Would an open ash chute contribute to downdraft?

We have a century home, a cheeky blend of craftsman and Tudor revival. We have a smaller firebox and we use andirons instead of a grate. I've been making fires in the fireplace our years. Everything usually goes really well.

The last time we built a fire a very strange thing happened. I wanted to run it by you folks to see if it made sense to anybody else.

We were suddenly having major downdraft. Never had that before. I screwed around with the log placement, I double checked the flue—it was bad enough we almost killed the fire. Then I noticed that something was resting on the ash chute door and it was all the way open. So, I got a long poker back there and closed it. The smoke righted itself and started going up.

Does it make sense that the chute being open could have been causing sufficient turbulence to push smoke into the room? Or is it more likely that was just lucky timing, and it was something else?

I'd love any thoughts. We're about to light another fire and I'm apprehensive. I don't want my dog to smell like ham again for a week.