Alex Smith suffered a gruesome injury that reminded many of Joe Theisman's infamous broken leg

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Alex Smith went down in the third quarter of Washington's game against the Houston Texans with a gruesome injury.

• Alex Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury in the third quarter of the Redskins game against the Texans.
• The injury immediately brought up memories of Joe Thiesman's infamous career-ending leg injury.
• Smith was carted off the field with backup quarterback Colt McCoy taking over in his absence.

Alex Smith went down in the third quarter of the Washington Redskins game against the Houston Texans on Sunday with a gruesome leg injury.

Trailing 17-7 but driving towards the red zone, Smith dropped back on third-and-9 and was immediately pursued by the Texans pass rush. Running backward, Smith went down in a heap when caught by J.J. Watt and Kareem Jackson.

WARNING: Some may find the video below disturbing

Smith would have to be carted off the field after the play.

The hit immediate brought to mind another moment in Redskins history - Joe Thiesman's brutal broken leg during "Monday Night Football" back in 1985, after taking a hit from Giants linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson, which forced Thiesman into retirement.

Thiesman himself saw the similarity.

While we don't yet know about Smith's future in football, it's unlikely he'll be suiting up again any time soon for Washington.

In Smith's absence, backup quarterback Colt McCoy entered the game for the Redskins. He threw a touchdown on his first pass attempt to cut the Texans lead to 17-14.