BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- It was billed as a showdown between Priest Holmes and Jamal Lewis, but returner Dante Hall seized the spotlight.
Honored as the AFC's best special teams player for the last two weeks, Hall returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter to lift the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs to a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Hall became the first player in NFL history to return a kick for a touchdown in three straight games. He took a kickoff 100 yards for a score two weeks ago against Pittsburgh and returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown last week at Houston.
"So many people who have watched us play since Dante has been with us knows it only takes one," said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, who earned his 100th win. "Last week against Houston, it was a punt return, today it was a kickoff. That's credit to Dante and the kids on special teams."
The Ravens (2-2) had tied the game, 10-10, on a one-yard touchdown run by Lewis with 5:27 left in the fourth quarter.
But Hall fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 3, trailed behind his four blockers up the middle of the field, eluded a diving tackle by James Trapp at the Kansas City 35, and raced untouched from there into the end zone.
"The blocking was just unbelievable," Hall said. "I started right and cut left, my eyes got so big when I saw that hole. I have to thank my man (Wade) Richey for finally giving us a kick to work with."
The 5-8 speedster had just 24 yards on his previous two kick returns and minus-4 yards on his only punt return.
"We contained him very, very well right up until the end," said Ravens coach Brian Billick. "That's the dangerous thing about a great player like that. We stacked two guys up in the same lane on the last one and it caught us at a crucial time."
The Chiefs (4-0) are off to their first 4-0 start since 1996 and will host unbeaten Denver next week in a battle for sole possession of first place in the AFC West.
Lewis won the battle of the backs, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Holmes, who left Baltimore to sign with Kansas City and won the rushing title in 2001, gained 90 yards on 22 carries. Lewis caught four passes for 44 yards. Holmes also had four receptions for just 13 yards.
"I think Jamal and I took all of the attention and all of the hype, but we took it in stride," Holmes said.
But the difference was the kick return by Hall and four turnovers by the Ravens, including three interceptions by rookie quarterback Kyle Boller. Cornerback Dexter McCleon had two of the interceptions, including the one that sealed the win at the Kansas City 2 with 29 seconds left.
The Ravens also had a turnover on special teams when Ed Reed fumbled a punt and Kansas City's Marc Boerigter recovered it at the Baltimore 39 with 2:21 left.
The Ravens got the ball back at their 17 with 1:52 left. They reached the Kansas City 44 with the help of a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty and three completions by Boller for 23 yards. But with 36 seconds left, Boller heaved a long pass down the left sideline for tight end Todd Heap, but McCleon made the interception at the Kansas City 2.
"He (McCleon) came over from the back side and I didn't see him," said Boller, who was 15-of-26 for 140 yards and was sacked three times. "I just went over the top and he made the play."
"I guess they thought their chances with a 6-5 tight end against a 5-10 corner, their chances were better," McCleon said. "It worked against them today."
After being held to just 24 yards on 11 carries in the first half, Lewis had 91 yards on 15 carries in the second half. In Baltimore's game-tying nine-play, 44-yard touchdown drive, Lewis gained 32 yards on six carries.
"We played more smashmouth in the second half," Lewis said. "We just turned the ball over too much. When you have four turnovers, you're not going to beat most teams."
Lewis was the starter and Holmes the backup on Baltimore's 2000 Super Bowl championship team. Holmes signed as a free agent with Kansas City to become a feature back and won the rushing title in 2001. Last season, he led NFL backs in all-purpose yards despite missing two games.
On Sunday, Holmes had 48 yards on 12 carries in the first half and 42 yards on 10 carries in the second half.
"It was very difficult out there," Holmes said. "They got (linebacker) Ray (Lewis) and they do a good job with their scheme to keep him available, and he was following me everywhere I went."
Holmes rushed for 25 yards on three carries to set up a 46-yard field goal by Morten Andersen with 3:23 left in the second quarter.
After being held to five first downs in the first half, the Ravens opened the second half with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that resulted in a game-tying 29-yard field goal by Matt Stover. However, the field goal came after a one-yard touchdown run by Lewis was nullified by a holding call.
Kansas City responded with a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that featured two runs by Holmes for 18 yards and a 36-yard gain by receiver Johnnie Morton. On a 2nd-and-goal at the 1, Trent Green threw a touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens reached the Kansas City 23, but Boller lofted a pass in the end zone that was picked off by McCleon.
