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Chiefs Season Review: The First Quarter

A look back at the Chiefs’ 2014 season

GAME ONE:TENNESSEE TITANS 26, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 10RESULTING RECORD:0-1

Looking back now, it's easy to point to the Chiefs' opening day matchup against the 2-14 Tennessee Titans as the "game that got away" because so much of it was uncharacteristic of who the Kansas City Chiefs turned out to be.

Before the game, the Chiefs knew they would be without wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who had been suspended for a game. They quickly lost three key players in the game—defensive lineman Mike DeVito, linebacker Derrick Johnson and right tackle Jeff Allen—all who in the past few years had been mostly injury-free. Running back Jamaal Charles, a player who the Chiefs always rely on for an offensive spark, received just 11 touches and was atypically a non-factor. And quarterback Alex Smith, a rare interception thrower, threw three balls away.

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Combine all that with the fact that Titans quarterback Jake Locker had the second-best game (according to passer rating in games where he had 15 or more attempts) of his career, and the Chiefs were never really close to the Titans after giving up an early 3-0 lead.

WR Donnie Avery did an outstanding job filling in for Bowe with seven receptions for 84 yards, but he wouldn't have more than three receptions in a game the rest of the season.

CHIEFS GAME MVP: WR Donnie Avery (7 receptions, 84 yards)THROWBACK GAME CONTENT:Postgame Facts and Stats, Game at a Glance, Game Takeaways

Photos from the Chiefs week one game against the Titans.

GAME TWO:DENVER BRONCOS 24, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 17RESULTING RECORD:0-2

Coming off the opening day loss against the Titans, you wouldn't be correct in saying there was worry in Chiefs Kingdom, but there was reasonable doubt as to whether or not the Chiefs were a potential playoff team.

The Chiefs' second game of the season against the Denver Broncos was a textbook example of a team gaining confidence from a loss.

Jamaal Charles injured his ankle early in the game, leaving the running game in the hands of Knile Davis, who did an adequate job for Kansas City. He scored his first two touchdowns, the first of which gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

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Heading into the fourth, the Chiefs were down 21-10, but Davis' second touchdown brought Kansas City within four points. After the Broncos tacked on a field goal with 3:27 left in the game, the Chiefs had a chance to go down the field and tie the game with a touchdown.

Smith led the two-minute offense down to the Denver 9-yard line with goal to go, but the Chiefs would only get as far as the 2-yard line. On fourth-and-2, Smith threw a pass to WR Dwayne Bowe in the end zone that was batted down.

CHIEFS GAME MVP: RB Knile Davis (22 carries, 79 yards, 2 touchdowns)THROWBACK CONTENT:Postgame Facts and Stats, Game at a Glance, Game Takeaways

View photos from the Chiefs week two match up against the Denver Broncos.

GAME THREE:KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 34, DOLPHINS 15RESULTING RECORD:1-2

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**The Chiefs, with boosted confidence resulting from the loss against the Broncos, flew down to Miami for their Week 3 matchup with the Dolphins.

The Dolphins were coming off a loss against the Buffalo Bills but had beaten the New England Patriots in their opener Week 1.

RB Knile Davis continued to play a major role for the Chiefs with Jamaal Charles out. Davis carried the ball 32 times for 132 yards, career highs for him in both categories.

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The Chiefs jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and although the Dolphins cut it to as close as four in the second quarter, the Chiefs' two fourth-quarter touchdowns put the game out of reach.

Running back Joe McKnight caught two of Alex Smith's three touchdown passes and looked like he would play a major role moving forward for the Chiefs, but in the practice week following, he would rupture his Achilles tendon. 

CHIEFS GAME MVPs: RB Knile Davis (32 carries, 132 yards, 1 touchdown), RB Joe McKnight (6 receptions, 64 yards, 2 touchdowns)THROWBACK CONTENT:Postgame Facts and Stats, Game at a Glance, Game Takeaways

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Photos from the Chiefs week three match up against the Miami Dolphins.

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GAME FOUR: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 41, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 14RESULTING RECORD: 2-2

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**When you think of the Chiefs' 2014 campaign a couple years from now, this will be the signature game you will remember.

The Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots in convincing fashion on ESPN's Monday Night Football as Kansas City fans at Arrowhead Stadium retook the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar in an outdoor stadium.

RB Jamaal Charles returned from injury to carry the ball 18 times for 92 yards and a touchdown while Knile Davis stayed in the rotation for 107 yards of his own on 16 carries.

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The Chiefs intercepted Patriots QB Tom Brady twice and held New England to 290 yards, a mark that ended up being the Patriots' third-worst output of the season.

The night was the appetizer of a what were two of the coolest back-to-back nights in Kansas City sports history, as the following evening, the eventual American League Champion Royals won their wildcard game across the parking lot against the Oakland Athletics to advance to the divisional round of the MLB playoffs.   

CHIEFS GAME MVP:QB Alex Smith (20 of 26, 248 yards, 3 touchdowns)THROWBACK CONTENT:Postgame Facts and Stats, Game at a Glance, Game Takeaways

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