KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs demanded our respect Sunday afternoon, and we should grudgingly give them some and issue our own demand:
Do it again.
We liked what we saw Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs slapped the overrated and previously unbeaten Broncos 33-19, ending Kansas City’s 12-game losing streak and momentarily rescuing the Chiefs from the worst-team-in-football debate.
Now do it again.
The Chiefs, 1-3, don’t have to win this weekend at Carolina. The Panthers, 3-1, are pretty good. We just want to see the Chiefs play with the same energy, focus and intensity that blindsided and exposed the Broncos.
“What we finally realized was we had to play with passion,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said, “just play, not worry about doing everything right or the score. I thought for the most part we did that.”
Yes, they did, and the result was promising.
We can handle the Chiefs losing while they rebuild. We can’t stomach any more embarrassing, half-hearted efforts like the ones that cost the Chiefs against the Raiders and Falcons.
For the rest of the season, we want to see Larry Johnson run like Jim Brown, Derrick Johnson fly like Derrick Thomas and Dwayne Bowe snatch passes like Jerry Rice.
Johnson, Bowe and Johnson are supposed to be Kansas City’s in-their-prime stars. On Sunday, they played like stars, trampling Denver for 198 rushing yards, two touchdowns (Larry Johnson), six tackles, a forced fumble, an interception, a tackle for loss (Derrick Johnson) and seven receptions for 85 yards and critical third-down catches (Bowe).
“Big-time playmakers are supposed to make big plays in games like these,” Derrick Johnson said. “I just went out and played. I was doing too much thinking before.”
It’s unlikely Johnson, Bowe and Johnson will match their combined production this season. Maybe only one will post superstar numbers next week vs. the Panthers, but the two others could still chip in with a superstar play or two.
If they can win us over — those of us willing to ride out the losing that rebuilding requires — then that’s enough respect for this season.
Jason Whitlock is a sports
columnist for The Kansas City
Star. Reach him at 816-234-4869
or jwhitlock@kcstar.com.
