Cool Geno? QB May Be Key to Seahawks Bucking Cold Weather Blues vs. Chiefs
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RENTON, Wash. - Reeling with four losses in their past five games, the Seahawks will enter Saturday's Christmas Eve contest against the AFC West champion Chiefs as a heavy underdog for several reasons.
For one, Kansas City has a leading MVP candidate in star quarterback Patrick Mahomes under center orchestrating the NFL's top scoring offense. Defensively, the trio of Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Carlos Dunlap wreaks havoc rushing the passer each week, creating a nightmare matchup for a Seattle offensive line that has struggled mightily over the past month and change.
Compounding matters for coach Pete Carroll's squad, the Seahawks will have to not only deal with Mahomes, Jones, and company. On top of the significant personnel advantages the Chiefs appear to have on both sides of the football, they also will be playing at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the most unwelcoming stadiums for road teams in the league, with temperatures expected to hover below zero on the field.
Bracing for one of those coldest games in franchise history, Carroll didn't seem phased by the prospects of frigid temperatures when asked on Tuesday if any special preparations needed to be made to battle the elements.
“Not much, we can’t do much about it," Carroll said. "It’s going to be just as cold on their side too, so we just have to be ready. There is going to be some clothing that we will wear that will help us adapt.”
While Carroll is right that both teams will have to deal with the chilly temperatures and possible snow on Saturday in Kansas City, such weather conditions have not treated Seattle too kindly in 47 seasons as a franchise.
Dating back to their inaugural season in 1976, the Seahawks have played in only 14 games with the temperature at kickoff under 25 degrees Fahrenheit, compiling a 3-11 record for a dismal 0.214 win percentage. Playing games at the King Dome through the 1999 season, all but one of those games came on the road, with the lone outlier being a 25-24 loss to the Bears at Lumen Field last December.
Since Carroll arrived from USC in 2010, Seattle hasn't fared any better in cold weather games, posting a 1-4 record and a .200 win percentage. Among the four defeats with him on the sideline, the Seahawks lost to a 24-20 heartbreaker to the Chiefs amid chilly temperatures at Arrowhead Stadium in 2014.
Fortunately, Carroll's lone win in arctic conditions did come in the postseason as the Seahawks edged the Vikings 10-9 in the 2016 wild card round, sneaking out of Minnesota with a victory after kicker Blair Walsh shanked a short field goal wide left in the closing seconds.
With the actual temperature being negative six degrees that afternoon, Carroll remembers "Ice Bowl II" vividly, reminiscing about his mentor and long-time Vikings coach Bud Grant taking the field in short sleeves before the opening kickoff.
“It doesn’t matter how cold it is, you can still go out there and play wherever you are going and win the football game. That was a great experience for us," Carroll commented. "The thing I remember most was Bud [Grant] pregame, he was the biggest stud in the whole stadium.”
With that postseason triumph being more than half a decade ago, the Seahawks don't have many players remaining on the roster who dressed to play inside a freezer in Minneapolis. Away from Carroll and a few other members of the coaching staff, only receiver Tyler Lockett and outside linebacker Bruce Irvin were with the team at TCF Bank Stadium.
Even since their last cold weather game against Chicago on a rare snow day in Seattle last December, the Seahawks have undergone substantial turnover. Russell Wilson was still under center in that game, taking a critical third down sack that ultimately may have cost his team three points in crunch time, while Bobby Wagner still roamed the middle of the defense at linebacker.
If there's a reason for optimism with cold weather and snow in the forecast for Saturday, after Wilson struggled for years in such games, Geno Smith may be a massive upgrade in sub-zero temperatures based on his track record.
Though he grew up in Miami, Florida and never had to worry about playing in such conditions at the high school level, Smith gained plenty of experience throwing the pigskin in below freezing temperatures while starring at West Virginia. In fact, he played some of his best football in those games, throwing for over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions while leading the Mountaineers to a 4-1 record in cold weather contests.
Drafted by the Jets in the second round in 2013, Smith interestingly only played in one game with temperatures below 32 degrees, completing 18 out of 29 passes for 255 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a 30-24 loss at Minnesota in 2014.
When asked how he alters his preparation for cold games, Smith said aside from having handwarmers available, he sticks to his usual routine. As for whether or not the elements impact his ability to grip and throw the football, he believes wind has a far greater impact than lower temperatures and as long as the ball is properly inflated, it shouldn't be an issue for him on Saturday.
“You have to stay warm, keep the blood flowing, and keep the body warm. I don’t really prepare differently," Smith stated. "Some guys are different, every guy is different, so it’s custom to the person. For me, it’s pretty much the same. As long as I have a handwarmer and a nice jacket, I think I will be all right.”
Of course, while Smith may be more than comfortable throwing a cold football, he will be throwing to a receiving corps without Lockett, who underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand on Monday. Regardless of who steps up in his absence, hauling in passes in chilly weather can feel like trying to catch a large rock and it will be interesting to see how weather impacts that aspect of the game.
Still, all season long, Smith has been a beacon of calm and poise under center for Seattle, reviving his career with 26 touchdown passes and a 71.4 percent completion rate to earn his first Pro Bowl nod on Wednesday. For his team to pick up a crucial win as 10-point underdogs on Sunday and curb prior tribulations playing in frigid temperatures, he will have to remain a cool customer in the pocket with Jones, Clark, and Dunlap trying to hunt him down in a loud, hostile environment and deliver accurate strikes to his bevy of weapons.
As for Smith's teammates, echoing what Carroll said on Tuesday, excelling in cold weather boils down to mindset more than anything. As long as they aren't thinking about how cold they are and remember the opponent has to deal with the same conditions, they should be able to adjust accordingly, giving them the best chance for success in a game few expect them to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
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