Dubbed “The Dwayne Rudd Game”, Kansas City’s season opener against the Browns, in 2002, went down in NFL history as one of the most thrilling nail-biters ever played. At former Cleveland linebacker Dwayne Rudd’s expense, the game included an unbelievable ending that nobody saw coming at the time it was played.
Much like every Chiefs game in the early ‘00s, for those who don’t know nor remember, Kansas City fell into an offensive shootout with Browns backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb thanks to a defensive unit that would become notoriously known in the coming seasons for the inability to stop any opposing offense from finding the endzone.
Chiefs quarterback Trent Green finished with a 96.6 QBR, connecting on 20-of-29 passes for 276 yards, one touchdown, and a pick. While Cleveland’s Kelly Holcomb completed 27-of-39 pass attempts for 326 yards and three TDs in a game that on a goofy defensive penalty.
The first half was pretty tame, Cleveland scored the game’s first points with a 20-yard Phil Dawson field goal, while Kansas City scored the game’s first touchdown following a 17-yard connection from quarterback Trent Green to tight end Tony Gonzalez. The Browns managed to get back into field goal range and put another three points on the board with a 32-yard kick from Phil Dawson that went through the uprights shortly before the second quarter.
Early in the second, Cleveland found the end zone for the first time as Kelly Holcomb throws a deep bomb to wide receiver Dennis Northcutt for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Kansas City responds with a seven-play drive that ends on a 5-yard run and score by Priest Holmes, as the former Longhorn beats LB Dwayne Rudd for the front-left pylon to go up 14-13.
But a little trickery from Cleveland in the middle of the second quarter, as wide receiver Kevin Johnson takes advantage of a Kansas City defensive miscue and connects with a wide-open Qunicy Morgan for an easy 33-yard score to retake the lead going into the locker room at halftime.
The trick-play from Cleveland began a high-scoring affair as both offenses went blow-for-blow in a second-half for the ages.
The Brown padded their lead 20-14 lead with a 16-play drive that took up an entire half of the third quarter and ended with a three-yard score from Holcomb to receiver Andre Davis. However, the only points the Chiefs managed to score in the third, was off of a 33-yard Morten Andersen field goal.
After a Kansas City three-and-out to begin the fourth, Cleveland continued to add to their 10-point lead by getting in field goal range after nine plays and allowing Dawson to drive in a 34-yarder.
Down 30-17 with 11:59 left on the clock, Trent Green wasted no time traveling down the field, connecting with receiver Eddie Kennison for a 15-yard gain, followed by a 14-yard catch by Tony Gonzalez and to cap off the drive, a 26-yard scramble by Priest Holmes for the score.
Still, down 30-24 at the 8:18 mark, the Chiefs defense made the biggest defensive play of the game as defensive end Duane Clemons strip-sacked Kelly Holcomb deep in Chiefs territory as defensive tackle John Browning made the recovery to complete the takeaway. On the following play, the Chiefs offense made good use of the Cleveland turnover by sending Priest Holmes on a 15-yard dash for the end zone.
Morton Andersen’s extra-points gave Kansas City a slim one-point lead that didn’t last long, as the Browns offense marched back and responded on an illegal contact penalty by cornerback William Bartee, which caused him to lose his balance and leave Quincy Morgan wide open for a 44-yard touchdown to regain the lead.
As the fourth quarter gradually dwindled, the Chiefs managed the reach the end zone on a seven-yard run by Holmes, and Cleveland responded right back with another Phil Dawson field goal to take a 39-37 lead with only 29 seconds left.
Time running out, Green scrambled for a 12-yard gain as the protection broke down around. The following was more of the same as Cleveland sent all of their pass rushers and Green went down in a sea of white and orange, but not before flicking the ball out in time for his right tackle, John Tait, who changed 28 yards down the field before getting tackled out of bounds as time expired.
However, that wasn’t the end of the ball game as penalty flags rained all over the field for an unsportsmanlike foul on Cleveland’s Dwayne Rudd, who took his helmet off as Tait was running down the field, thinking the play had only resulted in a sack.
The penalty extended Tait’s 28-yard run to the Browns’ 25-yard lineup 13 yards half the distance to the goal, where Morton Andersen nailed the game-winner for Kansas City from the Cleveland twelve, as the Chiefs steal a 40-39 victory in the luckiest way possible. As seen here:
