Alex Smith Leads Chiefs Past Michael Vick, Jets 24-10

Every bounce has been going the Kansas City Chiefs' way during their three-game win streak, and nothing has been going right for the New York Jets during their eight-game skid.

That was evident on one bizarre play in the first half of the Chiefs' 24-10 win Sunday.

Alex Smith had a pass near the goal line batted down by Jets linebacker Calvin Pace — but it wound up right in the hands of Anthony Fasano. The tight end, who had been blocked to the ground, simply rolled over into the end zone for a Kansas City touchdown.

It helped spur the Chiefs past Michael Vick and the Jets at wind-whipped Arrowhead Stadium.

Smith finished with 199 yards and two touchdowns passing, and Jamaal Charles ran for another score for the Chiefs (5-3), who won for the fifth time in six games on the same day that former running back Priest Holmes was inducted into their ring of honor.

Starting his first game with the Jets (1-8) in place of Geno Smith, Vick threw for 196 yards and a touchdown. He briefly left early in the fourth quarter after taking a massive hit from the Chiefs' Josh Mauga and walking unsteadily off the field, but returned later in the quarter.

With Smith inactive with a shoulder injury, backup quarterback Matt Simms was forced to play one series. He had been promoted from the practice squad on Saturday.

New York managed to move the ball through gusty conditions, utilizing Percy Harvin in the running and passing games. But the Jets kept misfiring deep in Chiefs territory, settling for a field goal just before halftime and then turning it over on downs at the Kansas City 3 early in the fourth quarter — Vick was injured on that fourth-down play.

The result was another defeat tacked onto their longest losing streak since 1996, when the Jets went 1-15 in their final year under Rich Kotite. The franchise has never lost nine in a row, an embarrassment they'll try to avoid when they play Pittsburgh next Sunday.

The Chiefs set the tempo from the opening drive, moving 81 yards in relative ease. Charles was the workhorse, carrying six times and capping the drive with a 1-yard TD plunge.

After the Chiefs forced three-and-out, it took them just seven more plays to score again — this time on a play that encapsulated the way everything has been going right for Kansas City, and the way everything has been going wrong for New York.

With first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Smith's pass was knocked down by Pace. But the nice defensive play sent the ball right to Fasano, who caught the inadvertent pass on his rump, rolled over the goal line and gave the Chiefs a stunning — if not humorous — touchdown for a 14-0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs' defense was getting after Vick every time he dropped to pass.

Justin Houston, who had 4 1/2 sacks of Vick when he faced the Eagles a year ago, had two more on the elusive quarterback Sunday. Defensive tackle Dontari Poe also tracked Vick down for a sack, all before Mauga knocked him from the game with his crushing blow in the fourth quarter.

The only bright spot for the Jets was the play of Harvin, who caught 11 passes for 129 yards in his second game since getting traded from Seattle. Harvin showed some of the speed and shiftiness that the Jets were hoping he would provide when they made the deal.

It was just far too little in game dominated by Kansas City's defense.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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