The Kansas City debut of former 49ers quarterback
Alex Smith, left, was memorable as he threw two touchdown passes and the Chiefs recorded their largest season-opening victory in half a century, a 28-2 throttling of Jacksonville.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Alex Smith’s debut with the Chiefs offered up a story line that’s familiar to 49ers fans and one that’s probably just fine by Kansas City’s faithful.
Left behind in San Francisco after a concussion and the emergence of Colin Kaepernick, Smith opened his Chiefs’ tenure by throwing for two touchdowns in a 28-2 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday.
In a matchup of teams that shared the worst record in the NFL last season, Smith helped engineer Kansas City’s most lopsided season-opening win in 50 years under the guidance of a fellow newcomer, head coach Andy Reid.
Many outsiders had the Chiefs pegged as a team that could make a significant turnaround under Reid, who had a 130-93-1 record with the Eagles.
“You could really see things changed from last year … how we moved the ball up the field with the offense and also did a great job of getting the ball back,” said running back Jamaal Charles, according to the Kansas City Star.
After six years of frustration in San Francisco, Smith had settled in under Jim Harbaugh to go 19-5-1 in his first season and a half. Smith’s average line in those games was 17-of-27 for 195 yards; he threw for 30 touchdowns with only 10 picks. The blueprint was suffocating defense, a bullish run game and an efficient quarterback.
On Sunday, the result looked familiar.
The Kansas City defense allowed 178 total yards and no points.
Jamaal Charles, the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL last season, ran for 77 yards and a touchdown.
And Smith completed 21 of 34 passes for 173 yards and two short, first-quarter scores without an interception.
“Were we perfect out there?” asked Smith, according to the Kansas City Star. “Heck no. But finding a way to win is the most important thing. The best stat for us was efficiency in the red zone. When you get your opportunities down there, if you can take advantage of those … those are game changers.
“We left some out there in the second half, but because we were efficient in the first half, it allowed us to jump out to a lead, and our defense played lights out.”