Seattle Seahawks: Grading Geno Smith’s plucky Week 18 performance

First off, THANK YOU DETROIT LIONS! Entering Week 18, the Seattle Seahawks knew they would need help in order to get into the playoffs. But, the help didn’t matter unless they handled their business and beat the Los Angeles Rams. With everything on the line, it was critically important for Geno Smith to play smart in this game. Minimize the turnovers and you minimize the scoring opportunities for the Rams.

Despite some poor decisions with the football, the Seahawks found a way to win the game and swept the Rams for the first time since 2013. Similarly to their Week 13 outing, this game came down to the final drive. In fact, for the majority of the second half, the Seahawks had to respond to the Rams just to keep the game within reach.

In what many thought would be a blowout, ended up being a nail-biter that came down to the leg of Jason Meyers. The resilience of this young Seahawks team has been tremendous throughout the entire season. They’ve had winning streaks, and losing streaks, and dealt with injuries to key players, and yet, they just kept fighting. The locker room rallied around the man who still hasn’t written back, Geno Smith.

Evaluating Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith’s Week 18

The Seattle Seahawks couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in this game. On their very first offensive play, Geno Smith threw an interception. A ball that should have been completed to D.K. Metcalf, but was underthrown. Mistakes like that in a game of such magnitude are not what you want to see from your (potential future franchise) quarterback.

But, they did receive help from their defense. Once again, the Seahawks’ defense held its own. On the early turnover from Geno, they held the Rams’ offense to just a field goal. Throughout the game, they held the Rams’ offense intact, giving numerous opportunities to this Seattle offense to take over the game. Give credit to Los Angeles for putting together a nice defensive game plan. Watching, it felt as if Seattle never really settled into a rhythm.

The defensive line of the Rams was very disruptive. They finished the game with 3 sacks and 5 quarterback hits. The duress Geno was under resulted in some missed throws and another interception to Jalen Ramsey. Although, the second one wasn’t necessarily all Geno’s fault. Evading the pressure in the pocket, Geno rolled out and thought D.K. was going to stay in the soft spot of the zone. However, D.K. kept running and Geno threw the ball where he thought he would be.

As always though, Geno responded. He put this team on his back when they most needed him. First, when he dropped an absolute dime to Tyler Lockett to cap off a 5-play, 88-yard game-tying drive in the third quarter. Then, he led a 16-play, 82-yard game-tying drive that forced overtime. As a matter of fact, he put them in a position to win the game in regulation.

After tying it up at 16-16, the Seahawks got the ball back with just under 1 minute left. Using his legs and getting some help from a Jalen Ramsey penalty, the Seahawks found themselves in field goal position. Obviously, Meyers missed the game-winner in regulation but redeemed himself in overtime to give this Seahawks team a much-needed victory.

Redemption seems to be a fair word to use as a theme for this 2022 season. Pete Carroll sought redemption as many thought this team would be awful after moving off Russell Wilson. But, a playoff birth and a top 5 draft pick sure sound good to me. Geno Smith sought redemption as he finally earned another starting job after waiting a decade. This Seahawks franchise as a whole sought redemption after a stellar 2022 NFL Draft, where they feel they’ve found the nucleus of a championship team.

I cannot speak enough of the character of Geno Smith and how well he has presented himself as the face of this franchise. Time after time, game after game, just when you thought his storybook season was ending, he found a way to keep it going. That was on full display in this Week 18 matchup.

Grade: B