Bonita Vista Middle School alum Alex Smith’s stock had to rise considerably with the NFL Kansas City Chiefs following the Chiefs’ dramatic 30-27 overtime victory against the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in a key AFC West contest on NBC-TV’s national broadcast of “Sunday Night Football” on Nov. 27.
The win kept Kansas City (8-3) within one game of the division-leading Oakland Raiders (9-2) and promoted the Chiefs to the No. 1 wild card slot among AFC teams. Denver fell to 7-4 in the AFC West standings.
The win put Smith, the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick in 2005, back into the national spotlight.
Smith’s role has been relegated to that of “game manager” by many network television analysts. But after the former Helix High School standout led his team to the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion to send the game into overtime, then led his team to game-tying and game-winning field goals in overtime, NBC-TV play-by-play announcer Mike Tiricio corrected himself and said Smith was no longer just a “game manager” but a “game winner.”
“We feel fortunate,” Smith said in a post-game interview. “We took advantage of the opportunities that were presented to us.”
Smith and the Chiefs entered Sunday night’s primetime game coming off a disappointing 19-17 home field loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the previous week. In that game, Smith threw for 261 yards, scored one rushing touchdown, passed for one touchdown and one interception in the end zone.
Red alert
Kansas City took a 9-0 lead on Denver courtesy of a safety when Chiefs defensive star Justin Houston sacked Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian and Tyreek Hill then returned the free kick 86 yards for a touchdown.
But the Chiefs had to fight an uphill battle from there against a punishing Denver defense.
The Broncos took a 10-9 lead on a 33-yard field goal by Brandon McManus and six-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to Jordan Taylor.
The Chiefs responded with a three-yard touchdown run by Hill only to have Siemian connect with Emmanuel Sanders on a 35-yard touchdown pass to put the hosts back on top 17-16.
Denver took a late 24-16 lead when Siemian hooked up with Bennie Fowler on a 76-yard TD completion.
The finish was among the most exciting this season on the “Sunday Night Football” broadcast.
Down by eight points with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Smith stitched together a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive to pull his team to within two points on the scoreboard.
Smith threw a clutch 10-yard pass to Hill on fourth down to extend the Kansas City drive. Smith then threw a three-yard scoring pass to Hill that required a video review to confirm the touchdown. Initially, the ball was placed at the one-yard line with one second to play. However, a video review showed that as Hill’s leg came down he completed the catch in the end zone.
The officials reversed their call on the field and the Chiefs were granted the touchdown to narrow the score to 24-22 with 12 seconds to play. Smith then completed the eight-point rally by taking the snap and running to his right before tossing the two-point conversion pass to Demetrius Harris.
Tied 24-24, Denver received the ball first in overtime and marched down the field to take the lead on a 44-yard field goal by McManus. Down 27-24, Smith then marched the Chiefs the other way to secure a 37-yard field goal by Cairo Santos to extend the game.
The Broncos received the kick-off and reached midfield before facing a crucial fourth-down decision. Denver coach Gary Kubiak elected to attempt a 62-yard field goal. However, the try by McManus was wide left, giving Smith and the Chiefs the ball at their opponent’s 48-yard line with 1:03 to play in the 15-minute overtime period.
Smith promptly made two completions to get his team into field goal range.
Kansas City coach Andy Reid called time out with five seconds to play to set up a potential game-winning 34-yard field goal attempt.
The outcome of the game came down to the last play. If Santos made the field goal attempt, the Chiefs would win; if Santos missed, the game would end in a tie.
Santos hit the ball and it began veering to the left. The ball hit the upright and bounded to the right. Instead of falling back to the field, the ball traveled behind the right upright to complete the field goal attempt.
The game-winning kick simply added more drama to the tense ending of the game.
“In a division like this that is so competitive, for us to get the win was sweet,” Smith said.
Smith completed 26 of 44 attempts for 220 yards and one touchdown. He has passed for 2,297 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2016.
Siemian completed 20 of 34 attempts for 368 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s loss.
Justin Houston led the Chiefs defense with 10 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble. Von Miller, the MVP of Super Bowl 50, paced the Broncos with nine tackles and three sacks.
Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 101 yards for the Chiefs. In an unusual touchdown trifecta, Hill caught a touchdown pass, scored a rushing touchdown and ran back a free kick 86 yards for a touchdown.
The Chiefs out-lasted the Broncos despite finishing with 273 net offensive yards to Denver’s 464 net offensive yards. The hosts held the visitors to just 83 net rushing yards in the game.
The old American Football League rivals rematch Christmas night in Kansas City in what looms as another critical contest for both teams.
Extra points
The Raiders held onto first place in the AFC West by out-dueling quarterback Cam Newton and the Super Bowl runner-up Carolina Panthers, 35-32, on a 23-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski with 1:45 to play in regulation.
Newton passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Panthers fell to 4-7 on the season. Derek Carr passed for two touchdowns and Khalil Mack scored on a six-yard interception return to lead the Raiders, who are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
The Chargers kept their faint playoff hopes alive by defeating the host Houston Texans 21-13. Quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns — one each to Dontrelle Inman, Tyrell Williams and rookie tight end Hunter Henry.
The Chargers, who have won four of their last six games, improved to 5-6 on the season and, though they may have little chance of winning the AFC West title, they could very well determine who wins the division with home games remaining against Oakland (Dec. 18) and Kansas City (Jan. 1).
The Chiefs currently have the best wild-card record, followed by the Miami Dolphins (7-4), Denver, Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), Buffalo Bills (6-5), Tennessee Titans (6-6), Indianapolis Colts (5-6) and Chargers.
