KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Streaks are made to be broken, as the saying goes.
And it was only a matter of time before Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith’s consecutive passes without an interception would be snapped.
Dec. 13, 2015; Kansas City, MO; San Diego Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett (22) intercepts a pass intended for Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (19) at Arrowhead Stadium. (Emily DeShazer/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Smith entered Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers with 305 straight passes without a pick. He threw seven passes to boost that total to 312 before running into trouble early in the second quarter.
The Chiefs quarterback tried to go deep down the right side of the field to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, but Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett had good position and picked off the pass at San Diego’s 4-yard line.
“Just trying to take a shot,” Smith said. “We were right there, felt good about it, we had the matchup with Jeremy. If I had it over again, I’d kind of take the shot, him or no one, just trying to give him a chance, the kid made a good play.”
Verrett told Chargers beat writers he wasn’t surprised Smith tested his side of the field and the cornerback had a feeling the ball was coming his way.
“They started off running a lot of little short routes while we were in zone,” Verrett said. “They were trying to get Maclin going. It happened to be on my side. I think he’s (Smith) thinking like, ‘Let’s just keep going at him.’ He threw it deep and I took it from him.”
While turnovers aren’t often looked upon as good, there was a positive to take from the interception.
“If you’re going to throw one, it’s not bad,” Smith said. “We threw them down inside the 5-yard line, pinning them down there.”
The turnover didn’t hurt the Chiefs given the Chargers’ starting position and the drive ended on a punt.
Meanwhile, Smith’s accomplishment shouldn’t be ignored despite the streak ending.
Before Sunday’s game, the last time Smith threw an interception came in Week 3. And the 312 consecutive passes without an interception is the second-longest streak in NFL history and the longest in Chiefs history.
But even with his place in history, Smith appears ready to move on.
“Obviously, the streak’s over so I don’t have to answer those questions anymore,” Smith said.
The Chiefs went on to win the game in a steady downpour, 10-3.
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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