INDIANAPOLIS _ It's a time-honored axiom of football that few players are more popular with fans than the backup quarterback.
In that cushioned context, their glamorous merits tend to obscure any of their flaws, which is maybe about opposite the way all but the most-elite starters seem to be seen.
That dynamic perhaps is magnified among Chiefs faithful, considering starter Alex Smith is considered by some a conservative stick-in-the-mud and mere "game manager" while swashbuckling, big-armed Nick Foles has been on call.
If you tended to think that way already, you saw exactly what you wanted to on Sunday in the Chiefs 30-14 victory over the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
With Smith knocked out of the game twice and ultimately diagnosed with a concussion, Foles optimized his Chiefs debut by completing 16 of 22 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 135.2
It was an admirable performance that included the team's longest pass completion of the season, for 49 yards to Tyreek Hill.
And Foles would have had 37 more on the ledger if not for the nonsensical NFL interpretation of what constitutes a catch that denied one by Travis Kelce.
Even though Hill's excellent catch was the most noteworthy part of that play, there was exhilaration in seeing Foles extend the field in ways Smith won't often do.
"He has a huge arm _ huge arm," said receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was Foles' teammate in Philadelphia. "And he likes to throw the ball down the field."
Added coach Andy Reid, who drafted and coached Foles with the Eagles: "He wasn't shy, that's for sure. Slung it around there pretty good."
Heck, even Foles chimed in about the benefits of cutting loose more.
"Any time you can hit a big shot, it really helps," he said. "It almost deflates the defense a little bit; you can see the sideline gets amped up."
But Foles is the backup to Smith for a reason, and any notion that there is _ or should be _ a quarterback controversy bubbling here is a fabrication.
For one thing, the underappreciated Smith is the better quarterback even if he's typically less spectacular and can leave you exasperated at times.
There is so much more to the position than just having a big arm (not that Foles is only that), and Smith is playing chess in his decision-making while most of us only can see checkers.
He's a well-respected leader on this team, has a great intuitive rapport with Reid and holds some currency that says it all.
As of the game Sunday, in which he contributed a key touchdown pass late in the first half in between suffering a lacerated ear and the concussion, Smith has been the QB of record for 35 Chiefs wins in three-plus seasons.
Less than halfway through the year, that broke a tie with Trent Green for most wins in the first four seasons with the team.
Now, this in itself is an example of quarterbacks getting too much credit for losses and too much blame for defeats, but it's also the coin of the realm for Reid and the Chiefs, part of a winning edge.
There's simply no reason to mess with that _ which Foles at least indirectly acknowledged as he spoke of Smith as a "warrior" and "special guy" as he tried to explain his own success.
"I get to watch Alex Smith practice every single day," he said. "And watch him, the way he studies, the way he plays the game, and the way he practices _ the way he does everything.
"So I built a data base right there where I get to watch one of the best in the game do it every single day."
None of this diminishes what Foles did Sunday and how it reinforced the wisdom of signing him after the departure of Chase Daniel left no one on the team besides Smith having played an NFL snap at quarterback.
As it happens, until Sunday, Foles hadn't played an NFL snap since last December with the Rams.
They benched him for the final four games and fired their offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti a day after Foles completed 15 of 35 passes for 146 yards in a 27-3 loss to Arizona.
That sort of game is a useful reminder that Foles, naturally, has human flaws of his own that likely would be exposed over time.
If you've seen Foles play in the past, you were reminded of that on the overthrown lob to Charcandrick West that squandered a touchdown opportunity.
It also bears mention that Foles had thrown as many interceptions (20) as touchdowns the last three seasons before joining the Chiefs.
But Sunday's game was a reminder of all that Foles brings to the Chiefs, who are one of the few teams in the NFL that boasts as an apprentice anyone of his caliber and past: 27 touchdown passes with only two interceptions in his 2013 Pro Bowl season.
What might have been disruptive was seamless because of Foles' experience, skills and preparation.
"Nick prepares like he's 'the guy,' " Maclin said. "He's always going to stay ready. We're fortunate to have a guy like that come in and fill the void."
Twice, as it happened on Sunday.
When Smith left the game the first time, Foles was ready and steered the Chiefs to a 10-0 lead on a beautiful 14-yard TD pass to Kelce.
After Smith left for good, he also connected with Hill for a 34-yard touchdown on a blown coverage.
Each time, Foles said, he had to be "in tune" with the flow of the game.
"As a backup, you have to always stay that way," he said. "Because if you let that slip, and you get into a game and you weren't prepared, it's usually not a good thing."
Meanwhile, with Smith's return date uncertain, the Chiefs have a good thing just as it is _ which should be cause not for unrest but affirmation.
