The Kansas City Chiefs took the field at Arrowhead Stadium, in front of a crowd that continues to be as loud as ever, pushing for the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an outdoor stadium and they got it.
"I know we were striving to beat the noise record, the decibel record and we got it up to 137.5; that's pretty incredible" Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said postgame. "It was loud. I mean real loud, ground-shaking loud."
The Chiefs received the opening kick and were later forced to punt, when Chiefs CB Ron Parker made his presence felt, stuffing the Raider return at their 18-yard line.
When the Chiefs defense hit the field for the first time, it did its job, getting the ball back to the offense in quick fashion. Facing a 3rd-and-6, Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor was sacked by Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson, forcing an Oakland punt.
After the game, in a victorious Chiefs locker room, DJ gave the ultimate reason for the defensive success, including 10 QB sacks for the defense.
"Ten sacks?," DJ asked. "I didn't know it was 10. I got about two of them. Everybody's trying to eat around here, everybody's hungry, everybody's thirsty. We're not done yet, 6-0."
It was like Groundhog Day on the game's next two drives; the Chiefs were forced to punt and the Raiders had to do the same, following another QB sack of Pryor, this time by Chiefs LB Tamba Hali and Chiefs S Husain Abdullah.
The Chiefs offense began to move the ball on their ensuing drive, thanks to the legs and hands of Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles, who had a 10-yard reception, followed by a nine-yard rush, but the Raiders stopped the drive by sacking Chiefs QB Alex Smith, on 3rd-and-10, from the Oakland 36-yard line.
The game remained scoreless as the first quarter ended.
SECOND QUARTER
The Raiders continued with the ball in the second quarter, before they later attempted to take a three-point lead, but a 51-yard FG attempt by K Sebastian Janikowski fell short.
Oakland held the Chiefs on the next drive and took a lead with its next possession.
Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor led his team on a drive that lasted six plays, covered 78 yards and took 3:16 off the clock, before Raiders WR Denarius Moore caught a 39-yard TD pass.
OAKLAND 7 KANSAS CITY 0
Late in the second quarter, with the crowd roaring, the Raiders faced a third-and-long, before Pryor's pass fell incomplete, forcing a punt.
The Chiefs offense took over with 2:09 to play in the half and made the most of it. Chiefs QB Alex Smith found Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles for 14 yards, then WR Dwayne Bowe for 17 yards, before Bowe later drew a pass interference call, good for 17 more yards, giving the Chiefs a first-and-goal from the seven-yard line.
Bowe later spoke about the chemistry he has with his QB.
"Me and Alex always had chemistry," Bowe said. "Defenses have just come up with different schemes to try to confuse him. Once you come out in the second half and have seen the schemes that they have tried to run, you can make that adjustment and come out and make the plays in the second half to win the game."
On the very next play, Chiefs Pro Bowl RB Jamaal Charles willed his way into the end zone for six points. Chiefs K Ryan Succop tied the game with the PAT.
Scoring Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards, 1:03 - Seven-yard TD run by Jamaal Charles.
The score remained the same into halftime, Kansas City 7 Oakland 7.
THIRD QUARTER
The Chiefs defense took the field to start the third quarter and forced a Raiders punt, thanks to a sack by Tamba Hali.
Kansas City's first offensive drive of the second half began strong, including an 18-yard pass from Alex Smith to Dwayne Bowe and a nine-yard toss to Chiefs TE Kevin Brock. On 1st-and-10, from the Oakland 11-yard line, Smith found Chiefs WR Donnie Avery for a completion, before the ball was stripped away and recovered by the Raiders.
As it has all year the Chiefs defense responded, getting the ball back to the offense, thanks to an interception by Chiefs S Quintin Demps.
The Chiefs offense took advantage of the Pryor INT, going on a four-play, 23-yard drive that lasted 1:56, before ending with a Jamaal Charles two-yard TD run, his second score of the game.
In the locker room afterwards, Charles spoke about his two TDs and gave credit to the amazing Arrowhead Stadium crowd.
"On the two touchdowns, I just had to get it up in there and go in there real physical and I did," Charles said. "I leave it up to the offensive line; they did a great job of doing their assignments. I give this win up to the fans, because they came out and cheered their hearts out today."
The score remained 14-7 as the third quarter ended.
KANSAS CITY 14 OAKLAND 7
FOURTH QUARTER
The Chiefs forced a Raiders punt early in the fourth quarter and Oakland did the same thing, getting the ball back in the hands of QB Terrelle Pryor.
With just over 13 minutes remaining on the game clock, Chiefs Pro Bowl LB Tamba Hali struck again, sacking Pryor for a four-yard loss, forcing another Raiders punt.
Hali finished with 3.5 sacks on the day, but was more excited for the team's win than his individual performance.
"For the team, it's great," Hali said postgame. "It feels good for me personally, but for the team, it's huge. We get a "W" and I get three sacks (and) we go home with a smile on our face. Three sacks without a win; that's not happy."
Following a Chiefs punt, the Raiders took over and faced a third-and-three, before Pryor found Raiders WR Rod Streater for 13 yards, good for a first down.
Shortly after the first down, the Chiefs defense and its fans took over.
The crowd noise continued to rise as the Chiefs forced the Raiders into a 4th-and-48, which forced a punt, thanks to another sack by Tamba Hali, followed by another sack, this time courtesy of Chiefs Pro Bowl S Eric Berry.
Chiefs Pro Bowl LB Justin Houston, who finished the game with two tackles, one sack and three QB hurries, spoke about Tamba's play, as well as his overall talent.
"He's great," Houston said. "I learn all my moves and my work ethic from him. He's a great pass rusher; he's relentless and he's always going (strong)."
With 4:41 left in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs faced a third-and-nine and were unable to convert, leading to Dustin Colquitt's 57-yard punt.
The Raiders began their next drive from their own 20-yard line, with 4:29 to play in the fourth quarter. The Oakland drive eventually ended in the hands of Chiefs CB Marcus Cooper, who picked off Terrelle Pryor.
"It was a formation I recognized from earlier," Cooper said of his INT. "They had some success on that same play and I saw the spread and formation and knew the down and distance that calls for that type of play, so I just jumped it, when I saw the throw."
Coop's INT led to three more points for the Chiefs as Ryan Succop nailed a 33-yard FG on the ensuing drive.
Scoring Drive: 6 plays, 14 yards, 2:00 - 33-yard FG by Ryan Succop.
KANSAS CITY 17 OAKLAND 7
The Chiefs defense didn't relax very long on the sideline. On the next Raiders offensive possession, Chiefs S Husain Abdullah picked off Pryor, returning it for the score, 44 yards later.
When asked about his pick-six, after the game, Abdullah was quick to praise his teammates.
"It was really my teammates, just rushing coverage and working together," Abdullah said. "It's the team's pick-six. It was great, all the way around."
KANSAS CITY 24 OAKLAND 7
The Raiders weren't able to score on their final drive of the game and Chiefs DE Mike Catapano had something to do with it, sacking Pryor to end the contest.
The Chiefs walked off the field 6-0, in front of their record-setting Arrowhead Stadium crowd.
Final Score: KANSAS CITY 24 OAKLAND 7
Chiefs QB Alex Smith addressed reporters after the game, summarizing the win.
"It feels great," Smith said. "Awesome. You just keep taking them one at a time and it's cliché, but we keep coming out with victories. They're special, anytime you get them. They're hard to come by in this league. It's great."
Coach Reid said the team will enjoy the win for 24 hours and then preparations begin for next week's opponent, the Houston Texans.
Here's how the Chiefs celebrated in the locker room, following the 24-7 win.
