Chiefs stay undefeated with comeback
The Kansas City Chief might just be the best team the NFL has to offer. After four weeks, they are the league’s only undefeated team, running their record to 4-0 with a 29-20 win on Monday night against the Washington Redskins at Arrowhead Stadium.
After paling behind 10-0 midway through the first quarter, the Chiefs found their bearings and went to work. Alex Smith, who saw his eventual replacement drafted in Patrick Mahomes II this April, continues to play at an MVP level. Smith hit on 27-of-37 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown while running for another score, lifting his team to an improbable comeback.
Meanwhile, rookie running back Kareem Hunt put up another virtuoso performance, carrying the ball 21 times for 101 yards. At this point, Hunt is the early leader in the clubhouse for NFL Rookie of the Years honors. He has amassed 502 rushing yards, lapping the rest of the field. No other NFL running back has even 400 yards on the ground.
In the air, Travis Kelce was the main star. A week after only notching a single catch in a 24-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, it was Kelce who dismantled an injury-riddled Washington secondary. The two-time Pro Bowler caught seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, leading the Chiefs in both receptions and yardage on the night.
Ultimately, the game came down to the right foot of rookie kicker Harrison Butler, who was signed earlier this week off the Carolina Panthers practice squad. Butker, 22, holds the all-time record for points scored with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and he showed why in his NFL debut. After missing his first field goal attempt from 46 yards right before halftime, Butker made a pair of kicks in the second half before drilling a 43-yard game-winner with four seconds remaining.
When the smoke cleared, Kansas City was left the victor, dropping a game Redskins team to 2-2. The Chiefs now going into the second quarter of the season as the top seed in the AFC, holding a one-game lead on both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills, along with the Western-rival Denver Broncos. However, they also have two-game leads on the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders, teams all expected to play well down the stretch.
Kansas City isn’t perfect; it takes too many penalties and injuries are beginning to mount (although only Eric Berry and Spencer Ware are long-term), but no team is without flaws. Right now, the Chiefs are the best team going, and while there is ample time for that to change, there’s no reason to believe this team is going to falter.
