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.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chiefs Come From Behind To Beat Packers in Shootout

Eddie Kennison scores the game-winning touchdown, a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trent Green. six minutes and eighteen seconds into overtime.

When the Kansas City Chiefs traveled to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers in Week 6 of the 2003 NFL season, many fans were hoping for a shootout between the two teams' high-powered offenses.

Both teams would not disappoint in game which featured over 900 yards of total offense and 74 points combined between the two teams.

The Chiefs entered the game undefeated with a 5-0 record under head coach Dick Vermeil, who had helped built an explosive offense much like the one he had built to win the Super Bowl with the then St. Louis Rams during the 1999 season.

The Chiefs offense was directed by quarterback Trent Green, who was reunited with Vermeil in Kansas City after losing his starting quarterback job in the 1999 preseason when he suffered torn ligaments after a hit by Chargers safety Rodney Harrison, paving the way for Kurt Warner to swoop in and lead the Rams to the Super Bowl title.

Green had a variety of weapons at his disposal including running back Priest Holmes, who lead the league in rushing in 2001 as he ran for 1,555 yards, then followed that season up with a 1,615 yard and 21 touchdown season in 2002, and tight end Tony Gonzalez who had been to the Pro Bowl the past four seasons.

But the Chiefs' ultimate weapon was kick returner Dante Hall, who had begun the 2003 season, by returning either a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown in the previous four games.

Meanwhile, the Packers entered the game with a 3-2 record who were looking for their third straight win.

The Packers were led by quarterback Brett Favre, who was in his 12th season as the Packers' starting quarterback, who had a explosive running back to match Holmes in Ahman Green, who had rushed for over 1,000 yards the last three seasons.

Both Greens, Trent and Ahman, would play a huge factor in the outcome of this Week 6 game.

Chiefs running back Priest Holmes would carry the ball 22 times for 81 yards and catch six passes for 59 yards.

After the Chiefs were forced to punt on their opening possession, the Packers drove 80 yards in 11 plays as Favre was a perfect 6-of-6 for 75 yards on the drive which included completions of 26 yards to Donald Driver and a 23-yarder to Robert Ferguson.

The drive ended with Favre hitting tight end Bubba Franks for a one-yard touchdown to give Green Bay a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Favre stayed hot on the Packers' ensuing possession as he hit Ahman for 21 yards, then connected with tight end Wesley Walls for 36 yards, to set up Ahman's four-yard touchdown run which increased the Green Bay lead to 14-0 with 2:44 left in the opening quarter.

The Chiefs seemed poised to go three-and-out for the third straight possession as they faced a 3rd & 9 at their 21-yard-line when Green hit Johnnie Morton for 38 yards to give Kansas City its first 1st down of the game at the Packers' 41-yard-line.

This would eventually lead to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Green to Gonzalez to put the Chiefs on the scoreboard as they cut the Packers' lead to 14-7 with just 42 seconds left in the first quarter.

Bolstered the touchdown, the Chiefs defense forced their first three-and-out of the game on the Packers' next possession to get the ball back at their 45-yard-line following a 30-yard return by Hall on the punt.

This would lead to an eight-play, 55-yard drive which culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Green to Morton which tied the game 14-14 with 9:22 to go in the second quarter.

The Packers would respond with a 14-play, 80-yard drive which took seven minutes and ended when Favre connected with Ahman for a 11-yard touchdown to put the Packers back on top at 21-14 with 2:22 to go in the first half.

With time winding down before halftime, the Chiefs tried to drive to get more points on the board but their drive stalled at Green Bay 45-yard-line, forcing a punt back to the Packers, who ran out the clock in the first half as they went into the locker room with a 21-14 lead and would be getting the ball to start the second half.

When Green Bay got the ball to start the second half, Favre went back to being perfect as he completed all five of his passes for 33 yards on an eight-play, 76-yard drive which ended with a 18-yard touchdown run by Najeh Davenport to increase the Packers' lead to 28-14.

The Packers kept the momentum going as they forced the Chiefs to go three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half and got the ball at their 49-yard-line after Jason Baker shanked his punt which went for 28 yards.

After a three-yard loss on 1st down, Favre hit Walls for back-to-back completions totaling 20 yards to give the Packers a 1st down at the Chiefs' 34-yard-line.

That is when the much maligned Chiefs defense rose up and stopped the Packers, allowing only two yards on the next three plays, forcing the Packers to settle for a 50-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell which increased their lead to 31-14 with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter.

Packers quarterback Brett Favre would complete 25 of 36 passes for 272 yards and throw two touchdowns.

Following Longwell's field goal, the defenses would take over as neither team could mount a scoring threat for the rest of the third quarter as the Packers went into the final 15 minutes still holding on to a 31-14 lead.

