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Kansas City Chiefs Rewatch: 2011 Week 4 vs Vikings

By Leigh Oleszczak

KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 2: Tamba Hali #91 of the Kansas City Chiefs rushes against Donovan McNabb #5 of the Minnesota Vikings at Arrowhead Stadium on October 2, 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs won 22-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 2: Tamba Hali #91 of the Kansas City Chiefs rushes against Donovan McNabb #5 of the Minnesota Vikings at Arrowhead Stadium on October 2, 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs won 22-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs got off to an 0-3 start in 2011 and their week four opponent – the Minnesota Vikings – was also 0-3. Who would break their losing streak?

After a long delay, the Kansas City Chiefs rewatches are back! This time, however, rather than watching every single game from every season, I decided to only rewatch games where the Chiefs won because – well – watching the Chiefs get blown out isn’t something I’m used to anymore and I don’t care to relive those days.

So, the first game the Chiefs won in 2011 came in week four against the Vikings. Let’s get to it!

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS VS MINNESOTA VIKINGS – OCTOBER 2ND, 2011

Both teams were 0-3 at this point in the season. The Chiefs had been blown out in their first two games and narrowly lost to the Chargers in the third game of the year. The Chiefs lost Jamaal Charles to injury in week two and he missed the entire season, which was a brutal loss for them. Their run game struggled as a result.

After a nice first drive by the Chiefs offense, they had to settle for a Ryan Succop field goal to make it a 3-0 game. Minnesota took the lead on a 34-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (yes, he was with the Vikings at this stage of his career) to Devin Aromashodu and yet again, the Kansas City Chiefs were behind early in the game.

The Chiefs did have a 9-7 lead at the half, but their struggles to find the end zone continued, as they settled for three field goals. The game continued to be all about the field goals, as Succop and Ryan Longwell kicked three field goals in the third quarter.

The next touchdown to be scored was by the Chiefs, as Matt Cassel connected with Dwayne Bowe on a 52-yard strike that saw Bowe plow his way into the end zone. That made it a 22-10 lead with  just shy of 14 minutes remaining in the game. Chiefs fans knew not to feel too comfortable with any kind of lead.

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The Vikings scored a touchdown (McNabb to Michael Jenkins) with 5:50 left on the clock, but that would be the last points scored by either team. Minnesota made it to the KC 41 with over a minute left of clock, but couldn’t get the first down conversion, giving the Chiefs the ball back and the ability to run out the clock.

The Chiefs won their first game of the 2011 season by a score of 22-17. It wasn’t pretty, but a win was a win and getting that first W of the season was pivotal for this team. They moved to 1-3 while the Vikings dropped to 0-4.

KEY STATS

  • Matt Cassel – 18/29, 260 yards, TD; 4 carries, 20 yards
  • Dwayne Bowe – 5 receptions, 107 yards, TD
  • Donovan McNabb – 18/30, 202 yards, 2 TD, INT
  • Adrian Peterson – 23 carries for 80 yards
  • Jared Allen – 2 sacks (he played for the Vikings at this point)

I actually attended this game and there were Vikings fans sitting next to my mom. One of them was wearing a Christian Ponder jersey (he was the 12th overall pick in that year’s draft) and screaming for his team to bench McNabb, which is so funny to think about in 2020.

Not having Charles definitely hurt the Chiefs offense, as their run game was putrid without him. Thomas Jones only had 37 yards, which led the team that day. Not good.

Next. Five Affordable Free Agents for Chiefs to Sign. dark

Even with it being an ugly win, the Chiefs were in the win column for the first time in the 2011 season. When would their next win come?

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