The one former NFL quarterback who understands the injury Alex Smith has overcome admits he’s living vicariously through him.

“Heck yeah!” former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann told ESPN in a telephone interview. “Go, Alex, go.”

Washington activated Smith off the physically unable to perform list Sunday morning, a remarkable development since he broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg in a November 2018 game against Houston.

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  In his first season with Washington in 2018, Smith had struggled to adapt to Jay Gruden’s offense but had thrown 10 touchdowns to five interceptions before the injury ended his season. Washington was 6-3 and in first place in the NFC East. They’re 4-19 since his injury.

  After the season, numerous teammates said they missed his presence and leadership in the huddle. He also had a large cap hit, making it harder to cut him. Even now Smith would count $32 million vs. the cap if released, though Washington has a $12 million insurance policy that would reduce his number if he was done playing. There was no salary cap in the mid-1980s; Theismann was scheduled to make $1.2 million.

  But Theismann said it went beyond a financial consideration. He pointed to Smith’s work throughout the process. Because of their shared injury history — and because Smith played for Washington — the two spoke often during this process. They’ve discussed their injuries; they’ve talked about the on-field movements he must show to convince others he can be effective.

  “I was pulling for him from day one,” Theismann said. “In the beginning everyone said he’ll never play again. I never bought that. Knowing Alex as I’ve come to know him and the determination he had. … When you watch the show Project 11, the way the show ends he was so much further ahead than where that show ended. Now he has a chance to go out and do certain things.”

  Whether Smith actually contends for the starting job remains to be seen. He was cleared for football activity Sunday, but the organization still isn’t sure about the level at which he’s capable of playing. They are going to ease him back into football action, per multiple sources. Coach Ron Rivera and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese have said the No. 1 thing they want to see is Smith’s ability to protect himself.

  “Without any preseason games and without any real live contact, that still remains an open-ended question,” Theismann said. “That, to me, is the only thing Coach Rivera needs to evaluate is: Will he be able to do that?”

  Theismann said he can also relate to Smith’s desire to play again after such a gruesome injury.

  “You know how hard Alex has worked,” Theismann said. “Before his injury the man carried rocks under water as part of his training. You know how important it is to him and it shows how important football is to him. A lot of people would have said, ‘Why put yourself through this?’ Then again, I don’t think a lot of people understand the athlete. It’s not about the money, it’s about the love of the game and the love of competition. That’s what’s driven Alex.”

  And by pushing himself to reach this point, Theismann said Smith has set up the rest of his life.

  “What he’s been able to do is create a quality of life for himself at some point when this is over,” Theismann said. “He pushed himself so hard, he can do things he wants with [his wife] Elizabeth and with his kids because he pushed himself so hard. That is to me the ultimate thing that happened.”

That was fun. The Champions League quarterfinals delivered incredible drama this week, with the results of four indelible matches sending two German sides and a pair of French clubs to the competition’s semifinals. Below, we take stock and highlight the biggest winners and losers from the games.

Winner: Bayern Munich’s front office

Arguably the defining image from Bayern Munich’s hammering of Barcelona was that of Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies rocketing past Nelson Semedo before strolling into the penalty area and setting up one of his side’s eight goals on the day.

It was almost too indicative of the current state of each club: a young, rising superstar leaving an overpriced acquisition in his wake. Bayern’s brass has built an absolute juggernaut, setting the club up for sustained continental success thanks to a focus on recruiting young talent.

The surreal win over a crumbling Barcelona team was the greatest indication yet that this Bayern side will give opponents problems for a long, long time.

Loser: Josep Maria Bartomeu

One could pick almost anybody from Barcelona here – such was the disastrous nature of Friday’s jaw-dropping defeat. But the biggest loser in that debacle could end up being Bartomeu, whose status as club president was already on unstable ground before Bayern blasted his team into oblivion.

When Philippe Coutinho bagged a late brace, the embarrassment was truly complete: a player for whom Barcelona paid about €160 million and fell flat on his face at the Camp Nou contributing to their most humiliating night – while still on the Spanish side’s books. Woof.

