By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -
Against the backdrop of an unthinkable tragedy, the Kansas City Chiefs
gave themselves a reason to be proud Sunday - and perhaps the impetus to
let the healing begin.
Brady Quinn threw for 201
yards and two touchdowns, and Jamaal Charles ran for 127 yards in the
Chiefs' 27-21 victory over their Carolina Panthers. The win snapped an
eight-game losing streak during one of the most difficult seasons the
franchise has ever experienced.
The win came just one day
after Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend multiple times
at a residence near Arrowhead Stadium, then drove to the team's
practice facility and turned the gun on himself as general manager Scott
Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel looked on.
Pioli walked through the
press box before the game and said he was doing "OK," though he didn't
stop to talk. Crennel was on the sideline coaching his team to an
uplifting victory.
Cam Newton threw for 232
yards and three touchdowns for the Panthers (3-9), who were informed the
game would be played as scheduled while they were heading to Kansas
City on Saturday.
DeAngelo Williams added 67
yards rushing for the Panthers, carrying the load with Jonathan Stewart
out with an injury. Steve Smith, Greg Olsen and Louis Murphy caught
their TD passes.
Peyton Hillis had a
touchdown run for Kansas City (2-10), while Tony Moeaki and Jon Baldwin
had touchdown catches. Ryan Succop hit a pair of field goals, including a
52-yarder with 4:54 left that forced the Panthers to score a touchdown
to steal the win.
Instead, the Panthers went
three-and-out, and the Chiefs were able to run the clock down to 31
seconds before giving back the ball. Newton completed two quick passes
to reach the Carolina 38, but his final heave as time expired was caught
by Smith short of the end zone.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera greeted Crennel at midfield and gave him a hug.
The game was played in a
half-empty stadium before a sparse crowd that could only muster some
subdued cheering most of the afternoon given the tragedy that had
occurred.
Chiefs players gathered in
the tunnel leading to the field for a brief prayer before their pregame
stretching. A few fans held up signs referencing the shootings, and
there was a moment of silence prior to the national anthem to remember
all victims of domestic violence.
Kansas City police have not
released a motive for the shootings, which claimed the life of Belcher
and 22-year-old Kasandra M. Perkins, and left a 3-month-old girl, Zoey,
an orphan.
"It's been an incredibly
difficult 24 hours for our family and our entire organization," Chiefs
chairman Clark Hunt told The Associated Press on the field before the
game. "We have so many guys on our team and our coaching staff who are
really, really hurting."
The emotions were raw even after the kickoff.
Kansas City took the
opening possession and marched 74 yards in just six plays, including a
21-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe and a 34-yarder to Baldwin that got the
Chiefs to the 2.
Hillis powered in to score
the first touchdown for Kansas City on the opening possession of a game
since Dec. 26, 2010. It was also the first touchdown drive engineered by
Quinn since December 2009, when he helped the Browns beat the Chiefs at
Arrowhead Stadium.
Hillis ran to the sideline
after scoring his first touchdown of the season and handed the ball to
Crennel, then gave the affable head coach a big bear hug.
The Panthers answered with a
long touchdown drive. The big play came when safety Abe Elam watched
Olsen haul in a 47-yard pass from Newton for the tying touchdown.
The Chiefs had tacked on a
field goal when the Panthers struck again, this time after Newton
completed three passes to convert third downs. The last of them was to
Smith in the corner of the end zone from 23 yards.
But Kansas City finished
off the half with one of its best drives of the year. It took up the
final 7:25 and went 80 yards, highlighted by Bowe's dramatic catch over
the middle. Hillis was stuffed at the line on third-and-goal, and
Crennel allowed the clock to hit 2 seconds before calling timeout. On
the final play of the half, Quinn saw Moeaki open in the back of the end
zone and delivered a soft toss for a 17-14 lead.
Breathing room came late in
the third quarter when the Chiefs used 17 plays to go 87 yards on a
drive that lasted another 10 minutes. Quinn finished it with a 3-yard
touchdown pass to Baldwin.
Carolina mounted a comeback
with the opening drive of the fourth quarter, marching from its 20-yard
line inside the Kansas City 5. Newton found Murphy on a quick slant
route from the 8 to get the Panthers within a field goal with 12:21
left.
They represented the last points Carolina would score.
___
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2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
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