For ex-Chiefs QB Trent Green, one Raiders game will always hold special meaning

Of the 88 games started by Trent Green during six seasons as the Chiefs quarterback, one stands out in particular.

It was against the Raiders, who were in Oakland at the time, and frankly, beating the Chiefs’ long-time rival was only part of what made it special.

The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 27-23 at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 6, 2005 when Larry Johnson scored on a 1-yard run as time expired. Green threw for 235 yards and a touchdown despite missing most of practice that week following the death of his father, Jim.

“We had buried him the week of the Raiders game,” Green said this week as he prepares to call Sunday’s Chiefs-Raiders game in Las Vegas on CBS with Kevin Harlan.

The Chiefs led 13-9 after three quarters when that game was turned upside down. Johnson’s 15-yard run gave the Chiefs a double-digit lead, but Raiders quarterback Kerry Collins threw a pair of touchdown passes, the latter to Randy Moss with 1:45 to play in the game.

Trailing 23-20, Green asked Chiefs kicker Lawrence Tynes where the ball needed to be for a tying field goal. Tynes said the 37-yard line and Green moved the Chiefs to that spot with 19 seconds to play.

There was time for another play to get Tynes in better position. Johnson hauled in a pass from Green and nearly scored with 5 seconds to play.

“I hit Larry Johnson on a pass, he got tackled at about the 1,” Green said. “So there was time for one more play. It was either kick the field goal and go to overtime or go for it and either win or lose. This was back before analytics and all the other stuff. It was more of you just go off your gut. And so coach (Dick) Vermeil asked me if I wanted to go for it. And I was like, ‘Well, you know I do.’”

Johnson leaped into the end zone and scored the winning touchdown as the clock hit all zeroes.

Vermeil told The Star in 2005 the memory of Jim Green influenced the decision to go for the win.

“Believe me, he was there when I made that last call,” Vermeil said after the game while he fought tears. “Wow, I was scared.”

While Trent Green’s parents weren’t there, he pointed to his wife and kids in the stands after Johnson scored. Later that night, Green gave a game ball to his mom.

A pregame moment was equally special.

“What I did before the game is I went up and I taped off the two seats that he and my mom would always sit in,” Green recalled. “And I just put a note saying, ‘Hey, if somebody could make sure that nobody sits in these seats for this game.’ I got word from the people around there that they kept it open the whole game. And so I took a picture of it. This is before everybody had a cell phone. Everybody had cameras, so I took a picture of it and shared it with my family after the game and said, ‘Hey, just so you guys know, nobody sat in that seat for the game.’

“It was emotional deal for all of us. He was a huge football fan. I mean, a huge reason for me even playing the game.”

Highlights

Here are highlights from that game.