Cowboys 31, Chiefs 28

IRVING, Texas (AP) - Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells challenged his struggling offense to ``do something'' to keep pace with the high-scoring Kansas City Chiefs.

Then he gave them some gimmicks to help pull it off.

Getting touchdowns on a flea flicker, an end around inside the 10-yard line and a pass to a blocker who hadn't scored in two years, the Cowboys kept their playoff hopes alive by pulling out a 31-28 victory over Sunday in a tense, thrilling game befitting a matchup between Parcells and Dick Vermeil.

Drew Bledsoe had his best game in months, throwing for 332 yards and matching his season-best with three touchdowns. He led Dallas (8-5) on a go-ahead drive early in the fourth quarter, then took the club 68 yards in 14 plays for the winning score - a 1-yard pass to tight end Dan Campbell with 22 seconds left.

``That was really a great drive, probably the best one of the year,'' Parcells said.

Yet ending their two-game losing streak wasn't that simple. The Cowboys had to hold their breath as Lawrence Tynes went for a 41-yard field goal that would've forced overtime. After a low snap, it went wide right, ending a three-game winning streak for the Chiefs (8-5).

The victory for Dallas does more for their confidence and outlook than it does in the standings. The Cowboys could've lost this one and still had a chance to finish 10-6, but they would've been in a real funk with a three-game losing streak and the next two on the road.

``This is a hugely important game for us,'' said Bledsoe, who was 22-of-34 with no turnovers. He also moved into fifth place on the career completions list, 15th on the career TD passes list and matched Warren Moon for the most 3,000-yard seasons. ``But we've got to keep winning,'' he added.

The final play was only part of the frustration for Kansas City. The Chiefs also wasted 143 yards rushing and three touchdowns by Larry Johnson and 340 yards passing by Trent Green, plus a chance to move up in the AFC wild-card chase because of a loss by division rival San Diego.

Kansas City missed a chance to put the game away early as its first five possessions reached at least midfield, but only two ended in touchdowns. The Chiefs were at the Dallas 9, poised to go up 21-10, when Green was sacked by former teammate Scott Fujita and fumbled. Defensive end Marcus Spears returned it 59 yards, leading to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bledsoe to Jason Witten that put Dallas up 17-14 at halftime.

``I'm sick to my stomach,'' said Green, who was 20-of-32. ``No missed field goal cost us this game. We had many opportunities to win. That's the disappointing part.''

Johnson ran pretty much at will for three quarters, racking up 126 of his yards by then to set a Chiefs record with six straight 100-yard games. The Cowboys hung in, thanks mostly to Bledsoe and some big plays.

Their first touchdown came on a perfectly executed flea flicker, with the defense falling for the handoff and Terry Glenn speeding past the coverage. Bledsoe heaved it deep and Glenn caught it in stride for his longest play since December 1998, which also came from Bledsoe during their New England days.

Glenn surprised the defense again early in the fourth quarter by taking a handoff on third-and-1 from the 6. He wound up with the first rushing touchdown of his career, putting Dallas up 24-21.

Green regained the lead for Kansas City with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Kennison with 3:55 left. Then came Bledsoe's big drive.

He kept it alive with two third-down completions, then Marion Barber III turned a short pass into a 21-yard gain to the 6. The Cowboys almost ran out of chances when Witten missed a fourth-down pass in the end zone, but holding was called. Officials pinned it on safety Greg Wesley, but replays showed linebacker Derrick Johnson was to blame.

``I was celebrating thinking it was over,'' Wesley said. ``Then I see a flag. I thought, 'Wow, way to give them a second chance.' ... I made a great play and they were bailed out by the referees.''

Given a second chance, Bledsoe hit Campbell for his third reception of the season and first touchdown since Nov. 9, 2003.

Glenn led Dallas with 138 yards on six catches and Witten had 93 yards on seven grabs. Barber ran for 82 yards.

Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez caught five passes for 94 yards and Kennison had 92 yards.

Notes: Parcells is now 1-1 against Vermeil. ... The Chiefs fell to 1-4 in games back in the area where they began in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. ... Glenn has a career-best seven TDs this season, counting his rushing score. ... Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt, a longtime Dallas resident, flipped the coin before kickoff and was honored with a video tribute after the first quarter.

