Die Macht » said those set to take the baton from the stal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Smith was held to less than 200 yards passing with an interception, Spencer Ware was plugged up on the ground and the rest of the offense was rendered entirely ineffective.Kansas City still managed to beat the reigning NFC champions on the road.In what is quickly becoming a charmed season for the Chiefs, coach Andy Reid and Co. kept right on rolling with a 20-17 victory at Carolina on Sunday. Kansas City leaned on its defense to climb out of 17-point hole and win its fifth straight, second only to Dallas for longest streak in the NFL.The guys didnt panic. Thats the most important thing, Reid said Monday. You saw at halftime, the things being said in the locker room with our guys -- it wasnt, `Oh, you have to do this. It was, `Hey, were this close. We have to keep pushing. And they pushed and pushed and pushed.The victory, secured by Cairo Santos with a game-winning field goal, moved the Chiefs (7-2) into a tie with the Oakland Raiders for first place in the AFC West, a half-game ahead of the Denver Broncos. And the Chiefs hold the tiebreaker over Oakland by virtue of their lopsided road win in Week 6.Everything points to their momentum continuing, too. They face Tampa Bay this Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, where they have yet to lose this season, before a high-profile showdown in Denver.Thats not to say the Chiefs are not without their warts.Smith played arguably his worst game since arriving in Kansas City, one week after being inactive with a head injury. Not only was he held to just 178 yards passing by a weak Carolina secondary, he twice missed open targets in the end zone that could have made things a bit more comfortable.The Chiefs were also 2 of 12 on third down, continuing a two-week trend in the wrong direction, and came up empty on three trips to the red zone -- a recipe that usually results in defeat.A couple weeks ago we were right there, doing our thing, doing good on third down, doing good in the red zone, Reid said. We have to take care of that first. I have to make sure Im getting guys in the right position to do good things. And we have to cut it down -- weve had a lot of third and a gazillion.Then red zone, likewise, we have to stay aggressive in the red zone, Reid said, but theres a time and place to check it down and run it.Its easier to reflect on those shortcomings when they come in victory. The Chiefs can thank their defense for that.The Panthers led 17-3 in the fourth quarter, and still had a 17-6 lead with the ball and about 10 minutes left in the game. But everything turned when safety Eric Berry stepped in front of a pass from Cam Newton, then weaved his way 42 yards to the end zone to help pull Kansas City within 17-14.Carolina got the ball back and had to punt five plays later, and the Chiefs moved 35 yards to give Santos a chance to kick a tying 33-yard field goal with 4 1/2 minutes to go.The teams swapped punts and the game appeared to be headed for overtime when Newton hit Kelvin Benjamin with about 30 seconds left in the game. Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, whose penchant for picking off passes has made him one of the leagues bright young stars, this time wrapped his arms around Benjamin and proceeded to rip the ball right from his hands.Instant replay confirmed the fumble. Santos trotted onto the field a couple plays later and calmly knocked a 37-yard field goal through to give the Chiefs another come-from-behind win.Cairo kind of gets left out of the mix there, Reid said. Weve never not had confidence in Cairo. He came in and won the starting job when that wasnt expected to happen, and we havent really felt a lack of confidence toward his game. Like everybody, the human element, youre going to miss some, that happens, but I think we all expect him to get in there and do what he does.After all, thats status quo for everybody on the Chiefs these days.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Rob Dibble Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Freddy Galvis Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/2525s-jake-daubert-jersey-reds.html .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Fred Norman Jersey . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Joel Kuhnel Jersey . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Departing Queensland Reds star Liam Gill says his young teammates must heed the lessons of a horror fortnight or face yet another barren year in Super Rugby.The Reds were beaten 31-28 by the Melbourne Rebels on Friday night, unable to provide Gill, Greg Holmes and a number of other players who were playing their last game for the club with a winning farewell.Gill, who was acting as captain in the absence of James Slipper (sternum), slammed Queenslands first-half performance as the worst 40 minutes of football hes ever been involved in.Just like in the 50-5 belting against the Chiefs a week earlier, the Reds were shellshocked after conceding a try in the opening seconds of the match and were so bad defensively, they can count themselves as fortunate to have only gone into the half-time break down 24-7.While the second half was vastly improved, Gill said those set to take the baton from the stalwarts who are leaving the Reds need to realise they cant afford to keep playing as they have.Theres been a couple of stern lessons in the last two weeks, said Gill, who has signeed for French Top 14 club Toulon.ddddddddddddWeve got a lot of young players in the squad so the best thing they can do is learn from it, but not forget whats happened.The last 40 minutes summed up how we want to play.Hopefully they figure out how to get there so they can move forward.If they dont its going to be another ugly season, but I have faith if they put their head to it and front up, we showed what we can do - we can put points on a good defending team.The injection of Taniela Tupou, Campbell Magnay and Lukhan Tui - arguably the three best young players coming through at Ballymore - in the second half helped change the game, which Exeter-bound prop Holmes said was a sign of the calibre of talent the Reds now have at their disposal.It hurts, I really wanted to win and the team wanted to finish the season well, but in my bigger scheme of things... thats the way footy goes, he said.I think the Reds are looking good for years to come. 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