A look back at the Chiefs’ crazy Halloween night victory over the Chargers in 2011
In the 2011 season, the Chiefs changed coaches (from Todd Haley to Romeo Crennel), had three quarterbacks start at least three games, lost their first three games and didn’t win once in November.
Despite that, the Chiefs finished the season with a 7-9 record and remarkably just missed the playoffs as the other three AFC West teams were 8-8.
Two games stand out from that season: a 19-14 win that gave the Packers their only loss and a 23-20 overtime victory against the Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium on “Monday Night Football.”
Fans may remember the latter game better by the date it was played: Halloween.
The Chiefs led 13-3 at halftime, but the Chargers made three field goals in the third-quarter to make it a one-point game. Jackie Battle’s 1-yard touchdown run gave the Chiefs a 20-12 lead in the fourth quarter.
Back came the Chargers (they were in San Diego at the time), who got a 2-point conversion on a Philip Rivers pass and tied the game.
After a Chiefs punt, the Chargers took over on the Kansas City 48-yard line with 4:59 to play in the game. Despite a penalty on first down, they moved the ball to the red zone inside of the two-minute warning.
The Chargers picked up a first-down on a Jacob Hester 1-yard run that put the ball on the Chiefs’ 15-yard line.All the Chargers had to do was kneel a couple of times and kick a field goal to win the game.
Instead, Rivers fumbled the snap and Chiefs linebacker Andy Studebaker recovered.
“I haven’t had one in years,” Rivers later told reporters of the fumbled snap. “It’s unfortunate. I dropped it. This one is rough. You blow it on a play that never should have happened.”
In overtime,the Chargers won the toss, but Tamba Hali sacked Rivers and blew up the drive. The Chargers punted and the Chiefs then drove 69 yards in 14 plays, setting up Ryan Succop’s game-winning field goal from 30 yards.
Afterward, a few Chiefs players wore masks from the movie, “Scream” and celebrated with the fans.
The victory helped the Chiefs move into a three-way tie in the AFC West.
“It was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination,” Haley said afterward. “But at the same time I really don’t believe that matters right now.”
There was a much different reaction from the Chargers and their fans.
Two years after that game, the Chargers blog “Bolts From The Blue” wrote: ““For ... Chargers fans, Halloween was permanently ruined by the Kansas City Chiefs and some voodoo magic in 2011.”
This is an extended highlights video of the game.
