The play looked simple enough at first. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was being flushed from the pocket in the first half on Monday Night Football in Week 4 when he was grabbed from behind by New York Giants safety Isaiah Simmons just before Smith reached the sideline. The issue is that Simmons kept hold of Smith and then twisted Smith slightly before Simmons turned and had his hip land on the back of Smith's legs.
For an NFL player who is taught a certain way to tackle, Simmons had to know that his turning his hips and landing on Smith's legs could injure the quarterback. Smith got up, walked gingerly to the huddle and to his own sideline and finished what was left of the drive. But he had X-rays on his leg and missed the rest of the first half.
Thankfully, Smith ended up being OK and came back to start the second half. Seattle's offense sputtered at times throughout the game, so the injury didn't seem to affect Seattle's efficiency. But the Seahawks are still fortunate that Drew Lock is not the long-term starter due to Smith getting hurt.
Smith was angry to begin the second half. He even got a 15-yard penalty for taunting after he completed a long pass to Tyler Lockett in the third quarter. To be fair, while Smith does play angry at times, he probably need to check his emotions a bit more. He could have just taken his anger out by punishing the Giants defense with points instead of words.
Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith calls out New York Giants for "dirty play"
After the game when speaking to ESPN reporter Lisa Salters, Smith said of the play by Simmons, "A dirty play. Dirty play. You guys could see it. It was a dirty play. There’s no place in this sport for that. And, you know, hopefully something happens. But other than that, the grace of God allowed me to come back into this game."
Geno Smith was not happy about this late hit on the sidelines.
— Sports ON Tap Seattle (@SeattleONTap) October 3, 2023
“There’s no place for that in the sports”
Love that he talked that talk and the Seahawks teammates backed him up. pic.twitter.com/O6hmWlrun2
And the play was a dirty one. Maybe Simmons doesn't like the Seahawks for some reason. He did play against Seattle when he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals so maybe something happened there. But Simmons didn't receive a flag for the play and might even avoid receiving a fine.
The NFL seems more content to fine DK Metcalf weekly (I am sure they will find a way to fine Metcalf for something he did in Week 4 as well) and not call obvious penalties on opposing teams, such as when a Giant pushed DeeJay Dallas while Dallas waited for the Giants punt to be downed. If the same thing had happened with a Seahawk pushing a player in the same situation, you can be sure a flag would have been thrown.
But yeah, Simmons play was dirty. Geno Smith will probably take the high road on the situation from here on (he did so in the post-game press conference), but he should hold to the narrative he told ESPN. He believes the tackle on him was "dirty" because the play was.