NFL Old School Game of the Week: Hall is the "X-Factor" in Chiefs' Christmas Day Win over Raiders

Dante Hall set up the game-winning field goal for the Chiefs with his 49-yard kickoff return.

In the early 2000s, the Kansas City Chiefs had a "X-Factor" in kick returner Dante Hall, who could turn the momentum of the game in the Chiefs' favor with a kickoff or punt return for touchdown as he returned a combined nine kicks for touchdowns over a span of three seasons from 2002-2004.

Kansas City hoped that Hall would be the "X-Factor" once again as the Chiefs hosted the Oakland Raiders on Christmas Day in 2004.

The Chiefs came into the game having won their previous three games to improve their record to 6-8 under head coach Dick Vermeil who was in his fourth season as the head coach of the Chiefs.

Under Vermeil, the Chiefs had built one of the NFL"s most explosive offenses led by quarterback Trent Green and tight end Tony Gonzalez had averaged nearly 30 points per game since 2002.

However, the defense was ranked near the bottom of the NFL in giving up points as they had given up an average of 27.2 points per game thus far in the 2004 season.

If the Chiefs were going to beat the Raiders, they were going to need their high-powered offense to carry them to victory.

Meanwhile, the Raiders came into the game with a 5-9 record under first-year head coach Norv Turner, who had taken over for Bill Callahan after he had been fired following a 4-12 season in 2003, just one year removed from the Raiders being in the Super Bowl.

Oakland was in transition as Kerry Collins had taken over the starting quarterback job from Rich Gannon while wide receiver wide receiver Tim Brown had been cut from the team after 16 seasons.

Having been eliminated from playoff contention, the Raiders looked to hand the Chiefs a defeat that would squash Kansas City's very faint postseason hopes.

The Chiefs got the ball to start the game but would quickly give it back to the Raiders on the second play of the game as a Green pass intended for Eddie Kennison was intercepted by Raiders linebacker Tyler Braxton whose 24-yard return would give Oakland a 1st & goal at the Kansas City 10-yard-line.

An five-yard run by Zack Crockett and an incomplete pass would set up 3rd & goal when Collins found Jerry Porter in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead just 95 seconds into the game.

Following a  32-yard kickoff return by Hall to the Kansas City 36-yard-line, the Chiefs would drive 40 yards in seven plays to set up a 43-yard field goal attempt by Lawrence Tynes, only to have it blocked by the Raiders' Langston Walker to keep the score 7-0 in favor of Oakland.

Raiders quarterback Kerry Collins threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

After the Raiders punted on their ensuing possession, the Chiefs got the ball back at their 32-yard-line as Green would complete passes of 11 yards to Kennison, 12 yards to Gonzalez, and 13 yards to Sammie Parker on a 10-play, 68-yard drive that culminated with a six-yard touchdown run by running back Larry Johnson that helped tie the game at seven with 2:14 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders would respond by driving 62 yards in 10 plays as Collins went 4-of-4 for 34 yards on the drive which did not end until Crockett punched it in for a three-yard touchdown to give Oakland a 14-7 lead with 11:40 remaining in the second quarter.

Looking to avoid a return by Hall, the Raiders kicked it short on the ensuing kickoff, only to have it Hall catch the short kick and return it 29 yards that along with a five-yard Oakland penalty gave the Chiefs the ball at the Raiders' 44-yard-line.

From there, the Chiefs drove down the field on the right arm of Green as he completed a 13-yard pass to Johnson to start the drive, then hit Gonzalez for seven yards on 2nd & 5, and then found Hall for 10 to give Kansas City a 1st & goal at the Raiders' six-yard-line.

After Johnson was dropped for four yards, Green would complete an eight-yard pass to Gonzalez to set up 3rd & goal from the two-yard-line when Green and Gonzalez connected again, this time for the two-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the score at 14 with 4:56 left in the first half.

Following an Oakland three-and-out, the Chiefs got the ball back at their 12-yard-line as Green completed three of his next six passes for 23 yards to put Kansas City at its 35-yard-line when Johnson carried the ball for just two yards, only to have Raiders defensive tackled Terdell Sands get called for a face mask penalty that put the Chiefs at the Oakland 48-yard-line.

From there, Green would complete a 11-yard pass to Gonzalez, then another 11-yard pass to Chris Horn, before connecting with Gonzalez for a 26-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game at 21-14 with 1:54 left before halftime.

