KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Jerome Woods and Dante Hall would like to remind everyone that the Kansas City Chiefs have a defense and special teams, too.
Woods had an interception return for a touchdown and a key fumble recovery and Hall brought back a kickoff for a score and added a long punt return as the Chiefs rolled to a 41-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Chiefs are 2-0 for the first time since 1996. And their heralded offense - which led the NFL last season with 467 points - certainly had a hand in this win as Priest Holmes rushed for 122 yards and three TDs.
But for a change, the offense did not have to outscore anybody.
"It was something we talked about on the sidelines," Woods said. "Getting the points on defense and special teams. The offense scored, so we wanted to go get something on defense and we did it."
"Every phase of our football team competed, really competed," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said.
With the offense sputtering early, Hall got things going by returning a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, pulling the Chiefs within 10-7 less than six minutes into the game. Last season, Hall returned two kickoffs and a punt for scores.
"We talked with the blockers all week long about getting to the next level - getting to your man and making sure your man doesn't make a play," Hall said. "When I caught the ball, everybody had a guy, and from that point on it was just me and the kicker."
With Kansas City holding a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter, Woods corraled a deflected slant pass thrown by Tommy Maddox and took it back 46 yards for a TD.
"Dex (cornerback Dexter McCleon) was sitting outside and I'm playing all inside," Woods said. "And Dex is waiting on the guy to come outside. When he broke it off, Dex just made a play on the ball and tipped it, and I just capitalized on the play that Dex made and took it to the house."
After Pittsburgh answered with a field goal, Hall's 45-yard punt return to the 7 set up a four-yard TD run by Holmes that made it 34-20 with 12:10 remaining.
And when the Steelers mounted a drive, Woods ended it by forcing a fumble by Verron Haynes and recovering it at the Chiefs 25. That led to a 31-yard TD romp by Holmes that sealed matters with 5:06 to go.
The Chiefs also got a big defensive play from linebacker Shawn Barber, who picked off Maddox in the end zone to thwart a drive late in the third quarter. They sacked Maddox four times.
It was a sense of vindication for Woods, a free safety who missed all of last season with a broken right leg. His absence contributed to a porous defense that caused Kansas City to miss the playoffs.
"Jerome Woods is a first-round pick and you expect him to play at that level," Vermeil said. "Last year we didn't have him at all. I think now, because of missing an entire year, that he better appreciate his opportunity to play."
Hall had four punt returns for 62 yards, moving past Ed Podolak into fourth place on the team's all-time yardage list.
"He's an inspirational kid," Vermeil said. "He not only inspires his head coach, he inspires his teammates as well. Just yesterday I predicted that Dante would break one. You just get a feeling. He's just that kind of guy."
The Chiefs survived a sub-par game by Trent Green, who completed 15-of-21 passes for just 125 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, both of which set up scores by the Steelers.
"No one's going to put us on top, but I think we took a giant step today,"Vermeil said. "All it means is we're 2-0, though."
Maddox was 21-of-47 for 336 yards, a TD and three interceptions. Hines Ward caught nine passes for 146 yards and Plaxico Burress added seven for 115, but Pittsburgh dropped to 1-1.
"If someone would have told us that we had passed for 300 yards and only scored 20 points and lost by 21, I would have told them they were kidding," Maddox said.
Kansas City's first possession ended in disaster as Chad Scott picked off Maddox and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the game. Maddox's 50-yard pass to Ward led to Jeff Reed's 20-yard field goal less than five minutes later.
After Hall's kickoff return, Maddox found Burress with a 33-yard TD pass that was set up by linebacker James Farrior's nine-yard interception return as Green continued to struggle.
Holmes finally got things going, ripping off runs of 15 and 16 yards before scoring from three yards out to make it 17-14 early in the second quarter.
The Chiefs took the lead for good on Green's three-yard TD pass to Jason Dunn that capped an 86-yard march. Woods victimized Maddox on Pittsburgh's ensuing possession, giving Kansas City a 27-17 lead.
Reed kicked a 51-yard field goal at the gun, but the Steelers did not score in the second half.
"I thought we came out strong defensively in the first three or four series," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "I think we played them well. However, I think the breakdown in our kickoff return coverage iginited their team. It was one of the biggest plays of the game. It got them back into it."
