1 of 3 | Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith hands the ball off to running back Spencer Ware in the fourth quarter of the NFL Playoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on January 15, 2017. Photo by Kyle Rivas/UPI |
License Photo
A lot of the postgame focus for the disappointing end to the Kansas City Chiefs' season will fall on quarterback Alex Smith. It will renew the debate on whether Smith is the man capable of leading his team to a championship.
Smith has led the Chiefs to a 41-20 record in his regular season starts. After the 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday's AFC divisional round matchup, Smith fell to 1-3 as K.C.'s starting quarterback in the playoffs. Smith threw for only 172 yards against the Steelers, averaging just five yards per attempt. He's the leader of an offense that struggled to find consistency and production.
"It was a big, big opportunity for us," Smith said of playing the divisional-round game at Arrowhead Stadium after getting a week off. "We knew what we were capable of. Certainly, offensively, we didn't hold up our end, didn't get it done. I thought we had a chance to come back and put it into overtime, and we came up short. So, you look at it tomorrow, but there's no next week. You have to move on."
The Chiefs moved on last year, after getting a victory over Houston, but then lost to the host New England Patriots. Both of those games were on the road and Smith says the players knew what had to happen next.
"Last year, we talked about if we could get a home field game what an advantage that is, and we had it this year," said Smith. "You have to figure out a way to take the next step, figure out a way to get past that. Every year is a different challenge though. You never know what it's going to be."
After the game, Smith talked about what the Chiefs can take from the disappointment.
"I think everybody is running through their head on what they could have done differently," said Smith. "What could I have done in the week? What could I have done tonight? What if I'd just done this? That's just the nature of losing. You're going to do that. It's going to play some mind games with you.
"I think, obviously, when you get away from it for a little -- you get removed -- you have to set your sights on, what do we need to do moving forward. There's a whole process there -- offseason and all the stuff that comes with that. How do we take the next step?"