Chiefs 31, Broncos 27

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Kansas City Chiefs gained a much-needed victory - and greater respect for the courage of officials viewing instant replay.

Reversing a crucial call on the field, referee Bill Leavy took a first down away from Denver near midfield with 2:01 to play. The Chiefs, relieved of the danger of facing a final threat from the Broncos\' offense, ran the clock down to 3 seconds and danced away with a 31-27 victory.

``Sometimes it\'s just a lot easier for them to go with the flow of the game and not make the big reversal,\'\' said Chiefs guard Brian Waters. ``I think that was a gutsy call.\'\'

The win brought the Chiefs (8-4) within one game in the AFC West of the Broncos (9-3), who had won four in a row and could have buried Kansas City in the division. Instead, the Broncos have a fight on their hands and are left with virtually no chance of overtaking unbeaten Indianapolis for the top seed in the AFC.

``This is a big win for us,\'\' said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil. ``A big, significant win.\'\'

Mike Anderson, on fourth-and-1 from the Denver 47, plunged into the right side of the line.

Officials on the field gave him a first down and Chiefs players went into a frenzy of protest over the spot, particularly cornerback Patrick Surtain.

``You saw me going berserk out there,\'\' said Surtain, who earlier intercepted Jake Plummer\'s pass from the KC 4.

``I was saying, `It\'s our ball, it\'s our ball.\' ``

A few minutes later, the call was reversed.

``It was clear to me he didn\'t reach the first down and the right thing to do was reverse it and give the ball to (Kansas City),\'\' Leavy said.

When the Broncos got the ball back, they had time for one desperate heave as the Chiefs won their 17th straight home game in December.

Defensive end Jared Allen, who made the tackle with help from Lionel Dalton, was confident the spot was wrong.

``I knew when I hit him he didn\'t make it,\'\' Allen said. ``I ran right down the line and hit him backward. It was no contest.\'\'

The Broncos watched helplessly as their offense was forced to leave the field.

``I didn\'t see what happened. I thought we had a first down,\'\' said Denver coach Mike Shanahan.

Trent Green threw two touchdown passes and Larry Johnson rushed for 140 yards and two more scores for the Chiefs, who have won four of last five to climb back into contention.

Plummer, who went 229 passes without an interception until the Dallas Cowboys got one last week, was also picked off by Kawika Mitchell on his first throw of the second half.

``We had opportunities we didn\'t take advantage of,\'\' said Plummer, 18-of-29 for 276 yards and one TD. ``If you do that on the road, and at a place like this, you are going to end up on the wrong side of the win-loss column.\'\'

Following Mitchell\'s interception, Lawrence Tynes kicked a 34-yard field to put Kansas City up 24-21, but Jason Elam tied the game with a 22-yarder.

After Darrent Williams intercepted Green\'s pass on the Chiefs\' next possession, Elam kicked a 40-yarder to put the Broncos on top 27-24.

Johnson, with his fifth straight 100-yard game, scored on a 4-yard run to make it 31-27 with 9:58 left.

Eddie Kennison caught four passes for 108 yards for the Chiefs.

On the Broncos\' second play, Anderson took Plummer\'s pass in the flat and went 66 yards, putting a move on Greg Wesley in the middle of the field that left the Chiefs\' safety face-down in embarrassment.

After the Chiefs took a 14-7 lead, Anderson scored on a 1-yard run.

Dante Hall got behind Denver cornerback Champ Bailey in the first half, and Green hit him with a 41-yard TD pass. Kennison had a 54-yard catch on the Chiefs\' next possession and Larry Johnson scored from the

1.Kennison had a 27-yard catch to set up Green\'s 25-yard TD pass to Tony Gonzalez for a 21-14 lead, which the Broncos erased with 22 seconds left in the half on a trick play.

Second-year reserve quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt lined up behind center as Plummer was flanked left on second-and-goal from the 7. Van Pelt took the snap and went almost untouched into the end zone for a TD on his first NFL play.

Notes: Johnson\'s fifth straight 100-yard rushing game tied a club record set by Priest Holmes in 2002. His 470 yards in the last three games is the best three-game total in team history. ... Denver has had five streaks of three or more wins broken at Arrowhead Stadium since Shanahan became head coach in 1995. ... Chiefs DT Ryan Sims, out since the season opener with a foot injury, saw limited action.

Denver Broncos - Kansas City Chiefs