Chiefs' long runbacks help make short work of Browns

Kansas City (9-0) extended its best start in franchise history.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Chiefs are still perfect.
Can the NFL's only unbeaten team stay that way?
"It's hard to say, 'undefeated,' " Cleveland cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said after the Chiefs beat the Browns 41-20 Sunday to improve to 9-0. "Undefeated -- that's a huge accomplishment. But they're on a roll, and a team's going to have to come in and play good to knock them off."
Cleveland, an AFC wild-card team last year, dropped to 3-6.
"Winning right now is the most important thing," Cleveland coach Butch Davis said. "I could care less about stats, and who's getting what, and all that kind of stuff. We've got to play well."
Far from perfect
The Chiefs were far from perfect against the short-handed Browns, who suspended leading rusher William Green for Sunday's game after Green's arrest two weeks ago on charges of marijuana possession and driving under the influence.
But as he has been on so many occasions this year, Dante Hall was there to provide a spark just when Kansas City needed it.
The Browns pulled within 21-17 on Kelly Holcomb's 2-yard TD pass to R.J. Bowers with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter, four plays after a Cleveland punt went off William Bartee's leg and Michael Lehan recovered at the Chiefs' 22.
But Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to Cleveland's 16, setting up Morten Andersen's 29-yard field goal. That started a 20-3 surge for the Chiefs, who extended their best start in franchise history and guaranteed their first winning season since going 9-7 in 1999.
Hall would likely have scored his NFL-record fifth kick return TD of the season had Gary Stills blocked rookie Chris Crocker, who made a diving ankle tackle. Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil didn't seem to mind.
"It was still a great big lift for us," Vermeil said. "Whenever a team does something positive and kicks the ball off, and the ball ends up on the other side of the field again, that's really demoralizing to the opponent."
Penalty negates penalty
One of the Chiefs' first-half mistakes even paid unexpected dividends.
After Phil Dawson's field goal put the Browns up 3-0 early in the first period, Chiefs quarterback Trent Green brought out the yellow flags when he threw to guard Brian Waters to avoid a sack.
But the illegal touching call was wiped out -- and the Chiefs got 15 yards and a first down -- when defensive tackle Gerard Warren plowed into Waters after the guard had been wrapped up and stopped.
The Chiefs converted Warren's penalty into Priest Holmes' first touchdown run, a 1-yarder that put Kansas City up 7-3. Holmes ran 9 yards for another score late in the first to make it 14-3.
James Jackson, filling in for William Green, cut that to 14-10 with a 1-yard scoring run early in the second quarter, but Trent Green responded with the first of his three TD passes, a 14-yarder to tight end Tony Gonzalez, to make it 21-10.
Trent Green added scoring throws of 28 yards to Johnnie Morton and 27 yards to Eddie Kinnison in the second half, finishing with 368 yards on 29-for-42 passing.
Andersen hit a 27-yard field goal on the last play of the first half, giving the Chiefs a 27-17 lead. Dawson scored Cleveland's only points of the second half on a 22-yarder that got the Browns within 34-20.
Notes
The Chiefs converted on nine of 12 third downs, their highest percentage since the NFL started tracking such statistics in 1972. ... LB Andra Davis was a bright spot on defense for the Browns with three sacks and a forced fumble. ... Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt was at Arrowhead Stadium after missing the last two games following prostate surgery. ... Vermeil has won four straight games against the Browns, a streak that goes back more than three decades to when he coached the Philadelphia Eagles. Before Sunday, he had also beaten the Browns with the Rams (1999) and Chiefs (2002). ... The Browns have lost seven straight road games against AFC West teams.
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