Alex Smith Threw for How Many Touchdowns on 97 Agains the Patriots

NFL Grades Week 12: Alex Smith still hasn't thrown TD pass to WR in 2014

Latavius Murray is a name the Chiefs probably won't exist forgetting someday soon.

Nov 20, 2014 at 7:33 pm ET • nine min read

It was a sad, wet night in Oakland for Alex Smith. (Twitter/@NFL) — It was a deplorable, soggy night in Oakland for Alex Smith. (Twitter/@NFL)

If the Chiefs miss the playoffs by i game this season, they tin can blame Latavius Murray -- or they tin blame themselves, merely blaming Murray would also brand sense.

The Raiders running dorsum merely had four offensive touches before leaving the game with a concussion, but those four touches were enough to propel the Raiders to a 24-twenty win Thursday dark at O.co Coliseum.

Murray was then practiced that the Chiefs might accept lost 44-20 if he hadn't gotten injured. The second year back ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on four carries before leaving the game in the second quarter later suffering a concussion. Murray's scores were the first two rushing touchdowns the Chiefs surrendered all season.

Murray's 112 one thousand full included a xc-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter that's currently the longest play in the NFL this season.

Of class, stopping Murray wasn't Kansas City'due south only problem in the game. Alex Smith still tin can't throw touchdown passes to his receivers and the Chiefs still can't win when their defence has a 'slightly off' game.

A 'slightly off' game for the Chiefs defence force means giving up over 21 points. The problem for Kansas City is that if Alex Smith is your quarterback, yous're going to lose about every time if the other team scores 21 or more.

Smith and the Chiefs are 0-4 this season when the opponent scores 21 or more than and Smith is 7-37-1 in his career when an opponent scores 21 or more. If you want to make the argument that Smith is a game manager, that stat definitely helps.

On a completely unrelated annotation, Chiefs fans volition probably be happy if Kansas City never sees another 0-x team again. The Chiefs are 0-4 since 1975 against teams that are 0-10 or worse. That's definitely something no one volition be bragging well-nigh this week in Kansas City.

Add the 2014 Raiders (0-10) to this list picture.twitter.com/dEDbfVwHKh
— History of the NFL (@TheNFLHistory) November 21, 2014

Every bit for the Chiefs playoff chances, let'south but say 7-4 would be a lot nicer place to be in the NFC.

Tiebreakers: OAK is withal eliminated from playoffs, but KC loss is painful as it's divisional, conference and they fall 0.5 behind DEN
— Joe Ferreira (@JoeNFL) November 21, 2014

