Quarterback Alex Smith may not have been a direct part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ big Super Bowl 2020 win, but Patrick Mahomes is giving him credit for their recent success.
The Super Bowl MVP was originally an understudy watching Smith from the sidelines as a rookie several years ago. Now he’s led them to a championship.
In comments that Mahomes made before reaching the big game, he praised Smith for the impact he had on him in that first season.
Patrick Mahomes comments on Alex Smith’s impact
Alex Smith was part of the Chiefs’ roster for five years. The three-time Pro Bowler came to Kansas City after spending the first seven years on the San Francisco 49ers. However, the majority of his passing yards, touchdowns, and success came with the Chiefs.
In the 2017 season, the Chiefs had their unproven rookie Patrick Mahomes waiting in the wings. That would be Smith’s final season with the team, but one in which he led Kansas City into the playoffs for the fourth time in his five years there. Mahomes was there to witness that final playoff appearance and realized that Smith helped get the team to an important level of success.
“He texted me right after the game, saying he enjoyed it just as much as we did,” Mahomes said, per ESPN’s report. “He wasn’t there, but he was part of it — I think that’s the biggest thing. He built the culture that I came into. He was the guy that led the team to all these successful seasons and built that winning culture.”
Mahomes continues and builds upon Chiefs’ success
Seeing that model for a winning culture is what Patrick Mahomes believes helped him get the team to the championship level. Smith was sent to the Washington Redskins and played just one season there before falling to an unfortunate injury. Meanwhile, Kansas City put their future success on Mahomes’ shoulders and it was the right decision.
He nearly guided the team to the Super Bowl in his second season, only to be defeated by the magic of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the New England Patriots. That was an overtime loss in the AFC Championship Game.
With the Patriots out of the picture in the 2019 NFL Playoffs, Mahomes worked his own magic, leading his team to come from behind wins against Houston, Tennessee, and San Francisco.
The latter of those wins resulted in a Lombardi Trophy and the Super Bowl MVP for Patrick Mahomes. While Alex Smith wasn’t on the roster, his leadership and previous playoff runs clearly played a part in helping Kansas City finally get another championship.
Now, Mahomes can look to build further success upon this year’s Super Bowl win as he looks to establish himself amongst the game’s greats down the road. With two Pro Bowl selections, an NFL MVP Award, and now a Super Bowl ring in just three years, the young star is still humble enough to give Alex Smith due credit.