Alex Smith's injury: Washington quarter suffered a terrible leg injury at Joe Theismann's birthday

Washington might not be his starting quarter for a considerable time. Alex Smith had to be on the field in the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Texans after a terrible leg injury. Backup Colt McCoy will manage the clichés of the team in his place.

Here is an overview of the game that caused the injury.

The veteran quarter had a disastrous end to the day. Smith had been intercepted twice that day, one of those choices having been reduced to 101 yards by security Justin Reid to give Houston a 17-7 advantage in the third quarter. He was trying to get Washington back to the fight when he suffered his brutal blow. He was officially excluded from Sunday's match.

McCoy is relieved to find Jordan Reed in the end zone for a touchdown nine yards a few moments later, reducing the Texans' lead to 17-14.

What does that mean for Washington?

Washington ran to the top of the NFC's East behind a surprising 6-3 start in 2018. Smith played an important role in this game. Rather than letting the team sink into the loss of former quarterback Kirk Cousins, Smith left little time serving with his low-risk pass in the pocket. Although he has only gained 6.8 yards per attempt – his lowest number since 2013 – he has also made just three interceptions in 301 assists before Sunday's game.

Smith will not be back on Sunday, and a quick record analysis suggests that it may take some time before he returns to the field. Theismann, who saw his career complete with a similar (and often replayed) success that day 33 years ago, immediately saw the similarities between the two terrifying monsters.

Coincidentally, Theismann was at FedEx Field to watch Smith's injury live on Sunday afternoon.

As for McCoy, he had only 11 assists from the 2015 regular season to the 11th week. He's suddenly in the crosshairs to start the last six games of the season, which would be the biggest action he's seen since 2011. He's pretty much the quintessential quarterback with a passer-by career of 78.9 – which means that Washington can win with him in training, although the team record of 1-3 with McCoy as a starter still remains worrying.

We will have updates on Smith's condition upon arrival.