Alex Smith replaced an injured Kyle Allen on Sunday, marking the first action for the Washington Football Team veteran quarterback since he sustained a compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula during a game in November 2018.
With Dwayne Haskins inactive, Smith served as the backup as Allen made his first start of the season versus the Los Angeles Rams. Allen, however, was injured prior to the two-minute warning of the first half after absorbing a hard shot to the arm from Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey while running toward the sideline.
Washington announced at halftime that Allen was cleared to return, however Smith finished the game. He completed 9 of 17 attempts for 37 yards.
Smith started off strong by completing 5 of 6 passes for 35 yards to set up Dustin Hopkins’ 48-yard field goal as time expired to end the half. Los Angeles held a 20-10 lead at intermission.
“Very surreal at first,” Smith said. “To have it happen as fast as it did was almost a blessing. … Just no thinking and going and playing.
Smith, 36, also popped right up without issue after he was sacked by Aaron Donald. The sack was the first of six on Smith.
“I’ve been waiting on that for a long time,” Smith said of taking that first hit. “The first one felt good. It’s nice to know that you’re fine and … knock the cobwebs off so to speak.”
Smith’s play on Sunday caught the eye of former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, who saw his career end after sustaining a gruesome injury against the New York Giants in 1985.
He tweeted: “Incredible story.”
Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera said Allen will start next Sunday versus the host Giants if he’s healthy.
After the injury, which occurred on Nov. 18, 2018, in a game against the Houston Texans, Smith required 17 surgeries, many of them to fight a life-threatening infection. His injury and recovery were featured in an ESPN documentary released earlier this year.
“I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a lot of days where I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Smith said of his return.
The 49ers drafted Smith with the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, and he played seven seasons in San Francisco and five with the Kansas City Chiefs before joining Washington in 2018.
Entering Sunday’s game, Smith was 94-66-1 as a starter with a 62.4 percent completion rate, 34,068 passing yards, 193 touchdown passes and 101 interceptions.
Smith’s wife, Liz, and their three children were in the stands for his return.
