KC holds off Raiders to remain undefeated

By Janie McCauley, Associated Press, 10/21/2003

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The confident Kansas City Chiefs wanted nothing more than to beat the Oakland Raiders in decisive fashion. They ended up holding on for dear life last night when a backup quarterback turned a potential shutout into a shootout.

Oakland's Tim Brown was tackled on the Kansas City 1 as time expired and the unbeaten Chiefs won their seventh straight, 17-10, over their bitter rivals.

Trent Green passed for 206 yards for Kansas City, which tied a franchise record for consecutive wins. But the Chiefs had to survive a gutsy last-minute drive led by Marques Tuiasosopo, who had thrown just six passes all season.

Tuiasosopo took over for injured MVP Rich Gannon in the second half. He led two scoring drives and drove the Raiders (2-5) from their own 6 with 1:47 left to the Kansas City goal line on a drive featuring two catches by Jerry Rice and a huge 35-yard reception by Jerry Porter.

Oakland tried a fake spike to get in the end zone, but the game ended when Jerome Woods and Greg Wesley tackled Brown on a catch at the 1 as time ran out.

Gannon bruised his right shoulder in the final minute of the second quarter.

Priest Holmes rushed for 123 yards and ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 4:57 left that gave Kansas City a 17-3 lead.