Sunday, August 18, 2002
Chiefs 19, Texans 9
By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This is the way expansion teams are supposed to play. The Houston Texans, in their third game, were called for more than 100 yards in penalties Saturday night and had numerous dropped passes and missed assignments as the Kansas City Chiefs handed them a 19-9 exhibition loss.
“Until tonight, I'd been proud of the way our football team has played from the standpoint of going out and not being a heavily penalized team,” Houston coach Dom Capers said.
“But for whatever reason, we did just the opposite. It's a great example of that you don't have a chance to win in the National Football League if you go and get penalized 18 or 19 times.”
When the first-teamers were in for Houston (1-2) most of the first half, they were penalized nine times for 45 yards. Then in the second half when things got really sloppy, the Texans ran their penalty total to 19 for 101 yards.
“You don't have a chance if you drop passes, miss tackles, make mental errors. We did all the things that football teams do to beat themselves,” Capers said.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, got another encouraging game from Trent Green, the NFL's most intercepted quarterback of 2001 who is spotless so far in 2002.
Playing into the second quarter, Green was 7-of-10 for 73 yards and led Kansas City on a 64-yard scoring drive on its first possession.
“Trent did a pretty good job,” Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. “When he's in there, we're pretty efficient.”
Vermeil, who took a tumble in the fourth quarter when Houston quarterback Mike Quinn was knocked into him, called it “a typical preseason game.”
“We actually did a few things halfway decent early in the ballgame,” he said. “Later, we got sloppy.”
Green, who threw 24 interceptions in his first season back from major knee surgery, also directed a TD drive in his only appearance in the exhibition opener a week ago. He's 12-of-16 for 113 yards altogether in what the Chiefs are hoping will be a strong rebound season for their 32-year-old quarterback.
The Chiefs (2-0) also got an encouraging game from 21-year veteran Morten Andersen, who kicked four field goals.
David Carr, the No. 1 overall draft pick last spring, was 8-of-15 for 123 yards. Thirty-seven yards came on a toss to running back James Allen, who broke through the center of the Chiefs defense.
On their second possession, Carr connected with Jermaine Lewis for 36 yards. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Eric Hicks tacked 15 yards onto the play and set up Kris Brown's 30-yard field goal.
Priest Holmes, the 2001 NFL rushing champion, capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive on the Chiefs' opening possession with a 10-yard TD run around left end. Holmes carried 6 times for 20 yards.
Andersen, who turns 42 on Monday, had field goals of 44, 32, 32 and 37 yards and is 5-for-5 in two exhibition games. His 37-yarder was set up by Richard Jordan's interception of Kent Graham's pass in the third quarter.
“As the game went on, I was able to strike the ball quite a bit better. I'm a work in progress,” Andersen said. “I'll just keep trying to keep on and improve on this field and on this Bermuda grass. It's a beautiful playing surface. With repetition, I'll get better.”
The Texans' scoring came on field goals of 30, 32 and 26 yards by Brown.
Jonathan Wells, a fourth-round pick out of Ohio State who's been vying for a starting spot in the Texans' backfield, averaged a shade under 5 yards on nine carries, including an 11-yard gain.
Things got especially ragged in the final quarter with all the first-teamers out of the game. A 27-yard pass from Jonathan Quinn to Dante Hall put the Chiefs in scoring position. But Quinn's pass bounced off Kirk Rogers' hands in the end zone and was intercepted by Jacoby Shepherd.
A moment later, R-Kal Trulock forced a Houston fumble that was recovered by Jordan, a four-year NFL veteran who signed as a free agent. But Lawrence Tynes missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.
With about 10 minutes left, Frank Moreau's fumble was recovered by Houston's Billy Granville on the Kansas City 9. But the Texans had to settle for Brown's 26-yarder.
The Chiefs then recovered an onside kick on the Houston 25. A pass interference penalty on Toya Jones on third down gave the Chiefs a first down. A 12-yard pass to J.J. Moses put the ball on the 7, But Tynes' 29-yard attempt was blocked by Uhuru Hamiter.
Tynes also had a field goal blocked.
“It was a low kick,” said Vermeil. “A gopher could have blocked it.”
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Chiefs 19, Texans 9
