Pete Sweeney and I were recording the Arrowhead Pride podcast earlier this week and — sneak peek — one of the topics was on what kind of day would Patrick Mahomes have to put up on Sunday against the Broncos for the Chiefs to consider playing him instead of Alex Smith in the playoffs.
It was kind of a tongue in cheek segment because neither of us thought there was any realistic scenario where Mahomes plays in the playoffs over Alex. It seems a little silly to even take that question right now. It was a question among the fanbase a month ago when the Chiefs had lost six of seven and Alex Smith wasn’t playing well ... but not anymore.
Former NFL QB Steve Beuerlein apparently disagrees. He was on a radio show this week and suggested the Chiefs could go with Mahomes if he plays well this week.
“Well, I guarantee you that if (Mahomes) goes out and lights it up and plays well, that will be a consideration that Andy Reid will have to make depending on the course of (the game). Andy Reid would never admit that right now. Nobody would ever admit that at this point because Alex Smith, for the most part, has done a fantastic job this whole season.”
More:
“Alex Smith is the starting quarterback. But if Patrick Mahomes goes out there and really looks comfortable and plays well and shows the attributes and the skill sets that they drafted him for and that he’s ready and has a comfort factor with the offense ... he’s not going to be able to run the full offense at the level of Alex Smith but if they can put a game plan package together for him that they’re comfortable with, they definitely would not hesitate to go to him if they felt that they were in jeopardy of losing a football game at this point in the season. So I think there’s definitely a dual purpose for this whole thing: to keep Alex Smith healthy, but also to see if Patrick Mahomes is ready.”
The reason I don’t buy this is because consider what we saw earlier this season. Alex Smith played his three worst games of the season in a four-game losing streak that had the Chiefs playoff lives on the line. If there was ever a time to make a switch, that was it. It’s tough to defend losing six of seven. While myself and other Chiefs fans were wondering if it was time for a shakeup like Mahomes, Andy Reid never wavered on Alex. If he didn’t waver then he’s not wavering if Mahomes puts up 400 yards and four TDs.