Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is among the most accomplished players at any position in the NFL. Monday Night Football is no exception, with the 30-year-old showing he’s still very much a threat both in the air and on the ground against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The day of Oct. 6 was not only a game day for Mahomes, but it also marked the day fans learned just how much former quarterback Alex Smith played a role in shaping Mahomes into the monumental figure he is now.
Patrick Mahomes Reveals All He Learned From Alex Smith Early On
At the half, Kansas City led Jacksonville by a 14-7 score. Mahomes recorded 14 completions for 164 yards and one touchdown in the first half, in addition to rushing for another score on a nine-yard carry.
In an exclusive with ESPN, Mahomes spoke to Nate Taylor about how Smith shaped him into the kind of quarterback he currently is.
“Sometimes you see rookie quarterbacks in certain situations where they don’t have answers,” Mahomes said. “They don’t have a game plan of how they’re going to attack. You have to have a plan of, ‘If it’s not there, where am I going to go and how am I not going to create a negative play?’ That’s stuff that I learned from Alex.”
Smith was known for being a quarterback who paid attention to detail. It was reported that he had a different film session (red zone, third-down plays, deep passes, the opponent’s secondary and the opponent’s blitzes) for each day of the week leading up to the corresponding game.
While he only played with the Chiefs from 2013-2017, Smith retired after a 2020 season with Washington and finished his career with 214 total touchdowns and 38,254 all-purpose yards.
Mahomes said what he took away from Smith was that as a QB, you have to have the answers before you face a situation on the field during live action.
“You’re not always going to be right, but if you’re not right, where is your answer? I wanted to be perfect with every protection call,” Mahomes said. “But he would always say, ‘I have this plan, but if it’s not there, I know where I can get the ball out.’ That’s stuff that a lot of young guys don’t know.”
Mahomes was originally selected by Kansas City with the No. 10 overall pick out of Texas Tech back in the 2017 NFL Draft. After sitting behind Smith for nearly the entirety of the latter’s final Chiefs season in 2017, Mahomes took over the starting job the following season and had already amassed 33,291 passing yards and 2,373 on the ground entering Monday night.
Thanks in part to a slow start to the season and some key absences at wide receiver early on, Mahomes went into Monday night with a 77.4 (C+) score in PFSN’s QBi leaderboard.
Following the conclusion of play against the Jaguars, Mahomes and Kansas City will next turn their attention to hosting the Detroit Lions on Oct. 12.
