Jayden Daniels entered a lowly Washington team and transformed them into NFC Championship contenders with so little at his disposal. However, former KC Chiefs QB Alex Smith believes his successor, Patrick Mahomes, doesn’t receive enough credit for succeeding with so few weapons at his disposal as well. This led two-time Super Bowl champion Damien Woody to lose his cool and go off on Smith.
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This unexpected sparring session took place on ESPN’s Get Up early Monday morning. Smith and the crew were analyzing which QB has played the best in the playoffs so far. Many of the panelists argued it was Daniels after the stellar upset he led over Detroit. But, Smith had a differing opinion.
“Now listen, [Jayden] he is phenomenal and I agree with Dan [Orlovsky], he is right there [with Patrick Mahomes],” Smith begins. “The weapons he has, the offense he plays in. Like, Patrick does more with less than anybody in the league.”
Woody, a former two-time Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman, had a strong reaction to Smith’s statement. He and Louis Riddick were visibly upset, with Woody quickly launching into a passionate rant to explain why Smith’s opinion was off the mark.
“The weapons that he has, excuse me? Washington? What elite weapons does Washington have?” Woody questioned. The panel quickly retorted with Terry McLaurin, but Woody continued. “What we’re not going to do is act like the Washington Commanders have the greatest show on turf-type of weapons at their disposal right now. It is because of Jayden Daniels [they made it to the NFC title game].”
Alex Smith says that Patrick Mahomes is doing “more with less” compared to Jayden Daniels & other QBs
(via:@GetUpESPN) pic.twitter.com/wUEB61UnSH
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) January 20, 2025
It was a bit of an over-the-top reaction, but that’s exactly what you expect on a show like Get Up. The issue with the dispute was that Woody appeared as though he was shouting at the sky. Dan Orlovsky quickly cut him off by saying, “But no one’s disputing that,” to which Woody seemed confused.
For Orlovsky and Smith, two former NFL QBs by the way, they seemed to just be pointing out that Mahomes has had less to work with than he traditionally does this season. Woody, meanwhile, was arguing for Daniels as the best QB in the playoffs right now. Two separate discussions. But Mike Greenberg swiftly got the panel back on track.
“The Washington Commanders, as a franchise, have sucked since I was in college,” Greenberg jokingly exclaimed. “And Jayden’s got them in the NFC Championship game. He just went and beat Detroit, who won 15 games this year.”
It’s an important distinction to point out. The Commanders have been bad for a while. This will be their first NFC Championship game since 1991 when they went on to win the whole thing. The Chiefs, on the other hand, are going to their seventh straight AFC Championship game. They have immortalized themselves as one of the greatest dynasties the sport has seen. Even if Mahomes hasn’t had much to work with, he’s still Patrick freaking Mahomes.
It’s not a completely bizarre statement from Smith, but it does come across as biased. After all, he did mentor Mahomes during his last year in Kansas City. And it’s not like what he said about Mahomes’ lack of weapons was untrue. It’s just not something people want to hear. When a team is on the verge of a three-peat, there is no lack of weapons.
Daniels, on the other hand, has enamored the NFL crowd. He has a dazzling style of play and his youth stardom makes it exciting to project his future.
If he can lead the Commanders to the Super Bowl, he’ll instantly earn legend status. Not only that, but he might also get the chance to prove Woody right and take down Smith’s guy in a battle of QBs with limited weapons. Maybe that should be the headline for the Super Bowl, if it ends up being Chiefs vs. Commanders.
