The newest Kansas City Chief, rookie placekicker Harrison Butker, hit a 43-yard field goal with four seconds remaining, lifting the Chiefs to a 29-20 victory over the Washington Redskins on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Butker’s game-winning kick was set up by late-game heroics from veteran quarterback Alex Smith, who drove the Chiefs 50 yards in six plays for the winning score. The biggest play of the last-minute drive was a 34 yard pass and catch to Albert Wilson, moving Kansas City to the Redskins 37 yard line.
Butker was signed by the Chiefs off the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers last week, as a replacement for Cairo Santos, who suffered an injury to his groin in a Week 3 win against the Chargers in Los Angeles.
Prior to the game-winning drive, Washington had a potential go-ahead touchdown catch by second-year wide receiver Josh Doctson was waived off when Doctson, a TCU product, caught the ball in mid-flight, but lost the ball upon crashing to the Arrowhead Stadium end zone turf.
Butker’s last second kick gave the Chiefs a 23-20 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Washington tried a series of laterals in an attempt for a miraculous finish, but a fumble at the 13 was picked up by linebacker Justin Houston, who returned the football to the end zone for the game’s final points. The two-point conversion try saw Smith take a knee with double-zero’s on the fourth quarter clock.
The victory sends Kansas City’s record to 4-0, keeping the Chiefs as the only unbeaten squad in the National Football League this season. On Sunday night, the Chiefs travel to Houston to play a rejuvenated Texans team led by rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson, that scored a franchise-record 57 points on Sunday in a victory over Tennessee. The Chiefs/Texans game will air on NBC, with kickoff slated for 7:30.