If that isn’t an indictment of Bartomeu and the Catalan club’s horrid decision-making in recent years, nothing is. With presidential elections on the horizon at Barcelona, Bartomeu could already be cooked.

Winner: Single-leg knockout format

Arriving under extenuating circumstances, the biggest star of the Champions League quarterfinals was easily the single-elimination format.

Two-legged ties are wonderful, especially when they offer the chance to see a pair of heavyweights do battle twice. But as we’ve seen over the past several days, they simply can’t beat the urgency of a one-off match with high stakes. A single chance to get it right ensures an irreplicable kind of tension and excitement.

UEFA has said it’s not considering this mini-tournament setup for future seasons; European football’s governing body would simply never entertain the idea of fewer matches and, as a result, less cash. That’s just the way things are in today’s game, so enjoy this while it lasts.

Loser: Pep Guardiola

Here we go again.

Guardiola won the first seven Champions League quarterfinal ties of his managerial career with Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But after Saturday’s upset at the hands of Lyon, he’s now been eliminated in the last-eight stage of the competition in three straight seasons with Manchester City.

He’s not solely to blame, of course – the margins are incredibly fine at this elite level – but the celebrated bench boss unquestionably has a habit of making life difficult for his team with dubious tactics in these key matches. The Spaniard is clearly a brilliant tactical mind – nobody is debating that – but his latest loss was the most obvious sign yet that he’s overthinking things.

Had Manchester City simply used their tried and tested 4-3-3 system, they’d probably be in the semifinals right now. Instead, Guardiola sprung another surprise with a largely untested three-man defense, and it backfired miserably. Sometimes simpler is better, Pep.

Winner: Houssem Aouar

If Jean-Michel Aulas’ phone wasn’t already ringing off the hook, it is now.

Aouar has already been linked with a host of Europe’s top clubs – including the likes of Manchester City and Juventus – and his latest spectacular showing will only embolden Aulas to demand a small fortune for the 22-year-old central midfielder this summer. Together with fellow rising star Maxence Caqueret, Aouar sparkled against City, showcasing his combination of poise, technique, bite, and passing range.

It’s quite the package, and it would improve just about any side in the world.

Loser: Ligue 1 haters

Farmers league, eh?

Yes, a bounce or two here or there could have left both Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon watching the rest of the competition from home; if Raheem Sterling scores the easiest chance of his life Saturday, Manchester City are suddenly well-placed to send Les Gones packing.

But that shouldn’t negate the fantastic accomplishments of the two Ligue 1 clubs. At all. Every champion in the history of this tournament, whether they won by an inch or a mile, needed a slice of luck at some point.

Luck shouldn’t be a dirty word, and it shouldn’t take anything away from PSG and Lyon, who could yet meet in the final. If that happens, it will be the first time two French teams are in the Champions League’s showpiece contest. What would the haters say then?

Winners: Atalanta

Sometimes you win even when you lose. An absolutely exhausted Atalanta side ultimately succumbed – just barely – to the might of PSG, conceding a pair of last-gasp goals that brought a fairytale tournament run to its end.

And yet, they received a well-deserved welcome from their fans upon returning from Lisbon to Bergamo:

Just reaching the last eight was a monumental achievement for a modest club five years removed from a 17th-place finish in Serie A. And where this could potentially signal the end of an era for some teams, one gets the sense that Gian Piero Gasperini and Co. will create more magic in the years to come, even if there are changes to the personnel on the pitch.

Bonus winner: Variety

For the first time since the 1995-96 season, there are no English or Spanish clubs in the Champions League semifinals. PSG and Bayern Munich need no introduction, but if viewers come away from the final four learning something new about RB Leipzig or Lyon – whether that’s an appreciation for a particular player or something else – that can only be considered a positive.

One of the primary concerns in European football of late has been the ever-widening gap between the uber-wealthy and everyone else. That divide, for the most part, has seen the same teams reach the latter stages of the Champions League year after year.

The current list of semifinal contenders may end up a minor blip tied to the unpredictability of the single-leg format, but it’s always nice to have a little variety.