The Chiefs’ decision to end Priest Holmes’ season means Johnson has a team to call his own, a team he doesn’t have to share with anyone.

“Now Larry gets everything he wished for,” vice president Lynn Stiles said. “He can carry it on his back, and he can be the man he wanted to be.”

He may not be Holmes, the NFL’s single-season touchdown champion and a former NFL rushing leader. But the Chiefs know Johnson is capable in his own right.

“My concerns about Larry are not in him running the football,” coach Dick Vermeil said. “They’re in pass protections and schemes and blitz pickups. He had a mistake or two (against Oakland). But he did it. I think he knows the pressure is on. There’s no reason he can’t do it.”

The Chiefs wouldn’t allow Johnson to be interviewed Wednesday. Vermeil indicated Johnson’s response to the news involving Holmes was calm and restrained.

“He knows he has a lot of responsibility,” Vermeil said. “He knows he’s already carried the load. He knows he can do it. Larry will do fine.”

“We won four straight games without (Holmes) last year. We’ve got to win four straight somewhere along the line this year. Very few teams have that kind of depth. Now we’ve just got to keep him healthy.”