Smith has brought 5-0 K.C. up to his level
KANSAS CITY, MO. By almost any measure, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is having the best season of his career. It’s the best season of anybody in the league this year, too.
He was 29 of 37 for 324 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions in Sunday night’s 42-34 victory over the Houston Texans, which kept Kansas City as the NFL’s lone unbeaten team. That was good for a 130.2 passer rating, his sixth straight regular season game with 100.0 or better.
That night followed a fourtouchdown performance in the season opener against the New England Patriots. His 11 TDs on the season have him in a tie for third best in the league.
Smith also ranks third in passing yards, ahead of Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. He ranks first in completion percentage at 76.6, more than five points better than Josh McCown in second. And he ranks first in yards per attempt at 8.80, topping second-place Tom Brady, even though Smith has been saddled with a dink-and-dunk reputation as a game manager.
Oh, and he’s run for more than 100 yards and another touchdown during the Chiefs’ 5-0 start.
“He’s really good at extending plays,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said. “I’m not sure what he rushed for, but he ran for a lot of yards. He’s a great player. He’s playing at a high level right now.”
The Chiefs are playing at a high level because of him.
This is the third time in franchise history the Chiefs have won their first five games, and the win in Houston was their ninth consecutive on the road, matching the franchise record set in 1966-67.
Since his arrival in a 2013 trade, Smith has helped the Chiefs piece together a win streak of at least five games during each season.
“Alex is playing similar to how he’s played before. The results are a bit different,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said.