KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Thanks to Dante Hall, the Kansas City Chiefs are 5-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The only player to return kicks for touchdowns in three consecutive weeks, Hall did it again, scoring on an electrifying 93-yard punt return with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter to lead the Chiefs to a thrilling 24-23 victory over the Denver Broncos in a battle of unbeaten AFC West rivals.
The Chiefs have plenty of weapons on offense with Priest Holmes, Trent Green and Tony Gonzalez, but Hall has inflicted the most damage on opponents in Kansas City's surprising start.
"He's like Michael Jordan, a human highlight reel," said Chiefs defensive end Eric Hicks of Hall.
On Sunday, he victimized the Broncos with a franchise-best punt return, eclipsing his own 90-yard return last December against Arizona.
Fielding a punt inside his own 5, Hall somehow evaded three defenders, darted to his right, stutter-stepped back toward his end zone and then reversed field and looped around to his left. With a wall of three blockers in front of him, Hall sprinted down the left sideline. With no Broncos player in sight past midfield, Hall jogged into the end zone as the crowd of 78,908 rose to its feet.
"I don't know if I've seen a better punt return than that one," said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil. "I remember saying, "Oh Dante, don't go backwards' when he caught it. He's playing with a lot of confidence and toughness."
"I probably should have called for a fair catch, but I got dumb and dumber and said 'Oh no, I got to get out of this jam,'" said Hall, who has returned seven kicks for touchdowns in his last 10 games.
A Pro Bowler last year for the first time with three touchdowns on returns, Hall has topped that this season with an NFL record-tying four. Seven others have scored four touchdowns on returns, with Rick Upchurch of Denver the last one in 1976.
Hall returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter last week to give the Chiefs a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Two weeks ago, he returned a punt 73 yards for a score in a win at Houston and on September 14, Hall took a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Pittsburgh.
"What can I say? I'm truly blessed right now," Hall said. "It's a combination of my teammates and the downfield blocking and sticking with the play longer than the opponents. This is the most confident I've felt in the NFL. It's kind of bringing me back to my high school days when I was so confident and natural."
The Broncos led by as many as 10 points and had never trailed until Hall broke off his return.
"Where are you going to kick it?" said Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "We thought of kicking it out of bounds."
"We knew what we were up against," said Broncos special teams standout Keith Burns. "You never want a return of that magnitude to happen against you, but it did. He's obviously been great for them."
The game matched two of the league's most explosive offenses, but Denver nearly doubled the Chiefs in total yardage, 469-261
Clinton Portis returned after missing one game with a chest injury and rushed for 141 yards on 23 carries, including a 65-yard touchdown which gave Denver (4-1) a 20-10 lead early in the third quarter. Portis also caught five passes for 79 yards.
Rod Smith also shined for the Broncos, catching eight passes for 131 yards and throwing a 72-yard pass to Portis.
Denver's Jake Plummer was 20-of-38 for 221 yards, including a six-yard touchdown to tight end Dwayne Carswell.
Priest Holmes had 97 yards on 17 carries for the Chiefs and added four catches for 14 yards.
Trent Green completed 15-of-28 for just 128 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
After Portis broke through a big hole down the right side for his 65-yard touchdown 1:30 into the third quarter, the Chiefs responded with a five-play, 77-yard drive. Holmes gained 22 yards on a run and six yards on a shovel pass before Johnnie Morton beat cornerback Delta O'Neal in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown, pulling the Chiefs within 20-17.
A 21-yard field goal by Jason Elam, his third of the game, increased Denver's lead to 23-17 with 13:42 left in the fourth quarter. But the Broncos settled for the field goal after having 1st-and-goal at the Kansas City 4.
"We stuffed the run when we had too," Vermeil said. "First Eric Hicks knocked him (Portis) back and then John Browning made a tackle."
That defensive stand turned out to be huge when Hall bailed out the Chiefs with his return.
Portis caught a 72-yard pass from Smith on a reverse on Denver's second possession. Two plays later, Plummer ran to his left and drilled a six-yard touchdown to Carswell with 5:16 left in the first quarter.
Gary Stills recovered a muffed punt by O'Neal at the Denver 25 to set up Kansas City's first touchdown. Three plays later, Green lofted a ball into the end zone for Gonzalez, who outleaped Nick Ferguson for a 20-yard TD with 3:08 remaining in the quarter.
Elam kicked a 48-yard field goal 2:32 into the second quarter following an interception by O'Neal.
The Chiefs then put together a 13-play, 74-yard drive which lasted more than 6 1/2 minutes and resulted in a game-tying 23-yard field goal by Morten Andersen.
O'Neal thought he had a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown, but a holding penalty on Donnie Spragan negated it. Plummer then connected with Smith three times for 55 yards to set up a 29-yard field goal by Elam with five seconds left in the second quarter, giving the Broncos a 13-10 halftime advantage.
