Kansas City, Mo. ? Thanks to Dave Rayner, the Kansas City Chiefs are paying a very small price for a pretty big mistake.

They passed on drafting Colorado’s all-American place-kicker Mason Crosby in April because, they said, they had found somebody even better.

UCLA’s Justin Medlock went to Kansas City in the fifth round, then Crosby went to Green Bay in the sixth. The Chiefs were so confident they had done the right thing that they didn’t bother bringing the incumbent kicker into camp. Medlock was simply handed the job.

But people got worried when he started missing makable kicks during the preseason. Then when he missed from short range in a season-opening loss to Houston, the Chiefs decided it was time to admit they were wrong.

Now the entire episode has turned into a classic case of adjusting on the fly. The Chiefs (2-2) are tied for the lead in the wide-open AFC West and Rayner has been named AFC special-teams player of the week.

In Sunday’s 30-16 victory over San Diego – Kansas City’s biggest road win in years – the once-unemployed kicker booted field goals of 21, 25 and 41 yards and landed all seven of his kickoffs inside the 10.

“Obviously, an opportunity is all you’re looking for,” Rayner said.