The AFC West is officially a three-horse race. Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs pushed their way into the division race with a 23-20 win on the road in Week 7 against the San Diego Chargers. Kansas City got back to .500 with the win, and is just 1½ games behind rival San Diego for second place.
Chiefs vs. Chargers final score: 3 things we learned from Kansas City’s last-minute win
Alex Smith led the Chiefs down the field late, leading to a game-winning field goal against the rival Chargers.
Kevork Djansezian
Kansas City trailed 14-10 at the half before tacking on a field goal in the third quarter. Smith led an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that gave Kansas City a 20-14 lead and burned more than seven minutes off the clock, always a key against Philip Rivers and the Chargers. The Chargers managed a pair of field goal drives to tie the game, but the real excitement came after the two-minute warning. Tied at 20-20, a penalty put the Chiefs on their own 8-yard line. Smith led a drive to the Chargers' 30-yard line, and kicker Cairo Santos did the rest, squeaking a 48-yard attempt through the uprights.
San Diego had a brief chance after that, but Rivers threw an interception on a deep shot to end the game.
Here’s what we learned in this one:
1) The AFC West race looks interesting. The Chargers and Broncos remain atop the division. At 5-2, San Diego will either be on top or a half-game behind Denver depending on how the 4-1 Broncos fare on Sunday night. The Chiefs aren't far behind at 3-3, and their schedule favors them over the next three weeks with home games against the Rams and Jets and a road trip to Buffalo. Denver and San Diego play next Thursday.
2) Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles are enough for the Chiefs' offense. Smith finished the game with 221 yards and a key touchdown to his fullback in the fourth quarter. Charles took a shot from the Chargers in the end zone, but he still managed to cross the goal line, finishing the day with 95 rushing yards and another 12 yards through the air.
3) The Chargers' defense is passable, but still a liability. Holding the Chiefs to 23 points is nothing to sneeze at, but the Chargers couldn't come up with a crucial stop on the drive that ended with Kansas City's game-winning field goal. They lost Brandon Flowers (concussion), and were playing without Jason Verrett. Flowers seems unlikely to play Thursday, which doesn't bode well for a date with Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
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