Tynes’ Late Field Goal Drives Chiefs to a Win

As the Kansas City Chiefs moved into position for the game-winning field goal, Lawrence Tynes was wishing he’d washed his car.

That has always been the game-day good luck charm for Kansas City’s rookie kicker. But he went ahead and drilled a 38-yarder with 22 seconds left, lifting the Chiefs to a 31-30 victory Saturday over the Oakland Raiders.

“It was too cold this morning [to wash the car],” Tynes said after booting his first game-winning field goal in the NFL. “I was thinking I should have washed it.”

No matter how filthy Tynes’ transportation might be, he probably would never have gotten on the field if not for Dante Hall’s 49-yard kickoff return after Sebastian Janikowski’s third field goal, a 46-yarder, put the Raiders on top 30-28 with 1:03 to play.

Hall waited as the expected squib kick bounced perfectly into his arms and then set sail behind some excellent blocks.

“Most teams in situations like that tend to squib kick them,” Hall said. “It was just a matter of catching it, finding the right bounce.”

It was the fourth win in a row for the Chiefs (7-8), whose Super Bowl hopes were dashed by a 1-3 start and a four-game losing streak in November.

Janikowski scored the last nine points for Oakland (5-10) on three field goals, including a 45-yarder that made it 28-27 with 3:49 left.

“This is very frustrating,” said Oakland running back Amos Zereoue. “You can’t ask for much more than we gave out there.”

Hall was not stopped until Janikowski got him at the Raider 36. Then Trent Green, whose fumble had led to Janikowski’s go-ahead field goal, threw pass completions to Chris Horn and Tony Gonzalez and Tynes trotted onto the field.

“Anybody who says they’re not nervous in a situation like that is lying,” Tynes said.

“My mom’s been sick and she was here for the first time. It’s pretty special. It’s pretty cool.”