Alex Smith leads the NFL in sacks since the start of the 2011 season with 51.

Ben Roethlisberger is second with 48, followed by Blaine Gabbert with 45 and Aaron Rodgers with 44.

“Alex Smith has grown into a man,” Phil Simms said on “NFL Monday QB” on CBS. “Of course he’s being taught well, but he’s just gotten physically stronger. When you look at his first three or four years, I didn’t think he was strong enough to be an every-week starting quarterback. He is now.”