Holcomb's day goes south after overthrown pass

KANSAS CITY, MO. - Vikings quarterback Kelly Holcomb was playing pretty darn well through his ninth pass of Sunday's 13-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

He was 7-for-9 for 103 yards and was leading 10-3, which isn't bad considering he hadn't played a regular-season game since Jan. 1, 2006, and was standing inside Arrowhead Stadium, where visiting teams were an NFL-worst 102-34 since 1990.

Then came Holcomb's 10th pass. It was a play the Vikings had worked on all week in practice. A play that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell knew would succeed once the Chiefs defense had gotten a good dose of Adrian Peterson's aggressive running style.

"I was expecting a touchdown as soon as the ball was snapped," said receiver Robert Ferguson, who was lined up wide left on the play. "I saw the safeties come down in the box, and I knew the middle of the field was open."

It was wide open.

"I don't think I'll ever be that wide open again," Ferguson said. "But that's the way it goes."

Holcomb spotted Ferguson, but that's about when Holcomb finally started to look like a guy who hadn't played a game since the 2005 season finale. After riding the bench in Buffalo in 2006, Holcomb was traded to the Eagles and Vikings in a five-month period leading up to this season.

Holcomb overthrew Ferguson badly, which was unfortunate because Ferguson would have walked into the end zone on second-and-7 from the Chiefs 30-yard line with 34 seconds left in the half. The Vikings botched the final two plays of the half, both of which resulted in Holcomb being sacked.

Ferguson said he thinks the wind might have affected the pass. Holcomb said no way.

"I know it was windy in the first half," Holcomb said, "but [I've] got to make that play."

Holcomb arrived before the final preseason game in Dallas and spent the first two weeks of the season as the No. 3 quarterback. He was elevated to starter ahead of Brooks Bollinger after Tarvaris Jackson was unable to play because of a groin injury.

Holcomb completed 14 of 28 passes for 165 yards, meaning he was 7-for-18 for 62 yards after the wild throw to Ferguson. He didn't turn the ball over, but he also didn't appear completely comfortable. He held the ball longer than he should have, which coach Brad Childress said contributed to Holcomb being sacked five times.

"You assess your play as a quarterback with wins and losses," said Holcomb, who is 8-15 as a starter. "Obviously we lost, so it wasn't what we wanted."

The Vikings, who didn't announce Holcomb as the starter until right before kickoff, offered no information on who will start next week against the Packers.

"I'm far from making a decision like that on a Sunday after emotions from a game," Childress said.

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com