Rookie’s kick helps K.C. stay unbeaten
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After Harrison Butker missed the first field-goal attempt of his NFL career, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid walked over to the rookie and prepared to instill a little bit of confidence.
“He said, ‘I got it. I got it. I was just off a tad,’ ” Reid recalled of their brief exchange. “He kind of gives you that feeling that everything’s going to be OK.” Better than just “OK.” Butker responded to his firsthalf miss Monday night by drilling three field goals in the second half, the last a go-ahead 43-yarder with four seconds remaining that gave Kansas City the lead in an eventual 29-20 win over Washington.
“I didn’t have butterflies. I felt confident,” said Butker, who was claimed off the Carolina practice squad to replace injured kicker Cairo Santos. “I knew it was going to come down to a field goal. I felt pretty calm. I was excited; I wasn’t nervous.”
The Chiefs (4-0) put an exclamation point on the win when linebacker Justin Houston picked up a fumble as the visitors (3-2) were trying to keep the game alive and returned it for a game-ending touchdown.
The last time there was only one unbeaten team through the first four weeks of the season was 2010, when the Chiefs were the final team standing. They won the AFC West that season.
“I mean, it’s the NFL. It’s any given Sunday for a reason,” said Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, who had seven catches for 111 yards and a score. “All these teams are scheming everybody up. It’s a testament to this team for especially not only being 4-0, but the way we’ve won.”
Alex Smith threw for 293 yards with touchdowns on the ground and through the air, and his 37-yard strike to Albert Wilson on a broken play set up Butker’s go-ahead kick. Kareem Hunt added 101 yards on the ground for the rookie’s fourth straight 100-yard effort.
“Winning is more meaningful,” Hunt said. “I could have 50 yards as long as we win.”
Kirk Cousins had 220 yards passing and two touchdowns for Washington, but his throw to the end zone with 50 seconds left couldn’t be reeled in by Josh Doctson and forced Washington to kick a field goal to tie it 20-20.
That missed opportunity came back to haunt Washington less than a minute later.
“We’ll go back and try to look at different plays throughout the game that could have made a big difference,” Cousins said. “Felt like we had a chance there and didn’t get it done.”
Washington stunned the Chiefs early when Cousins found Terrelle Pryor over cornerback Marcus Peters (McClymonds-Oakland) for a 44-yard touchdown pass, then drove to the goal line before settling for a field goal.
The Chiefs fought their way back into the game.
Smith started to find his tight end down the seam, then hit Kelce with a 17-yard TD pass late in the first half. The two connected again on third down shortly after the break, and Smith scored a few plays later on a keeper.
Washington needed less than two minutes to answer: Cousins’ 69-yard pass to Vernon Davis set up a short throw to Ryan Grant, who also beat Peters, for a TD and a 17-14 lead.
But that’s when injuries struck: Washington lost cornerbacks Josh Norman, Montae Nicholson, Kendall Fuller and Quinton Dunbar, along with safety Deshazor Everett, and in the fourth quarter had four available defensive backs.