But things began to change early in the 4th quarter when Hall returned a Packers punt 32 yards to the Green Bay 42-yard-line, setting up a short six-play drive which culminated with an one-yard touchdown run by Holmes which brought the Chiefs to back within 10 points at 31-21 with 12:25 to go in the 4th quarter.

The Packers would get the ball back at their 29-yard-line and proceeded to go their running attack to drive down the field as they ran the ball on four of their next five plays, picking up 30 yards in the process to drive the Packers into Kansas City territory.

But on 3rd & 6 at the Chiefs' 32-yard-line, Favre was picked off by free safety Jerome Woods on a pass intended for Driver, who then ran it back for a 79-yard pick-six that brought the Chiefs to within a field goal at 31-28 with exactly nine minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

The momentum had clearly shifted back to the Chiefs as they forced a three-and-out on the Packers' ensuing possession to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line when Green connected with Gonzalez for a 67-yard completion to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Green Bay 13-yard-line.

However, a false start penalty on Gonzalez and three plays netted only one yard forced the Chiefs to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Morten Andersen which tied the game 31-31 with 5:45 left in regulation.

With their 17-point lead having been evaporated in just a span of six minutes and 40 seconds, the Packers took over at their 29-yard-line looking to break the 31-31 tie and retake the lead.

After Favre connected with Driver for six yards to open the drive, the Packers went Ahman who carried the ball 16 yards to a 1st down at the Kansas City 49-yard-line, then got the ball again and ran for 26 more yards to another 1st down at the Kansas City 23-yard-line.

But the drive would stall at the Chiefs' 23-yard-line and the Packers would settle for a 41-yard field goal by Longwell to give them a 34-31 lead with 2:48 left in regulation.

The Chiefs would take over at their 10-yard-line with two timeouts in their pocket and needing to drive at least into field goal range to give Andersen at a chance of tying the game with a field goal.

The drive would start off with a four-yard run by Green, which became a 19-yard play after Packers defensive tackle Cletidus Hunt was called for grabbing a face mask to give Kansas City a 1st down at their 29-yard-line.

Then after the next two plays picked up only one yard, Green hit Morton for 14 yards and a 1st down at the Chiefs' 44-yard-line.

This was followed by back-to-back 12-yard completions, the first to Gonzalez and the second to Holmes, which put the Chiefs at the Packers' 32-yard-line.

Holmes would carry the ball on the next two plays gaining seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 when Holmes caught a 12-yard screen pass from Green to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Green Bay 13-yard-line with just 13 seconds left in regulation.

Green took two shots at the end zone but both passes fell incomplete forcing Kansas City to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Andersen which tied the game at 34 as time expired in regulation.

Chiefs quarterback Trent Green threw for exactly 400 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-45 passing.

The Chiefs would win the overtime coin toss and got the ball at their 29-yard-line when they decided to rely on Holmes in hopes of carrying Kansas City down the field in hopes of setting up a game-winning field goal.

Holmes would carry the ball nine straight times, gaining 41 yards to drive Kansas City to the Packers' 30-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 2.

That is when Green decided to put up in the air, only for his pass to fall incomplete, but still in range for Andersen to come on and kick the game-winning field goal from 48 yards out.

But the future Hall-of-Fame kicker's attempt at a game-winning field goal would be blocked by Hunt, giving the Packers the ball at their 39-yard-line with a chance to drive down the field and kick the game-winning field goal.

On the first play from scrimmage, Favre handed the ball to Ahman, who ran for eight yards, but lost the football when the helmet of Woods knocked the football loose, which was recovered by Chiefs linebacker Mike Maslowski to give Kansas City the ball back at their 49-yard-line.

That is when Green decided to go deep and fire a pass down the right side of the field for Eddie Kennison, who had made only one catch all day long.

Kennison made the catch around the Green Bay 20-yard-line and then proceeded to outrun Packers defensive back Bhawoh Jue for the walk-off 51-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 40-34 win and keep their undefeated season intact as they moved to 6-0.

The Chiefs would eventually run their record up to 9-0 until they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 24-19 in Week 11 to end Kansas City hopes of an undefeated season.

Kansas City would finish the season with a 13-3 record good enough to earn the #2 seed in the AFC and a first-round-bye.

But the Chiefs would fall to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 38-31 in their divisional playoff, the only time Kansas City made the playoffs under Vermeil who retired after the 2005 season.

As for the Packers, they would continue to struggle for the next few weeks of the season until a four-game winning streak in December, coupled with a 18-17 loss by the Minnesota Vikings on the last play of the game to the Arizona Cardinals in the regular season finale, gave Green Bay the NFC North title and a spot in the playoffs.

The Packers would knock off the Seattle Seahawks 33-27 in overtime of their Wild Card Game, but would fall to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 in overtime in the Divisional Round after the Eagles converted on 4th & 26 on their final possession of regulation where they were able to kick the game-tying field goal.