Hunt, Smith shine again
CHIEFS 27, EAGLES 20 Kansas City remains unbeaten as rookie scores 2 more TDs
KANSAS CITY, MO.» Alex Smith was bruised and battered, his shoulder ailing from where a 300-pound defensive lineman landed on him and his ribs feeling the effects of every hit delivered by the Eagles.
But no amount of pain could wipe the smile from his face.
The Chiefs quarterback followed a sizzling season opener against New England by throwing for 251 yards and a score on Sunday. He also used his feet to scramble to two critical first downs that helped Kansas City hold off Philadelphia 27-20 in a game that came down to the final play.
“All week I was preparing for it,” Smith said of the Eagles’ relentless front, which managed to drop him four times. “You play enough snaps, they’re going to get home occasionally. It’s important not to let them rattle you, not to speed up your time clock, stay disciplined back there.
“They want you to speed up,” he added. “They want you to make a mistake.”
He made hardly any for the second straight week.
Smith had help, though. Travis Kelce had eight catches for 103 yards and a somersaulting go-ahead TD, and Kareem Hunt followed his record-breaking rookie debut with 81 yards and two TDs on the ground.
The defense, led by Chris Jones , came up with six sacks and two turnovers.
“I just want to do what I can to help this defense,” said Jones, who had three sacks and an interception off a batted pass. “Playing quarterback, tight end, catching interceptions, playing DB, whatever I’ve got to do to help the team win.”
The Chiefs (2-0) led 27-13 before Carson Wentz hit Nelson Agholor with 14 seconds left, and Trey Burton jumped on the onside kick a few seconds later to give the Eagles (1-1) one last chance. Wentz unloaded from just inside the 50-yard line, but his pass bounced off the hands of a couple of defenders and fell incomplete as time expired.
“However the game plays out, we try to find a way to win at the end, and mistakes obviously cost us today,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said.