'Fight to the Finish': Geno Smith, Seahawks Make History With Christmas Eve Comeback
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - While most things shouldn't be defined by absolutes, when it comes to NFL quarterbacks and the clutch gene, they either have it or they don't.
As the past week has evidenced in a pair of close, down-to-the-wire games, the Seahawks luckily have two quarterbacks on the roster who possess this key trait. After watching backup Drew Lock throw a game-winning touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba against Philadelphia on Monday night, Geno Smith wasn't about to be outdone when presented his own opportunity for theatrics on Sunday afternoon in Tennessee.
Trailing by four with under four minutes left to play following a touchdown run by Titans running back Derrick Henry, Smith performed his best Lock impersonation, calmly orchestrating a 14-play, 75-yard drive culminating with a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson. Completing seven out of 10 passes for 57 yards, his second touchdown toss of the quarter put the Seahawks ahead for good to lock up a crucial 20-17 road victory at Nissan Stadium.
By finishing off his league-best fourth game-winning drive, Smith and Lock etched themselves into the history books as only the second quarterback duo on the same team to lead game-winning drives in the final minute in back-to-back weeks, joining the 1999 Dolphins in exclusive company.
"It’s preparation," Smith said after the game. "Coach prepares us for these opportunities, for these moments in the VMAC. Every single day we go over two-minute, a bunch of different situations and scenarios. It helps when you get out there on the field, you’re used to it, you know what to do. Guys are calm, they know their assignments, and you saw, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. Coach prepares us to be in those situations and to make those plays and that's what we're about as Seahawks. We're going to fight to the finish and if the ball is in our hands as an offense, we want to make sure we close it out."
After missing on a few throws in the red zone earlier in the game, Geno Smith tossed two go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lead the Seahawks past the Titans in Nashville.
© Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
As was the case from start to finish in what defensive tackle Jarran Reed correctly characterized as an "ugly" game, the underdog Titans didn't roll over, making Smith and the Seahawks sweat down the stretch.
First, two snaps after Smith hooked up with receiver Tyler Lockett for a seven-yard completion to move the sticks on 3rd and 6 to the Titans 36-yard line, speedy edge rusher Harold Landry collapsed the pocket to devour the quarterback for a six-yard sack. Facing 3rd and 14 in their own territory out of the two minute warning, Tennessee could send the horses after him with few plays in the playbook to pick up that much yardage.
But as he has done numerous times this season with the game - and in this instance, potentially the season - hanging in the balance, Smith didn't panic and tapped into his clutch gene.
"As I'm going out there, I'm not thinking about anything else besides the situation, knowing we got four downs," Smith said of his mindset taking the field before the decisive series. "We had a bunch of time, about three minutes. I was thinking about the situation and how we can get in the end zone."
Standing steady in the pocket with quality protection in front of him, Smith confidently stepped into his throw and unleashed a bullet to rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who came open over the middle and snagged the pass for an 18-yard gain for a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, astutely sensing an oncoming pass rush as if he had eyes on the back of his helmet, he stepped up in the pocket and found Lockett along the left sideline for another first down conversion.
Moving past midfield with those two completions, Smith moved the chains once more by finding Lockett again on 2nd and 7 for an eight-yard pickup on a quick out. Two plays later, with the quarterback correctly reading Cover 0, he took a shot downfield with blitzers bearing down on him to DK Metcalf on a deep post route, drawing a 22-yard defensive pass interference penalty and advancing the ball down to the Titans five-yard line with a little over a minute left on the clock and three timeouts in tow.
Three plays later, following a pair of Tennessee timeouts to stop the clock, Waldron dialed up a red zone pass play Smith and Parkinson said Seattle has been practicing for months waiting for the right opportunity. With the 6-7 tight end covered by a much smaller Tre Avery one-on-one, the quarterback put the ball up high for his target to snag as he boxed out the defender and held on through contact for six points.
"I feel like we practiced it every day since the start of training camp," Smith explained. "It’s just that the situation hasn't come yet. But, at the right time, at the perfect time, coach called it, and we knew exactly what we were going to do. We've repped it so many times. Colby knew exactly how the ball was going to come. Strong hands made that catch, got in the end zone, that was great."
Still holding one timeout, Tennessee had a chance to try to move the ball downfield for a game-tying field goal. But Seattle's pass rush made sure that didn't happen, as outside linebacker Boye Mafe and defensive end Dre'Mont Jones each sacked quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the final minute, with the latter's sack bleeding most of the remaining time off the clock to seal the win.
When Smith started three games for an injured Russell Wilson during the 2021 season, though he played well throwing five touchdowns and only one interception, he wasn't able to capitalize on late opportunities in losses to the Steelers and Saints. Since that point, however, his seven game-winning drives over the past two seasons ranks second behind only Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Further demonstrating his capabilities in the clutch, per the Elias Sports Bureau, Smith's two go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter on Sunday gave him six such passes this season, tying him for the most in a season in NFL history. His three go-ahead touchdown passes inside a minute to play during the 2023 season also is tied for the most in league history.
Having grown accustomed to seeing Smith take the wheel and guide the Seahawks to game-winning drives in his two seasons as starter, coach Pete Carroll never had any doubts he would pull it off again on Sunday. With the rest of his teammates following his lead, capping off a week where he initially was frustrated about not playing against the Eagles, his latest heroics put the team back in the driver's seat controlling their own playoff destiny with two games left on the schedule.
"You’ve got to be around him to appreciate the competitive mentality that he has. He's in such a good place. He believes so strongly that it's going to happen and it’s going to get done and his guys are going to come through for him. And that belief it transfers, translates to other guys, they feel him. So they go through and do what they're supposed to do, and it comes out well. He’s having an enormous impact on these guys just because his mentality is so strong and so consistent."
