2. 2017 Opening Day Upset
The 2017 season put Alex Smith in a very difficult but familiar situation. The Chiefs had just traded up in the 2017 NFL Draft to select Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick. At the time, there was a lot of uncertainty on when Patrick Mahomes would take over as the starting quarterback for the Chiefs. Most thought Smith had multiple years left in Kansas City, but even with that thought process, Smith began to receive criticism for conservative play and lack of playoff success, outside of beating the Houston Texans. All eyes were on Smith heading into the season.
Smith’s first chance to prove himself came in the season opener. The Chiefs were playing the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, who just had the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history by beating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28, after being down 28-3.
The game began with former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt fumbling on his first NFL carry. From then on, Smith led the Chiefs to a stunning upset. Pushing back against the doubters, Smith and the Chiefs offense scored 42 points, including 28 in the 2nd half, to beat the Patriots 42-27. Smith easily outdueled Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and threw for 368 yards and 4 passing touchdowns against the highly-rated Patriot defense and coaching mastermind, Bill Belichick.
Smith’s highlight-filled performance featured two big touchdown passes, including a 75-yard strike to Tyreek Hill and another 78-yard score to Hunt. Being criticized often throughout his career as a ‘game manager’ and critiqued for not having the arm to throw the ball down the field, Smith proved his doubters wrong when the pressure was on.
Smith’s performance, despite playing against the defending Super Bowl Champs in the season opener and having his successor looking over his shoulder, made even more of an impression of his spectacular showing. Few quarterbacks have been able to blow out the Patriots during their reign with Brady and Belichick leading the team. It was Smith’s second such time with the Chiefs, and it gave him another highlight moment in his time in Kansas City.