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In the second quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 19-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys, starting right guard Trey Smith shared some words with one of the officials, which sparked a flag being thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It was 2nd and 5 with 3:48 remaining in the first half. Smith seemingly had enough of rookie linebacker/edge rusher Micah Parsons, who was lined up on Smith on that play and would finish the night with two sacks, one of which was a strip-sack, and two tackles for loss. Frustration brewed over, and Smith said something he would soon regret saying.
The Chiefs were up 16-3 at that point in the game, so another touchdown-scoring drive would have put them up 24-3 before the half, and the outcome would have been much of the same. Instead, Smith’s personal foul call on second down was followed up with a Mahomes completion to wide receiver Josh Gordon for seven yards on 2nd and 29, a Mahomes pass to Darrel Williams for eight yards, and a punt.
After the game, Mahomes acknowledged that he had coached up Smith after the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called in Week 11.
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Mahomes: ‘Don’t Let Anyone Hear It’
Here’s what Mahomes said during his postgame press conference on Sunday, November 21 regarding the wisdom he shared with Smith following the penalty:
“He’s like the quietest guy so I don’t know how he ended up saying something that got him in trouble. You have to kind of teach them you can’t – I mean if you’re going to say something say it under your breath at least, don’t let anyone hear it,” Mahomes said.
The star quarterback then went on to praise the work done by Smith in his first season as an NFL player.
“You love having the mentality that [Smith] has. He wants to be great; he wants to continue to be – I think he’s probably mad at himself as much as was mad at anything else. For him, he’ll learn from that. I highly doubt it happens again, but I want him finishing every single play and playing the way he’s played this entire season.”
Smith a Draft Day Steal
Smith — a 2021 sixth-round draft pick of Kansas City — has been strong for the Chiefs as their starting right guard for all 11 games this season. He is ranked as the 10th-best offensive guard in the NFL by PFF (76.3) in large part because of his success in the run-block department (82.2). That’s amazing production from a player that was picked on Day 3 of the draft.
Overall, the Chiefs are second in the league in run-block grade (87.5) and sixth in pass-block grade (73.0) due to the dominating play of Smith, along with starting left tackle Orlando Brown, starting left guard Joe Thuney, and a revolving door of play that involves Lucas Niang, Mike Remmers, and Andrew Wylie at right tackle.
The defending AFC champions now head into their bye and will get two weeks of rest before they play the Denver Broncos in Week 13 for the first of two matchups this season. Kansas City heads into their bye with a 7-4 record and a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Chargers (6-4) in the AFC West.