Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith’s hustle is a model for younger defensive backs

Pittsburgh trailed the Chiefs by six points when running back Le’Veon Bell took a third-quarter handoff and burst 42 yards up the sideline Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

It looked for a moment as if the Steelers were about to take the lead and that a sixth straight loss might be hung on the Chiefs’ ledger.

Veteran cornerback Sean Smith initially stepped left with the Steelers’ misdirection, but quickly recovered as Bell broke back the other way with an armada of blockers on a stretch play.

Smith, who was the force player for the defense on the play, met fullback Roosevelt Nix, getting to his outside shoulder to force Bell to cut inside off his block.

Bell accelerated through a whiffed tackle by safety Ron Parker and the Chiefs’ lead surely seemed lost, but Smith didn’t give up.

“They had us outnumbered on the right side,” Smith said. “They had pulled a couple guys, I tried to force it in, I saw Ron miss a tackle and it was off to the races from there. I had to go catch him.”

Smith turned downfield and shed Nix, dodged Parker and linebacker Josh Mauga, whose attempted tackle was rebuffed by a stiff-arm, and caught up with Bell, dragging him down from behind at the 13-yard line.

The Steelers settled for a field goal on the drive.

“That’s a great play,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. “That’s a four-point play as it turns out. That was really important. … Sean was actually at the force point and then went back down the sideline to make the play, so that was a great individual play by him.”

It’s also the kind of player that inspires a young group of Chiefs cornerbacks.

“Effort, man — he showed amazing effort and it got us out of a bad situation,” first-round pick Marcus Peters said. “They only got three (points) out of that drive. That’s all that was — effort. … You’ve got to take notice of that. We preach everyone getting to the ball and he never gave up and made a wonderful play to chase him down.”

The Chiefs missed Smith’s veteran presence on the field during the first three weeks when he was suspended for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Smith, 28, is a seventh-year veteran from Utah and, at 6-feet-3 and 218 pounds, he’s the biggest defensive back on the Chiefs’ roster.

Smith also has almost as much NFL experience as the other four cornerbacks on the roster — Peters, fellow rookie Steven Nelson, Jamell Fleming and Marcus Cooper — combined (nine seasons).

“It’s definitely funny when I start looking around the room and everybody is younger than me,” Smith said.

Being the elder statesman among the Chiefs’ cornerbacks brings with it a burden of leadership, but he also takes a ribbing from his teammates about his size, age and perceived lack of speed relative to the other players at position.

“I went over and gave him a hard time after the game,” quarterback Alex Smith said.

Smith doesn’t mind and, in fact, dishes it right back.

“Look, they all know, but they just like to think 40(-yard dash) times from the combine mean something,” Smith said. “When you put those pads on, that’s when the true speed comes out.”

Of course, the situation might not have been a laughing matter if Smith, who said he believes he’s the team’s fastest defensive back, hadn’t made that hustle play.

“I thought that was one of the bigger plays,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “It probably gets over looked in the game. If (Bell) scores there, it’s potentially a different game. For him to jog him down there, that was pretty good I thought. He’s a pretty good player — the one he jogged down, too.”

It’s all just part of a day’s work.

“In situations like that, that’s what corners are for — to save the day — so I had to make a play,” Smith said.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith’s hustle is a model for younger defensive backs."