Welcome to first place. Perfect performance (offensive play calling, pass rush)? No. Feels pretty darn good? Oh, yeah. Am I the only one that thinks we'll never see Dex/Arenas getting kicked to again? As you can imagine, there are a lot of stories about our Kansas City Chiefs. Expect more later today as the east coast wakes up and sees what happened last night as opposed to reading box scores.
Whether it’s truly a new era or the Chiefs are merely better swimmers than the San Diego Chargers will be determined in subsequent weeks. For now, the Chiefs are happy to be in what has been a most unfamiliar place.
That would be atop the standings in the AFC West. The Chiefs are in first place in their division after opening the renovated Arrowhead Stadium with a 21-14 win over the Chargers on a decidedly soggy Monday night.
Lightning strikes: Chiefs make big plays in 21-14 win over Chargers from KC Star
"This is how I visualize Arrowhead," coach Todd Haley says. "It’s because of those people out there."
Take a bow, Chiefs fans. For one night, at least, you turned Arrowhead into a time machine, a warp back to the mid-1990s when this place earned the title of the NFL’s Loudest Stadium. A 21-14 win over the Chargers reminded a national TV audience on "Monday Night Football" what Arrowhead Stadium can be.
For one night, Arrowhead again the loudest NFL stadium from KC Star
KC Star Photo Gallery: Chiefs 21, Chargers 14 | Season opener a winner for KC
KC Star Photo Gallery: Home Opener at Arrowhead
KC Star Photo Gallery: The Kansas City Chiefs and Monday Night Football
NFL.com Video: Chiefs vs. Chargers Highlights
McCluster, the tiny but dazzling playmaker, broke a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter Monday night, shifting momentum to the Chiefs in their unlikely 21-14 win against San Diego on national television. The return was the longest in Chiefs history, a yard longer than Hall’s best, a 93-yarder against Denver in October 2003.
America, meet Kansas City’s newest YouTube thriller.
The ‘Dex-Factor’ rallies Chiefs from KC Star
Johnson, who spent most of 2009 in Haley’s doghouse, won the starting weak-side linebacker spot this season in a mild surprise over Demorrio Williams, who had a team-leading three sacks in the preseason.
And Johnson justified Haley’s decision to start him on Monday night when he made a team-leading 12 tackles and came up with the first big play on defense in Monday night’s season-opening 21-14 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
Derrick makes most of starting role in Chiefs’ win over Chargers from KC Star
This is 11:15 a.m. Monday, just 10 hours before the Chiefs are set to face the Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium, and this is the most important meeting of the day for ESPN’s "Monday Night Football" crew.
For two hours, roughly 20-25 people — just a handful of the 200 ESPN employees that started descending upon Kansas City last week to broadcast the showdown — discuss the game’s biggest story lines and the best way to present them to a nationwide audience.
Plenty of action behind scenes of 'Monday Night Football' from KC Star
If you’re dragging a little today because you followed the Kansas City Chiefs last night, you aren’t alone.
But for a couple of thousand people who got to bed after midnight, it wasn’t a choice. They were working to make sure everyone else had a good time.
In a market where 80 percent of residents identify themselves as Chiefs fans, it’s easy to forget that the team is also a big business.
Different look inside Arrowhead: Selling red, seeing green from KC Star
Jackson County residents should be especially proud of this moment. In 2006 they made a significant commitment to keeping major league sports in Kansas City when they approved a three-eighths-cent sales tax increase to improve the Truman Sports Complex. Bistate voters already had rejected a similar tax in 2004 for the stadiums, placing their fate in the hands of Jackson Countians. And they came through.
Revamped Arrowhead Stadium shows off Jackson County's foresight from KC Star
According to ESPN's Trent Dilfer, Chief's Head Coach Todd Haley said they were essentially better, stronger, and faster compared to last season. Dilfer said he'd not "bought the Kool Aid" until he saw the team. This space agrees. The Kansas City Chiefs are certainly faster, and reports are the Chargers are still chasing Dexter Mccluster.
Kansas City Chief's Mccluster, Arenas, Berry - Rookies Open New Arrowhead Stadium from The San Francisco Chronicle
While Arrowhead's distinctive design remains intact, the stadium's reputation as one of the NFL's most hostile and intimidating venues has suffered along with the Chiefs' recent results.
In 2005, Sports Illustrated named Arrowhead as the "toughest place to play" but with just six wins at home in the last two seasons, a visit to Kansas City no longer struck the same fear into opponents.
Stadium renovations complete, focus now on rebuilding Chiefs from Reuters
But as lightning flashed overhead, the Chiefs struck quickly to make up for an otherwise impotent offense in Arrowhead Stadium's first Monday night game in six years.
After Kansas City's first two possessions produced nothing, Charles, a 1,000-yard rusher who was beaten out in training camp by veteran Thomas Jones, broke through a hole and sped 56 yards with 37 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game.
If the Chiefs keep this up, football will be fun again in Kansas City.
Desperate to proclaim an official end to one of the darkest periods in team history, the Chiefs hit San Diego with two long touchdown strikes and then stopped Philip Rivers in the shadow of the goal line four times in the final minute Monday night, preserving a 21-14 victory over the four-time AFC West champions.
Big Plays Help Chiefs Stun Chargers in Opener from NBC Sports
There are a few new ways to get some sauce on your jersey at Arrowhead Stadium this season.
Topping the list is the new Red and Gold Short Rib Melt -- an $11 two-hander that starts with a mound of pulled short ribs. Between two pieces of Parmesan-crusted toast. You'll also find grilled onions and melted Havarti and white American cheese.Red and Gold Short Rib Melt debuts at Arrowhead tonight from The Pitch