Joe Montana has disappointed a lot of people in his illustrious career.
This time, it's much of the state of Texas.Montana, obtained to take the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl, moved them within one step of that goal Sunday by leading the Chiefs to a 28-20 win over the Houston Oilers. That ended a dream deep in the heart of many Texans - a Houston-Dallas Super Bowl.
It was vintage Montana - two fourth-quarter touchdowns 54 seconds apart - that turned Kansas City's 13-7 deficit into a 21-13 lead.
In fact, 212 of Montana's 299 passing yards came after intermission and the Chiefs scored 21 of their 28 points in the final period to send them on to Buffalo for their first AFC title game appearance in 24 years.
"Every time we're down and Joe's at quarterback, we feel like we're going to come back and win the game," said Willie Davis, who atoned for dropping a sure TD pass in the first half with a circus catch of an 18-yarder in the fourth quarter.
"You never see Joe get rattled."
But it wasn't just Joe.
The Kansas City defense, which played most of the game with six defensive backs against the run-and-shoot, tied a playoff record by sacking Warren Moon nine times. Despite that "dime" alignment, they held Gary Brown, who had 1,002 yards in eight games, to just 17 yards in 11 carries.
Still, midway through the fourth quarter, it still looked like the Oilers were in position to win their 12th straight game and move to the AFC title game after six straight first- orsecond-round eliminations.
They led 10-0 at halftime on a 49-yard field goal by Al Del Greco and a 2-yard TD run by Brown. Montana's 7-yard touchdown pass to Keith Cash on Kansas City's first second-half possession cut it to 10-7.
But 3:24 into the fourth quarter, the game seemed to turn Houston's way when Terry Hoage picked off an underthrown Montana pass and returned it 12 yards to the Kansas City 25. Two plays later, it was third and one at the 16 when Bennie Thompson blitzed from his safety position and threw Moon for a 9-yard loss.
The Oilers had to settle for Del Greco's 43-yard field goal.
"I thought the interception had turned the game in our favor," said Buddy Ryan, the Oilers' defensive coordinator who seemed to be in a chess match all day with Montana.
"It turned out it didn't."
In fact, the game turned right there for the Chiefs.
It took Montana just three plays to get the Chiefs in the end zone to give them their first lead of the game at 14-13. The first was a 20-yard pass to Cash; the second a 38-yard gain when Cris Dishman was called for interference when he hauled down Davis, the third an 11-yard TD to J.J. Birden.
On the first play after the kickoff, Derrick Thomas burst through and jarred the ball loose from Moon and Dan Saleaumua fell on it at the Oilers' 12. Two plays later, after Montana had been sacked by William Fuller, he found Davis, who made a circus catch from 18 yards out and it was 21-13.
Moon, who finished 32 of 43 for 306 yards, led the Oilers on a 79-yard scoring drive capped by a 7-yard TD pass to Ernest Givins with 3:35 left.
But Montana, who now has seven touchdowns in fourth quarters in his last two appearances against Ryan defenses, brought the Chiefs right back.
The key play was a 41-yard completion to Cash that was tipped by Fuller.
The clincher was Marcus Allen's 21-yard TD run.
Afterward, the Chiefs let loose some of the resentment that showed only after Cash's touchdown - when he threw the ball directly at a poster bearing Ryan's image.
"They showed us no respect and we shocked them," said defensive end Neil Smith. "They were talking about what they had to go to Buffalo to do. What motivated our defense is that everyone was talking about their defense."
For Houston, it was a an unhappy end to a tumultuous season that saw them start 1-4 and finish 12-4. It also included an open feud between Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride; the suicide of defensive lineman Jeff Alm and a controversy set off when offensive tackle David Williams missed a game when his wife gave birth.
"There's a lot of disappointment right now," said Moon, who may have played his last game as an Oiler. "We had a great game plan. They didn't do anything we didn't expect. But when they stopped our running game, it freed them up to rush the passer."
And how.
Thompson, Joe Phillips, Albert Lewis and Derrick Thomas each had two sacks and Neil Smith got the other. Phillips and Saleaumua in the middle of the line shut down Gary Brown.
And all that got the ball into the right hands - Joe Montana's.
"I'm just happy to have the opportunity to be in this position again," said Montana, who won four Super Bowls and was the game's MVP three times in his 14 years in San Francisco.
Kansas City is even happier to have him.