In one of his first feature interviews since joining ESPN as an NFL analyst, former Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith made his way back to the City of Fountains to talk to Patrick Mahomes ahead of his Week 1 matchup against Cleveland. They talked about their year together in 2017, when Smith famously mentored Mahomes before being traded to Washington to make way for the future MVP. It seems their latest engagement lasted beyond the time spent on camera, though.
Smith told his ESPN counterparts that he and Mahomes had gone back after their interview to re-watch last year’s divisional playoff game against the Browns in preparation for the home opener.
“It was really interesting,” Smith said of the experience. “Patrick definitely had an edge to him, and I think the whole team has it.”
He had little doubt of where that edge came from, continuing his comments on his time spent with Mahomes by emphasizing how hungry the team is to avenge their loss to the Buccaneers in February.
“I think they’re embarrassed by the Super Bowl loss,” He explained. “They’ve been hearing it all offseason, and the main point is I think they’re determined to show that they’ve grown from it.”
Perhaps no analyst has ever had a better insight into a team and a quarterback than Smith in this situation. Though the Chiefs’ era of league-wide dominance started a few years after he was traded, Smith has always shown a soft spot for his understudy in Kansas City.
Some of the moments that will come to define Smith’s career in the long term took place far from the view of cameras and video crews, helping Mahomes digest his first year of film as a rookie. Even though the times have certainly changed in the Paris of the Plains, Smith’s dedication to the blossoming Mahomes and Kansas City, in general, have been unwavering. He is still helping the Chiefs win on Sundays, just in his own special way.
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