Football
18y

Johnson, K.C. eliminate Chargers from playoff contention

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Drawing dirty looks in the San Diego
locker room was easy after Larry Johnson and the Kansas City Chiefs
snuffed out the Chargers' playoff hopes with a 20-7 victory
Saturday.

It was over when ...
San Diego went three-and-out on its first fourth-quarter possession. Arrowhead is a tough place to play in December, and an even tougher place to come back from 13 points down late in the game.
Game ball goes to ...
Larry Johnson. Once again, Johnson carried the offensive load for the Chiefs, running the ball 32 times for 131 yards and a score. Johnson also caught a touchdown pass as Kansas City stayed alive in the AFC playoff hunt.

Just asking the mistake-prone visitors if they were flat in the
wake of their huge victory at Indianapolis did the trick.

"We weren't," coach Marty Schottenheimer said in a level
voice. "We were outplayed."

Indeed. The Chiefs ran their December home winning streak to 18
and kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a dominating victory
a week after they lost at the New York Giants in one of their
poorest games of the year.

Johnson kept up his amazing run with his eighth straight
100-yard rushing game, constantly digging his heels into the wet,
slippery turf for extra yardage, dragging tacklers with him.

The third-year pro had 131 tough yards and two touchdowns
against a defense that came in as No. 1 in the league against the
run and had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 16 straight games.

He scored on a 4-yard dash and an eye-popping, tackle-busting
28-yard catch-and-run down the sideline. Since he became the
starter Nov. 1 after Priest Holmes went on injured reserve, Johnson
has a league-leading 1,150 yards on the ground.

But he seemed most pleased with improved skills in an area
that's drawn criticism of late.

"I was definitely on a mission today as far as pass-blocking,"
he said. "I think I did pretty well as far as blocking."

While eliminating the Chargers (9-6), the Chiefs (9-6) clinched
the AFC West title for Denver.

For the Chiefs to make the postseason, three things have to
happen:

-- They must beat Cincinnati next Sunday;

-- Denver has to beat the Chargers;

-- On Saturday, the underdog Detroit Lions will have to upset the
Steelers at Pittsburgh.

"Detroit needs to go sign Barry Sanders for just one more
week," Chiefs left tackle Willie Roaf said. "It's going to be
tough."

Anything short of the postseason is bound to be a big letdown
for a team that squandered its chances with road losses to Dallas
and the Giants the previous two weeks.

"This is my ninth year here and I've been to the playoffs only
twice and we've lost both times," tight end Tony Gonzalez said.
"Definitely, it would be a huge disappointment if we don't make
the playoffs this year."

San Diego was flagged for seven penalties for 58 yards and had
two turnovers and hardly resembled the tough-minded outfit that
ruined the Colts' unbeaten season.

"They came out hard," rookie linebacker Shawne Merriman said.
"They came out fighting for every inch. They were very tough and
they game-planned us very well."

LaDainian Tomlinson, the other Pro Bowl running back in this
game, had 49 yards on 15 carries.

"We stopped the run and made them a one-dimensional team,"
said cornerback Patrick Surtain, whose interception stopped the
Chargers' deepest threat in the second half.

"Once you do that, you could get them out of rhythm by
switching your coverages up. Any time you can hold a running back
like LaDainian to 50 yards, that's something special," he said.

The Chiefs' first scoring drive covered 43 yards and Johnson was
responsible for every inch, getting 5 yards on a pass and picking
up 38 on four carries, capping it with a 4-yard TD run.

The Chargers drew even at 7 a few minutes later on Drew Brees'
18-yard TD pass to Antonio Gates. Brees was 18-for-33 for 161
yards.

On the first play of the second quarter, Green threw a perfect
pass to Samie Parker as the second-year wide receiver ran into the
end zone, putting the Chiefs up 14-7.

Then Johnson made his tackle-busting tightrope walk down the
sideline. Taking Green's pass in the flat, he broke tackles by
Jamar Fletcher and Drayton Florence, each time stepping carefully
to stay in bounds.

"That's one of the best plays I've seen a running back make in
my career," Roaf said.

The call was reviewed to see if Johnson broke the plane of the
goal line with the ball. But the ruling on the field was upheld,
making it 20-7 with 1:45 left in the half after the Chiefs botched
the extra point.

Game notes
The Chargers were trying for their first back-to-back
playoff appearances in a decade. ... Johnson has 17 touchdowns
rushing this season, the third-highest total in K.C. history. It was
Johnson's 12th career game with two or more TDs. Ironically, it was
a big tackle by Merriman in their first meeting this year that gave
Johnson his chance. The hit put starter Holmes on injured
reserve.

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