Maybe Allen Really Is Just Passing Fancy

KANSAS CITY —  Marcus Allen’s legs have carried him throughout a 16-year career. His arm carried the Kansas City Chiefs to a 13-10 victory Monday night over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Allen threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Danan Hughes in the second quarter, and Kansas City’s defense made it stand up, holding the Steelers to only 101 yards after a first quarter in which Pittsburgh took a 10-0 lead.

It was a game typical of Kansas City under Marty Schottenheimer--it wasn’t pretty but the Chiefs won against a Pittsburgh team coached by his former defensive coordinator, Bill Cowher.

“The only thing we wanted, we got and that is 7-2,” said Schottenheimer, whose team stayed within a game of first-place Denver in the AFC West.

Kansas City scored all its points in the second quarter on Allen’s touchdown pass and field goals of 35 and 44 yards by Pete Stoyanovich.

Then the Chiefs, who outgained Pittsburgh, 392-235, and kept the ball for more than 36 minutes, spent the second half moving up and down the field but making critical mistakes.

Allen fumbled backward after appearing to make a first down on a fourth-down play at the Pittsburgh four early in the fourth quarter, and Kimble Anders fumbled as the Chiefs were driving later in the quarter.

But each time a defense led by Derrick Thomas, Anthony Davis, James Hasty and Jerome Woods shut down the Steelers and Kordell Stewart, who has had explosive second halves.

“I said before this game that you could throw all the Xs and Os out the window,” said Allen, who was a quarterback in high school. “This was really a battle of the heart, a test of wills. Both teams played very physical ball, an excellent game.”

Said Schottenheimer: “You have to like a defensive football team that can shut down a team like that for [the final] three quarters.”

Jerome Bettis had 17 carries for 103 yards and went over 1,000 yards for the season. The Kansas City running game got 183 yards from seven different runners led by Allen’s 49 yards in 10 carries--the most carries by any Chief.

The loss dropped Pittsburgh (6-3) into a tie for first in the AFC Central with Jacksonville.

The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes in the third quarter after Kansas City tight end Ted Popson was injured when he was drilled by the Steelers’ Donnell Woolford. The preliminary diagnosis was mild head trauma and soreness in the neck.

Elvis Grbac, the Chiefs’ starting quarterback, left the field in the fourth quarter with a bruise to his left shoulder. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 172 yards. His backup, Rich Gannon, helped the Chiefs control the ball and run out the clock in the final minutes.

The Steelers got off to an uncharacteristically fast start when, seven minutes into the game, Stewart connected with Courtney Hawkins on a 44-yard touchdown play. Two Chiefs missed Hawkins after he caught the ball at about the 15.

Then Norm Johnson made a 27-yard field goal set up by a 30-yard run by Bettis after Woolford’s interception of a Grbac pass.

But then Kansas City took control of the game.