Kansas City, Mo. ? Alex Smith took the snap from center, looked to his right and saw Dwayne Bowe open in the end zone.

For a fleeting second, it appeared as if one of this season’s biggest statistical anomalies would be resolved. Just maybe, a Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver would catch a touchdown pass.

With a flick of his wrist, Smith released the pass. And wouldn’t you know it? It was batted by New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace, landed in the hands of Anthony Fasano — who’d been blocked to the ground on the play — and all the tight end had to do was roll over the goal line.

Another touchdown for a Chiefs tight end. Another missed opportunity for the wide receivers.

“Do I give them the business about it?” Chiefs coach Andy Reid asked with a smile. “Yeah, I try not to let that slide. They’re good about it, though.”

The Chiefs are the first team since the Cleveland Browns in 2009 to go through their first eight games without a wide receiver catching a touchdown pass. The Browns actually made it nine games without such a TD catch, a mark the Chiefs could match in Sunday’s game at Buffalo.

Only three teams have ever gone through an entire season without a wide receiver catching a touchdown pass, according to STATS, and all of them played in a bygone era.

The most recent team to do that was the New York Giants in 1964.