Kansas City Chiefs: Ugly wins still count!

Dec 6, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) calls a play against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

If I had to list one thing that I’m the most excited about it’s that the Andy Reid / Alex Smith passing offense seems to be finding it’s groove. Don’t get me wrong, they’re never going to be a prolific passing offense that lights up the stat sheet week in and week out, but there seems to be a consistent efficiency developing. When KC gives Smith a little bit of pass protection, good things usually happen.

I’m fine with Smith taking off and running when things break down instead of chucking one up for grabs. He’s proven to be productive with his legs and his zero interceptions compared to Derek Carr’s three was the difference in that game.

While it’s easy to use the “Captain Checkdown” label on Smith, it isn’t really a fair label of how Smith has been playing during the current winning streak. In fact, when you look at Smith’s play these past two games in terms of the Chiefs “winning ugly” he’s had a lot more to do with the winning part than the ugly. During the current six game winning streak Smith has the following numbers:

66.9% completions
211.7 yards per game
7.7 yards per attempt
8 touchdowns
0 interceptions
207 rushing yards
2 rushing TDs

Those are good numbers. I know 211 yards per game and eight passing touchdowns over six games isn’t all that impressive in today’s NFL, but when you are completing about 67 percent of your passes at 7.7 yards per attempt and don’t ever turn the ball over I think any team in the NFL would be happy with that.

So while Smith has deserved his fair share of the blame for his play in some of KC’s loses he deserves the praise for these wins. While the rest of the team has been ugly at times, Smith has been one of the stable forces that has helped carry the team to a win.

Next: Has the defense been winning ugly?