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Stillers-Chiefs: A Game of "Firsts"

October 16, 2001 by In the Trenches

Stillers-Chiefs: A Game of "Firsts"

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the belated post-game report. After cheering the Stillers to a skin-of-their-teeth victory, I was rewarded with a canceled flight outta town. That left me without Internet access until tonight (16-Oct). Anyway...

Thankfully, the Stillers pulled out a victory in KC. While the offense has made small strides each of the last few games, they still aren't a well oiled machine. The defense, usually stalwart in their efforts, nearly crumbled down the stretch. Nonetheless, the glass is half full and the team sits atop the division with a 3-1 record.

Rather than a typical post-game review, I'm going to take a slightly different approach and point out a variety of "firsts" that resulted from or during this game.

  • This was the 1st trip to Arrowhead for both Still Mill and myself. During the course of the game, we both collected a 1st time appearance on a Jumbo-Tron (woo hoo). Not only did we have a great time meeting all the fellow Stiller fans that showed up at the game, we found Arrowhead to be a great football stadium. Luckily the fans didn't have much to cheer about for most of the game. That stadium can be deafening and could definitely have been a factor otherwise!
  • After winning for the 9th time in 14 tries at Arrowhead, Pittsburgh found itself with a record of 3-1. With losses by Baltimore (23-31 vs. GB) and Cleveland (14-24 vs. Cincinnati), the Stillers captured sole possession of 1st place!
  • Jerome Bettis became the 1st back to claim 5-100 yard games against the Chiefs (in their history). The Bus, after rushing for 112 yards, stated that he takes pride in getting revved up to rumble at the less than visitor friendly Arrowhead stadium.
  • The loss marked the 1st time since 1987 that the Chiefs started a measly 1-4 to open the regular season.
  • The loss also marked the 1st time since 1980 that the Chiefs started 0-3 at home.
  • With his 61 yard interception return touchdown, Chad Scott claimed his 1st ever TD in the NFL. After racing into the endzone his "it's about time" body language showed how badly he wanted that one.
  • With a beautiful pass and catch between Stewart and Tuman, the "receiving" TE grabbed his first ever NFL reception....and it only took 2+ years, way to go Jerame!
  • With a 5 yard TD grab by Hines Ward, Stewart and the Stillers collected their first passing TD since 24-Dec last season. That totals 262 minutes and 55 seconds of game time, or approximately 4-1/3 games, between passing TDs. That's nearly 425,000 minutes of calendar time....ouch!
  • Priest Holmes, with 20 carries for 150 yards, became the 1st back this year and the 1st since Corey Dillon (26-Nov) to rush for 100+ yards against the Stillers defense. That snapped a 7 game shutout streak in that category.

It's great to see the team at 3-1 after a horrible start in Jacksonville, but the team proved that it still has a ways to go. The positive thus far has been the team's ability to dig and find ways to win close games. In reality, each of the last 3 games has been up-for-grabs at some point during the fourth quarter yet our Stillers have emerged the victors. The victories are what counts at this point and it's nice to enjoy 1st place for now....

 

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