until 2006.
