KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Smith strode through the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room Sunday afternoon wearing a pair of white game pants soaked through with rainwater, splotched with mud and tinted green from the paint used to make a football field look nice in December.
After starting the season by dropping five of six games, including three losses decided by a touchdown or less, the Chiefs (8-5) have won seven in a row, after holding off San Diego, 10-3, largely on a goal-line stand by a Kansas City defense tattered by injuries.
But Smith helped the Chiefs win the unglamorous game with his legs, his spirit and his poise, as he has throughout the winning streak that put Kansas City in an A.