Kansas City's heartbreaking 45-44 loss to the Indianapolis Colts boiled down to more than just one missed play, but Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith couldn't help but mull over one costly fourth-quarter miscue.
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With his team up 41-31, Smith overshot third-string running back Cyrus Gray on a second-down sideline route that likely would have gone for a touchdown.
"Any time you get an opportunity like that, you expect to hit it," Smith told reporters after the playoff defeat, per The Kansas City Star. "The tough part is all week we so many reps, (and) obviously with Jamaal (Charles) getting all of those, it's just something we have never repped with Cyrus."
Gray acknowledged that he momentarily slowed his stride on the route, but Smith told the room: "You've still got to hit it."
The fact that Smith was even throwing to Gray says it all about the challenges Kansas City faced from a health perspective. Jamaal Charles -- arguably the team's MVP -- was lost to a concussion on the opening drive, and productive backup Knile Davis left the game with a knee issue.
Injuries and missed plays -- and the magic of Andrew Luck -- combined to make this wild-card loss an affair that Chiefs players, coaches and fans will ponder all offseason long.
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