"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. The Chiefs had to survive a harrowing finish. The Chargers had first and goal at the Chiefs' 4 with 1:14 remaining and had time to run four plays. But Darren Sproles lost 2 yards on a draw play, and Philip Rivers threw three incomplete passes, allowing the Chiefs to hold on. The intended receiver on the final two plays, Malcom Floyd, was open on both snaps. On third down, Rivers had to float the pass to Floyd and sent it over the receiver's head. On fourth down, Floyd was open in the back of the end zone but fell down as Rivers delivered the throw. On the previous San Diego possession, Legedu Naanee dropped a fourth-down pass at the Kansas City 22 that would have given the Chargers a fresh set of downs. While it's premature for the Chiefs to be making playoff plans, the win was big on so many levels. The Chiefs won their season opener for the first time since 2005, and they beat the beast of the division, an opponent that had conquered the Chiefs five straight times and won the last four AFC West championships. "Not a pretty game, but I'm not in the business of worrying about how attractive it looks," Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. "(San Diego) is a team that beat us up pretty good last year. They're a very good team and they're on top until somebody (else) gets in that spot. It's the first one, and to start fast is always good. "If you're expecting something to look real fancy or nice, I don't think that's what you're going to see here with this Chiefs team. That's all right. We're figuring out how to get things done." The Chiefs broke open the game with big plays. Jamaal Charles picked up where he left off last season, rushing for a 56-yard touchdown on his second carry of the season. Rookie Dexter McCluster returned his first NFL punt 94 yards for a touchdown, breaking the club record for longest punt return previously held by Dante Hall." http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/13/2221984/lightning-strikes-chiefs-make.html
