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Denver
Alex Smith will always be able to say he outplayed Peyton Manning, the day when the opposing quarterback became the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards.
How much credit Smith deserves for that personal triumph is subject to some debate, with Utah and BYU alumni among the stars of Kansas City's secondary and Manning's own performance factoring in the discussion of a game that became historic mostly for the wrong reasons.
The Chiefs' locker room was full of respect for Manning after Sunday's 29-13 victory at Sports Authority Field, with cornerback Marcus Peters saying only that he was proud to have picked off a legend's pass. Yet as he watched his teammates catch nearly as many of Manning's passes as the Broncos did, not even Smith ever reached the point of wishing better results for his struggling friend in orange.
"They're the Denver Broncos," said Smith, the former Ute quarterback. "I'm not feeling sorry for them, by any means — not one of them. Nope."
Smith finished with a nice-looking stat line, completing 17 of 31 passes for 204 yards. Those numbers were boosted by an 80-yard touchdown that featured mostly the running of Charcandrick West after the catch, although it was a sweet throw. Yet the story of this game was told in the middle of the game when the Broncos pressured Smith and he went 1 of 11 — with no interceptions. So even that stretch was better than anything Manning produced.
"I had a bad game, and I'm not sure what you can say about that," Manning said. "Whether it was because of my injuries or poor decision-making, I tend to lean on the poor decision-making and some bad throws."
Manning entered the game needing only a 3-yard completion to top Brett Favre's career yardage record, but he couldn't even accomplish that before throwing an interception. His second attempt made history via Ronnie Hillman's 4-yard reception, but the rest of Manning's day became a disaster. He finished 5 of 20 for 35 yards with a 0.0 passer rating, making Broncos coach Gary Kubiak blame himself for letting Manning play, under the medical circumstances.
The Chiefs' defense was relentless, and Smith appreciated the effort. "To be sitting there watching on the sidelines was really impressive," he said. "Maybe one of the best defensive performances in a long time."
Ex-Ute cornerback Sean Smith produced one of the Chiefs' four interceptions of Manning and tipped a Brock Osweiler pass that teammate Eric Berry intercepted, after Manning was benched due to some combination of injuries and ineffectiveness. Daniel Sorensen, a former BYU safety, played far more than usual in the secondary and delivered a ferocious hit that prevented what would have been Manning's longest completion of the day.
Sorensen's nameplate above his locker was misspelled and his hamstrings were sore after playing more than his usual special-teams role, but he was thrilled to play a role in spoiling Manning's day. "We've got our own goals," he said.
All of the Chiefs could take satisfaction in a third straight victory that gives them genuine playoff hopes in the AFC, following a 1-5 start. Ute coach Kyle Whittingham endorsed Smith to Kansas City's Andy Reid, his former BYU teammate, and the partnership generally has worked well. The Chiefs are 23-18 in their third year together, although that record reflects a drop-off since a 9-0 start in 2013.
Reid's offensive scheme is conservative, and Smith never will produce big numbers. That was especially true Sunday, when it became apparent that field goals would build a sufficient lead. So on a day when Smith topped 23,000 career passing yards — about one-third of Manning's total — the Chiefs kept Manning from breaking another of Favre's records, most wins for a starting quarterback.
Manning remained stuck on 186 victories, while Smith collected his 61st win (with 52 losses). The best part is Smith finally beat the Broncos, in his sixth try as a Chief.
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