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. Â
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.