Chiefs Avoid a Letdown Against the Seahawks

Elvis Grbac and the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t matched against Kurt Warner and the Super Bowl champions this time. And they didn’t need anything close to 54 points to beat the struggling Seattle Seahawks.

One week after scoring their most points since 1966 against St. Louis, the Chiefs stepped down in class against the Seahawks. Grbac had three first-half touchdown passes and the Chiefs made that hold up for a 24-19 victory Sunday.

“This was the first of three straight on the road,” Chief Coach Gunther Cunningham said. “I didn’t care if we won by one point or 20.”

The Chiefs (5-3) handed the Seahawks (2-7) their fifth consecutive defeat, the longest losing streak in Mike Holmgren’s nine years as an NFL head coach.

“I didn’t expect to be talking about silver linings,” Holmgren said.

Grbac teamed with Derrick Alexander for touchdown passes of 59 and 50 yards, and with Kevin Lockett for 34 yards to give the Chiefs a 21-10 lead at halftime.

“In the second half, I was looking for the knockout punch and got too greedy on a couple of throws and they got picked off,” Grbac said.

The Chiefs also got a 37-yard field goal from former Seahawk kicker Todd Peterson with 42 seconds left after rookie Pat Dennis intercepted Jon Kitna’s throw at the Kansas City 36-yard line with 1:53 left.

Seattle got one more chance after the field goal, but ran out of time on its 44.

Grbac completed 22 of 35 passes for 342 yards and threw three interceptions.

Kitna returned to Seattle’s starting lineup after a three-week absence, because Brock Huard suffered a concussion in Oakland last week. Kitna completed 26 of 42 passes for 224 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

“We’ve lost games we should have won and today’s no exception,” Kitna said.

The Seahawks closed to 21-19 when Ricky Watters took a short pass and got into the end zone from the 14-yard line with 5:53 left. But Kitna missed a two-point conversion pass to Christian Fauria that would have tied the score.

Kansas City came up with two key defensive plays at the end of the first half and third quarter when Seattle was on the brink of scoring touchdowns.

Kitna was intercepted by James Hasty in the end zone with 46 seconds left in the second period. And Derrick Ranson tackled Watters in the backfield for a five-yard loss on third and one at the Kansas City one on the last play of the third quarter. Seattle settled for Rian Lindell’s second field goal of the game, a 24-yarder.

Kansas City trailed, 10-7, before Grbac and Alexander teamed for their 50-yard touchdown play. The Chiefs got the ball back about two minutes later when rookie Shaun Alexander had the ball stripped by Lew Bush and Duane Clemons recovered at the Kansas City 46. Four plays later, the Chiefs were in the end zone again on Grbac’s 34-yard pass to Lockett.