No. 6 – Alex Smith (2-2)
With a very convincing 30-0 win over the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, Kansas City’s Alex Smith improved his career playoff record to an even .500 in four starts.
After losing to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game following the 2011 season, Smith may always wonder “what could have been” in 2012 when a head injury and a competitive situation between he and Colin Kaepernick kept him on the sidelines as a backup throughout a run to the Super Bowl.
Following a subsequent trade to the Chiefs, Smith has led Kansas City to the playoffs in two of the past three years. He dropped a one-point shootout loss to the Colts in 2013-14 and (along with the defense) decimated the Texans just last week.
Smith’s numbers have been very impressive in the postseason, completing passes at a 61.03 percent rate and tossing 10 touchdowns to just one interception. His 107.0 passer rating in the playoffs is actually tops among all remaining playoff quarterbacks (albeit with a much smaller sample size than most). He’s been a “game manager” when asked, and has slung the ball around the yard when asked.
Kansas City will put an 11-game winning streak on the line and face its biggest test of the season against New England and one of the greatest playoff quarterbacks of all time in Tom Brady. Which Alex Smith head coach Andy Reid has to invoke will certainly be fun to watch.
