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Alex Smith becomes Washington Football Team starter after Kyle Allen’s horrific injury

Comeback king Alex Smith would have been dreaming of earning back his NFL starting position — but this is the one way he wouldn’t have wanted it.

Andrew McMurtryAndrew McMurtry
@AndrewMcMurtry
2 min read
November 9, 2020 - 11:16PM
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 08: Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Football Team throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at FedExField on November 08, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. Greg Fiume/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 08: Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Football Team throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at FedExField on November 08, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. Greg Fiume/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

NFL quarterback Alex Smith is set to become the Washington Football Team’s starter but it’s taken a horrific injury for him to return to the role.

This is Smith’s return season after a 2018 tackle left him with a catastrophically broken leg that needed 17 surgeries and 693 days to recover, with infections threatening both his leg and his life in the horrific aftermath.

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But having returned to the field in the second quarter of Washington’s game against the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the year — with his wife’s reaction making it one of the moments of the season — Smith was at it again when the sickening first quarter incident happened in his side’s 23-20 loss to the New York Giants.

It saw Allen carted off the field in his fourth start for the team in place of the benched Dwayne Haskins having been brought down by Giants safety Jabrill Peppers, who accidentally whipped his leg into Allen’s knee.

The prognosis is better than what Smith had to deal with but Allen’s season could still be over due to the dislocated ankle and a small fracture in his leg.

Peppers was penalised for the play but even Washington coach Ron Rivera said “I don’t think it’s a dirty play”.

“We all have a pact in this league,” Peppers said. “Guys have come from different circumstances, guys have worked hard to get here, so you never want to see a guy go down like that. I prayed for him. I apologised to him. I definitely didn’t intend for that to happen. I’m trying to play hard and make a play for my team. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

An all too common sight for Washington fans.
An all too common sight for Washington fans.

But it brought Smith into the game, and having been the back up for the past four weeks, will now reclaim the starting spot for Washington.

Coming in at 10-0 down, Smith completed 24 of 32 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown, but threw three picks, including on Washington’s final two possessions while trailing by three points.

Post match, Smith said Allen’s injury gave him a reminder of what he went through.

“Obviously a ton of emotions going on for me right then, in that I knew Kyle was down and it was pretty serious when he stayed down,” Smith said. “You snap in to get your helmet and get ready to roll and then you see them bring out the air cast and the cart and I know that routine well.

“Ton of emotions, obviously trying to lock it in but feeling for Kyle. As quarterbacks, you spend a ton of time together and feeling for him at that point not knowing what’s going on.”

Social media was quick to point out the dark irony that has given Smith’s story another new chapter.

— with AFP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/american-sports/nfl/alex-smith-becomes-washington-football-team-starter-after-kyle-allens-horrific-injury/news-story/062ac0795c0e194a926dfa2860234ab7