Squad	Course	Assay
Cowboys 31, Giants 28
	B+	In that location'southward a reason Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray take been buying presents for the Cowboys offensive line all season and information technology was on display against the Giants. The Dallas O-line paved the way for Murray's 121 yards and on several occasions, gave Romo over five seconds to throw the ball. Romo threw 4 touchdown passes and Bryant was happy because he caught 2 of them.
	B-	Odell Beckham Jr. gets an A++ for his effort. If you oasis't seen his insane touchdown catch, you need to watch it. ODB finished with 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. Eli Manning didn't throw five picks like he did final week, but he did throw a plush one in the third quarter that the Cowboys turned into a touchdown four plays later.
Browns 26, Falcons 24
	C	The Falcons couldn't terminate Isaiah Crowell (12 carries, 88 yards), simply that didn't matter considering Mike Pettine did it for them. Even though Crowell averaged 7.3 yards per comport, the Browns let Brian Hoyer throw it 40 times. Three of those 40 passes were picked off.
	C-	If you want to start a fight with someone in Atlanta this week, simply mention the words 'Mike Smith' and 'clock direction' in the same sentence. Smith botched the Falcons' final offensive series, which enable the Browns to win with a terminal-second field goal.
Bears 21, Buccaneers 13
	D	It was nice of Josh McCown to souvenir this game to his former squad. The Buccaneers QB threw 2 interceptions and lost a fumble. Ii of those turnovers came in the tertiary quarter and those two turnovers directly led to two Chicago touchdowns.
	C	The Bears became but the second squad this season to win a game despite putting upward less than 205 total yards. When you win like that, it's usually thank you to your defense and that was the case against Tampa. The Bears D sacked McCown five times and registered 13 QB hits. Basically, they vanquish up McCown.
Patriots 34, Lions 9
	D	If you put Matthew Stafford on the road confronting a team with a winning record, he'south going to lose, that's a pretty much a fact at this point. Stafford completed a career-low 39.1 percent of his passes (18 of 46) and is now 0-16 all-fourth dimension on the road against teams with a winning tape.
	A+	Exactly fourteen years ago to the day, Tom Brady made his NFL debut in a 34-9 loss to Detroit. In a weird twist of fate, Brady returned the favor and won by the exact same score. Brady didn't have LeGarrette Blount 14 years ago, but he did have him on Sun and Blount scored two TD'due south just two days after signing with New England.
Packers 24, Vikings 21
	B	The Packers proved against Minnesota that their entire offense doesn't revolve around Aaron Rodgers' right arm. The Vikings had no reply for Eddie Lacy, who ran for 125 yards on 25 carries. Lacy also added a 10-thou catch, which was probably only and so Rodgers felt useful on Sunday.
	C	The Packers had won their by two games by 33 and 42, so not getting blown out by Green Bay is about a moral victory. Teddy Bridgewater is still missing open receivers and throwing inexplicable interceptions, but he does look slightly more competent each week, which is what y'all want to see out of a rookie quarterback.
Colts 23, Jaguars 3
	D	For the amend part of 3 quarters, information technology didn't look like the Jaguars were going to scissure 100 yards in total criminal offence. They finally did, merely Jacksonville didn't do much else. The only reason this isn't an 'F' is considering sacked Andrew Luck five times and forced three turnovers, a functioning that kept this from being a 37-3 game.
	B	T.Y. Hilton's wife had a baby on Sunday and Hilton responded by breaking this game open in the third quarter with a 73-yard TD catch. Hilton and then rocked the baby/football to sleep, that's also a metaphor for what the Colts defense did to the Jaguars. They put Jacksonville's criminal offense to slumber.
Eagles 43, Titans 24
	C	It's easy to discount Zach Mettenberger'south big numbers (20 of 39, 345 yards and two touchdowns) because the Titans were playing from behind all day, merely the rookie actually looked decent. Mettenberger put those numbers despite the fact that he had no aid from his running game or his offensive line, he was sacked five times.
	B	For the second direct game, Mark Sanchez didn't expect cracking, but information technology didn't matter because everyone else did. LeSean McCoy got his groove back to the tune of 130 yards, Connor Barwin stayed in the groove he's in with two more sacks and Josh Huff opened the game in thrilling fashion with a 107-yard commencement return touchdown.
Bengals 22, Texans 13
	B+	You put Andy Dalton in a ane p.m. game and he'due south non going to lose, especially when A.J. Green is communicable every Dalton laissez passer -- good or bad -- thrown his way. Green caught a career-high 12 passes for 121 yards in the win.
	D	It's usually not a expert sign when your defence force outscores your criminal offense and that's what happened to the Texans. A Johnathan Joseph selection-six was the but touchdown the Texans managed all twenty-four hour period. Ryan Mallett was bad. Alfred Blue was bad. The Texans crime was painful to watch.
Seahawks 19, Cardinals 3
	D	For a squad that's supposed to be the NFC favorite, the Cardinals looked helpless on offense in Seattle. Drew Stanton was erratic and the Cardinals had zip running game. Calais Campbell was impressive though, sacking Russell Wilson 3 times.
	A	In a game the Seahawks couldn't afford to lose, Seattle came out and punched Arizona in the mouth. The Seahawks held the Cardinals to their lowest point total (iii) and yards (204) full of the flavour. Russell Wilson was also brilliant, despite existence sacked seven times and constantly pressured. Wilson led the squad in rushing (73 yards) and also tacked on 211 passing yards and a touchdown through the air.
Chargers 27, Rams 24
	B-	The quarterback position is going to eternally torture Rams fans. Shaun Colina played a decent game, merely he threw an inexplicable interception on second-and-goal from San Diego's iv-yard line with under a minute left to play in the game.
	B	Getting Ryan Mathews back has done wonders for the Chargers criminal offense. Afterward losing three in a row without Mathews, San Diego is now on a two-game winning streak since his return. Mathews averaged an impressive viii.8 yards per bear on his mode to 105 yards against the Rams.
Broncos 39, Dolphins 36
	B	Earlier a garbage time 84-yard drive on their final offensive series of the game, the Dolphins only totaled 57 yards in the second half. That'due south a big office why Miami's 28-17 fourth quarter pb turned into a 39-36 loss.
	B+	The Broncos did something against Miami that they've simply done three other times since 2000 and once with Peyton Manning: Denver passed for over 245 yards and rushed for over 200 yards in the same game. When the Broncos are that well-rounded on law-breaking, they're impossible to trounce. Literally. Denver's 10-0 in franchise history when they go over 245 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in the same game.
49ers 17, Redskins thirteen
	C	It's easy to blame the Redskins issues on RG3, but it's hard to imagine any quarterback having success for Washington with the mode the offensive line is playing. The Redskins should have kept feeding Alfred Morris, who finished the game with 125 yards on 21 carries.
	B	The 49ers law-breaking seems still be a piece of work in progress, which ordinarily isn't a expert thing when y'all're in Calendar week 12. However, the defense force is always there to bail them out. Aldon Smith tallied two of the 49ers five sacks as the 49ers held RG3 to simply 106 passing yards.
Raiders 24, Chiefs 20
	C	The Chiefs lost to an 0-10 team, but it wasn't because they played horrible. The Chiefs offense showed signs of life at times: Jamaal Charles totaled 122 yards and a touchdown. Then there was Alex Smith, who was on fire when he was throwing to his tight ends (six of seven, 97 yards, 1 TD). Unfortunately, Smith nevertheless has trouble getting the ball to his receivers.
	A	The Raiders weren't perfect on Thursday night, but when you're 0-10 and you beat a sectionalisation rival to get your start win of the season at home in front of a national television receiver audition, yous can get an 'A' without being perfect. Speaking of national television, perhaps the Raiders should play every Th.
Jets at Bills
	TBD
	TBD
Ravens at Saints
	TBD
	TBD