KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- No one is pointing fingers at Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.
There certainly was plenty of blame to go around in the Chiefs' discouraging 29-16 loss to Denver on Sunday night, such as the porous run defense (214 yards), the poor special teams play (a lost fumble, a fake-punt-for-a-first-down allowed) and so on.
Still, Smith didn't really help matters with a subpar game that was somewhat camouflaged by less-than-hideous numbers (15 of 23, 153 yards, 95.0 passer rating).
When the game mattered most and the Chiefs needed Smith to rally the troops, he shot blanks.
Smith's first big misfire came early in the third quarter with the Chiefs down 20-7.
After the defense came up with a huge strip sack, fumble and recovery, the Chiefs had a chance to make it a one-score game, taking over deep in Denver territory.
A touchdown at this point changes the narrative.
But on third down, Smith missed a wide-open Dwayne Bowe for what would have been a first down around the Denver 12. The Chiefs settled for a field goal and a 20-10 deficit.
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"There certainly were some unscouted looks (Denver) gave us," Smith said. "But that's no excuse. It's our job to execute when we had chances."
The Chiefs' defense rose up again on Denver's next possession, stopping quarterback Peyton Manning on third down at the Kansas City 39 to force a punt.
The Chiefs took over at their own 11. But Smith again misfired as his short pass over the middle slammed into a Bronco's arm and deflected to DeMarcus Ware for an interception.
"The interception hurt us," Chiefs coach Andy Reid conceded. "We just couldn't get any momentum going."
The Broncos responded with a field goal and a 23-10 lead.
Then on the next possession, the Chiefs went three-and-out when Smith tried a bootleg on third-and-short and was smothered for a 4-yard loss.
"That was kind of our problem," Smith said. "Too many three-and-outs. We just couldn't help our defense."
And Smith was part of the problem. He at times held the ball a split second too long and was sucked up by the ever-present Broncos pass rush. He was sacked six times.
"You know, though, the offensive line gets all the attention for that," Smith said, "but really, it's all of us."
Sometimes it was Smith holding the ball too long. Sometimes it was his pedestrian receiving corps failing to get open.
What also hurt was a nonexistent running game. The Chiefs had just 41 yards rushing, six of those by Smith on scrambles.
As is his custom, Reid blamed himself.
"It starts with me," he said. "I call the plays."
And now it's gut-check time for Smith and the Chiefs. They sit at 7-5, in third place in the AFC West.
"I do know we have a high-character team," Reid said. "We will work to get this figured out."
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
