The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football to remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL. The Chiefs found themselves down by double digits early, but were able to fight back and win by a final score of 29-20, thanks in large part to quarterback Alex Smith. Here are the biggest takeaways from the game.
Week Four Kansas City Chiefs Takeaways
Alex Smith is a Legit MVP Candidate
Say what you want about Alex Smith’s past or his tendency to check the ball down, but you cannot deny the fact that Smith has to be in the discussion for NFL MVP after a quarter of the season. Smith has thrown eight touchdowns for 1,067 yards through four games. On top of that, Smith has not thrown an interception and is completing 76 percent of his passes. Those numbers are simply outstanding.
There will be games where Smith falters. And if he does, all of the MVP talk will go out the window. But tonight, on the largest stage of the weekend, Smith put the team on his back and carried them to a victory against one of the best defenses in the league.
The Chiefs Are Hurting
Coming in to the game, the Chiefs were already down their starting center, Mitch Morse. Early in the game tonight, they lost starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The loss of the two starters was noticeable as the Redskins defensive line was able to collapse the pocket multiple times when Smith dropped back to pass.
The early reports are that Morse will miss another week or two while Duvernay-Tardif is likely to miss a few weeks, unless the MRI comes back worse than expected. The Chiefs have to be prepared to go into a couple of tough games with a backup interior line, which can be a problem against teams like the Houston Texans next week.
This Chiefs Team Is Resilient
The Chiefs fell behind quickly, finding themselves in a 10-0 hole in the first quarter. This was the second time the Chiefs were down ten and found a way to win the game. Despite the final score of 29-20, this game was essentially won on a last second field goal. The Redskins defense was swarming the Chiefs’ offense tonight and the Redskins’ offense was moving the ball at will, averaging over seven yards per play through the fourth quarter. If not for a dropped Josh Doctson pass in the end zone, the Chiefs very well could have been 3-1 tonight.
After sputtering through a lot of the first half, the offense scored on every one of their possessions in the second half. This Chiefs squad found a way to win against a good Redskins team and can now set their sights on Sunday Night Football as they visit the Texans in week five. Doing so as the NFL’s lone unbeaten team is an impressive accomplishment, but there’s much work to be done between now and the end of the regular season.