Seven teams sit ahead of the Chargers in the wild-card race. A lot would have to happen for the Chargers to make the playoffs, though the Bolts still remain mathematically in the playoff hunt.
Miami has won its last six games while Oakland has won five in a row.
The four division winners, plus two wild-card teams qualify for the NFL playoffs in each conference.
New England (9-2) leads the AFC East while the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) lead the AFC North and Houston (6-5) leads the AFC South.
The Dallas Cowboys (10-1) lead the rugged NFC East while the Detroit Lions (7-4) lead the NFC North, the Seattle Seahawks (7-3-1) lead the NFC West and the Atlanta Falcons (7-4) lead the NFC South.
Dallas and Detroit both won their traditional Thanksgiving Day games in front of national television audiences. Dallas, braced by the sensational rookie duo of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, has the best record in the NFL.
NFL STAR WATCH
It would seem a somewhat rare occurrence that four individuals from the Chula Vista region — three players and one coach —are currently involved in the National Football League, this country’s marquee sporting and entertainment enterprise.
Two of them — Mater Dei Catholic High School alumnus Jason Myers (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Eastlake High School graduate Tony Jefferson (Arizona Cardinals) — attended east side Chula Vista high schools.
They join Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith (Bonita Vista Middle School) and Chicago head coach John Fox (Castle Park High School/Southwestern College) as local pro football royalty.
Smith, who grew up in Bonita, won a San Diego Section championship while attending Helix High School and later earned the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Utah, returns for his fourth year to lead the Chiefs at quarterback.
Jefferson, who attended the University of Oklahoma after leading the Titans to the 2009 CIF Division I title, enters his fourth season with the Cardinals as a defensive back.
Myers, who attended Marist College in New York after earning honors with the Crusaders as the South Bay League Kicker of the Year as a junior and Mesa League Kicker of the Year as a senior, is in his second year as the Jaguars’ place-kicker.
Fox is pacing the sidelines for the second year as Bears head coach after previously serving as head coach of the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Fox led the Panthers to a runner-up finish in the 2004 Super Bowl and led the Broncos to a runner-up finish in the 2014 Super Bowl.
The Star-News will chart their progress throughout the season.
NFL and San Diego Chargers to host ?NFL punt, pass & kick team championships
Competition takes place Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium
Young football fans will compete in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick team championships on Sunday, Dec.4, at Qualcomm Stadium prior to the Chargers game against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The NFL Punt, Pass & Kick qualifiers includes youth, ages 6-15, from California and Hawaii.
Competition in five age divisions for both boys and girls begins at 10:45 a.m. with the top scorer in each group crowned team champion and eligible for the national championships, which will be held at the 2017 Pro Bowl game.
All participants launch one punt, one pass and one kick with scores based on distance and accuracy (in feet). The top four scorers in each age group from across the country will qualify as national finalists.
NFL Punt, Pass & Kick, which began in 1961, is the nation’s largest grassroots sports skills competition. NFL stars, including Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks TROY AIKMAN and DAN MARINO, competed in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick program as youngsters.
WHEN: 10:45 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 4
WHERE: Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, California
CONTACTS: Tim McMillen, tmacfootball@gmail.com
Kathleen Patterson, kpatterson@usafootball.com
The following is a list of participants in the San Diego Chargers Punt, Pass & Kick Team Championships:
| Girls 6-7 | Boys 6-7 |
| Kayla Benson – Hemet, Calif. | Brendan Stahl – Highland, Calif. |
| Rebecca Gonzalez – San Diego, Calif. | Elijah Johnson – Santa Ana, Calif. |
| Dylan Hendricks – Hawi, Hawaii | Elijah Heaukulani – Honaunau, Hawaii |
| Angel Kling – Hemet, Calif. | Jordan Schrom – San Diego, Calif. |
| Girls 8-9 | Boys 8-9 |
| Keyera Cameron – Hemet, Calif. | Anthony Newton – Blythe, Calif. |
| Jenni Yolander – San Clemente, Calif. | Chance Hing – Honaunau, Hawaii |
| Leahi Kaupu – Naaleha, Hawaii | Talan Speir – Hemet, Calif. |
| Presley Jones – Laguna Beach, Calif. | Mauel Gonzalez – San Diego, Calif. |
| Girls 10-11 | Boys 10-11 |
| Vivi Spitz – Santa Ana, Calif. | Jacob Elias |
| Chloe Payne – Hemet, Calif. | Kevin Palmer – Yucaipa, Calif. |
| Gabrielle Ley – El Cajon, Calif. | Aston Edwards – Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. |
| Tylana Abraham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii | Landon Dacquel-Shimabukuro – Kailua-Kong, Hawaii |
| Girls 12-13 | Boys 12-13 |
| Jordan Reese – Yucaipa, Calif. | Savigon Yokley – El Cajon, Calif. |
| Natalie Sims – El Cajon, Calif. | Ryan Shubert – Hemet, Calif. |
| Jayla Medieros – Honaunau, Hawaii | Kapana Kane-Kanae – Keaau, Hawaii |
| Ella Will – Dana Point, Calif. | Frankie Gonzalez – Santa Ana, Calif. |
| Girls 14-15 | Boys 14-15 |
| Kendall DeLaVega – Valencia, Calif. | Cole Thompson – San Clemente, Calif. |
| Naialyn Ahyo-Ledo – Hilo, Hawaii | Jason Alani – Honaunau, Hawaii |
| Jette Mohler – Encinitas, Calif. | Kristian Prifti – Santee, Calif. |