The Raiders would answer with a seven-play, 69-yard drive which was capped off with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Alvis Whitted that with the extra point tied the game at 21 with just 24 seconds left in the first half.

That was enough time for Green to complete passes of 14 yards to Johnson and 17 yards to Gonzalez to set up a 50-yard field goal attempt by Tynes on the final play of the first half as Tynes' kick would fall short as it hit the crossbar as time expired in the first half with the game tied at 21.

The two teams would exchange punts to start the second half until the Raiders had the ball at their 24-yard-line facing a 3rd & 14 when Collins went deep and found Porter over the middle for a 43-yard completion to give Oakland a 1st down at the Kansas City 33-yard-line.

Five plays later, Sebastian Janikowski would come on to kick a 40-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 24-21 lead with nine seconds to go in the third quarter.

The two teams would trade punts as the game moved into the fourth quarter until the Chiefs got the ball at their 35-yard-line as Green caught fire again as he completed passes of 21 yards to Kennison, eight yards to Samie Parker, 12 yards to Horn, and then finally hitting Parker for a 14-yard touchdown to cap off the nine-play, 65-yard drive to give Kansas City a 28-24 lead with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.

Chiefs quarterback Trent Green completed 32 of 45 passes for 358 yards and two touchdown passes.

The Raiders would come back with a seven-play, 29-yard drive that was aided by a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Chiefs cornerback Dexter McCleon to help set up a 45-yard field goal by Janikowski which cut the Kansas City lead to one point at 28-27 with 3:49 left in the game.

Following a 25-yard return by Hall on the ensuing kickoff, the Chiefs would start their next possession at their 26-yard-line hoping to pick up a couple of 1st downs and run out the clock.

Things looked promising for the Chiefs as Green completed passes of 13 yards to David Dunn and 14 yards to Kennison to help Kansas City drive down to the Raiders' 38-yard-line where the Chiefs faced a critical 3rd & 4.

That is when disaster struck as Green was hit by Raiders defensive tackled Ted Washington, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Warren Sapp to give Oakland the ball at their 43-yard-line with a chance to drive down the field for the game-winning field goal with 1:42 left in the game.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Collins would complete an eight-yard pass to tight end Doug Jolley to set up 3rd & 2 when Collins found Teve Johnson for 25 yards to give Oakland a 1st down at the Kansas City 24-yard-line.

From there, the Raiders kept it conservative as Crockett ran the ball three straight times while the Chiefs spent all three of their timeouts as Janikowski would come on to kick a 46-yard field goal to give Oakland a 30-28 lead with 63 seconds left in the game.

As the Raiders prepared to kick the ball back to the Chiefs, Turner told Janikowski to squib the kickoff in an effort to prevent Hall of getting his hands on the ball and getting a long return.

However, Hall would get his hands on the ball at his 15-yard-line and behind a line of blockers would run down the field for a 49-yard return until he was knocked out of bound by Janikwoski at the Raiders' 36-yard-line.

Following the return, Green would complete a six-yard pass to Horn and then a seven-yard pass to Gonzalez to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Oakland 23-yard-line when Johnson would run the ball for three more yards.

After a quarterback spike and an incomplete pass, the Chiefs would send in Tynes to attempt the go-ahead field goal from 38 yards out.

Unlike his earlier attempts, Tynes would be successful on this field goal attempt as his kick sailed through the uprights to give the Chiefs a 31-30 lead with 22 seconds left in the game.

The Raiders would get one last chance to win the game but Collins would throw two straight incomplete passes before being picked off by defensive back Benny Sapp on a desperation Hail Mary throw to end the game with the Chiefs on top 31-30.

Tony Gonzalez finished the game with 11 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

Oakland would finish the season with a 5-11 record, the second of what would be seven straight seasons where the Raiders lost at least 10 games as Turner would lost one more season in Oakland before being fired after a 4-12 season in 2005.

As for the Chiefs, they would lose to the San Diego Chargers the following week to finish the season with a 7-9 record as Vermeil would coach in Kansas City for one more year until his retirement after the 2005 season in which the Chiefs went 10-6.

As for Hall, he would remain in Kansas City through 2006 as he returned one more punt and one more kickoff for a touchdown before being traded to the St. Louis Rams where he spend the next two seasons returning just one kick for a touchdown before his retirement in 2009 with a career 12 kick return touchdowns.