In Kansas City’s preseason finale, first-round draft pick Pat Mahomes set fire to Chiefs fans’ hearts with a series of spectacular throws in a 30-6 romp over the Titans.
Alex Smith reacted to Pat Mahomes’ electric performance the same way he did to Colin Kaepernick’s 5 years ago
It’s not necessarily fair to judge a player on a snippet of body language. But the similarities here are striking.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Mahomes, it should be noted, also had three throws that were nearly intercepted, but the writing on the wall is clear: The talented, big-armed passer from Texas Tech is the future signal-caller for the Chiefs, and that future could arrive sooner than expected should the offense sputter under Alex Smith, the starter since he arrived from San Francisco in 2013.
How did Smith react to Mahomes lighting the Titans up with Aaron Rodgers-like throws? Wellllllll...
Now, let’s be clear: A brief glimpse of a player on a sideline is not a window into his thoughts. Smith’s body language, despite a “getting bad news from your accountant” vibe, could very well be unrelated to anything Mahomes did on the field.
But his reaction felt familiar. Here is Smith’s body language following a touchdown Colin Kaepernick scored in his second start as a 49er, way back in 2012 (a glitch in NFL reality now known as the Harbaugh Epoch).
Smith — resurrected from draft-bust status and in the middle of his best year as a pro — suffered a concussion in the team’s ninth game, then sat out a Monday Night Football game against the Bears during which Kaepernick became an instant sensation. He stayed in the lineup and led the Niners to the Super Bowl.
Again, I have to warn against putting too much stock in a 3-second clip of someone in the middle of spending three-plus hours on the sideline of a football game, but I’ll also say this: I remember that moment from five years ago so clearly. I didn’t remember Kaepernick’s run or the game in which it happened, but Smith’s expression stuck with me. There was something prophetic and sad in his face, like the team’s success without him and his trade to another team were already written in his sigh.
And now he faces it again. Alex Smith, who has led his team to three 11-win seasons in four years, as well as the franchise’s first playoff win since 1994, is playing in a Chiefs uniform on borrowed time. As an NFL quarterback, when you’re capable but unspectacular, you’re only welcome for so long.
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