Derrick Thomas’ 10 best performances with the Kansas City Chiefs

October 7, 1990 – Chiefs at Colts

In one of the more bizarre twists of an otherwise solid 1990 season which saw Kansas City go 11-5, Kansas City dropped a Week 5 matchup to the 1-3 Colts who would go on to finish the season 7-9 while KC would find itself in the playoffs.

What is even more bizarre is the way it happened. Kansas City’s defense exploited the inferior offensive talent of Indianapolis by sacking Colt QB Jack Trudeau seven times while holding him to 1 touchdown. Trudeau threw two interceptions, and the Chiefs forced three fumbles of the Indy offense. In the effort, a young Derrick Thomas did it all for the Chiefs, sacking Trudeau three times and otherwise limiting the effectiveness of the offense for the entire game.

This game was ugly, though. Steve DeBerg one-upped the Colts’ output by registering one touchdown and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble and completed only 40 percent of his passes.

Albert Bentley, the Colts running back, would prove to be the difference, scoring the team’s only two touchdowns. This was the first in a long line of tough losses at the hands of the Colts, as Kansas City would go on to lose nine of the next 10 against Indy over the next 17 seasons.

At least Thomas was the reason K.C. was in a position to win this game late. (Plus, now we have Patrick Mahomes.)