'Heartbeat of This Team': Unflappable Geno Smith Sets Tone as Surging Seahawks Discard Cardinals
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Amidst an unexpected career year under center for the Seahawks, Geno Smith hadn't faced much adversity prior to Sunday's road matchup with the Cardinals. Already tying a career-high for touchdown passes after just eight games, he had thrown only three interceptions and ranked first in the NFL in completion percentage for one of the league's most surprising teams.
But with under 10 minutes to play in the third quarter at State Farm Stadium, Seattle appeared to be in trouble after Smith made by far his biggest mistake of the season. Not seeing linebacker Zaven Collins, who was lined up playing off the edge, the veteran quarterback tried to dump a swing route to running back Ken Walker III and the defender tipped the ball to himself, catching it and taking off for a 25-yard touchdown return to suddenly put Arizona back in front 14-10.
Some players would have been pressing after committing such a major miscue. However, after spending the past seven years as a backup before finally getting his chance to start again, Smith exhibited the amnesia great quarterbacks must have by tipping his cap to Collins, shaking off the interception, and promptly redeeming himself.
"Sometimes the ball’s not going to bounce your way, but you can’t be phased by it," Smith said following the game, calling the interception a wake up call for him and the rest of the team. "And after all I’ve gone through, things like that are not going to phase me."
Unphased and unflappable, Smith coolly responded to the pick six in impressive fashion, leading the Seahawks on a 13-play, 79-yard drive that culminated with a nine-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tyler Lockett. Dropping back to pass seven times, he completed six passes for 54 yards, including hooking up with Lockett for a clutch 14-yard strike to move the chains on 3rd and 12.
After Seattle's defense forced Arizona to punt, Smith went right back to work, this time using his legs as his weapon of choice. Facing 3rd and 7 at the Cardinals 39-yard line, he recognized the defense was in man coverage without a defender to account for him as a runner and took off, scrambling up the middle for an 18-yard gain and a new set of downs. On the very next play, he kept the ball on a designed option run and powered forward for a 12-yard gain and another first down.
Four plays later, Walker punched the ball in from a yard out to cap off another 13-play drive that ate more than six minutes of clock and a four-point deficit had transformed into a 10-point lead that the Seahawks would not relinquish. Even after the Cardinals answered with a touchdown of their own, Smith rolled out after a play fake and dumped off a pass in the flats to Noah Fant, who slipped through a tackle attempt by Collins and bolted 51 yards to set up another Walker touchdown run to put a bow on a satisfying 31-21 road victory.
"What a bounce back, what a fantastic finish to this game," coach Pete Carroll said.
As has been the case all season, Smith refused to take individual credit for his part in the rally as he wiped his brow in a sauna-like interview room, commending his teammates for answering the call and putting away the opposition with methodical, soul-crushing touchdown drives of 75, 81, and 85 yards down the stretch.
“I think we responded great as a team," Smith remarked. "Going three straight drives, finishing with touchdowns. Long drives, tough drives. Everyone in the stadium knew the magnitude of those drives and for us to go down there and get scores and get touchdowns I think it is showing you what type of team we are and what type of team we can be.”
As unlikely of a success story as Smith has been orchestrating Seattle's high-powered, efficient offense thus far, teammates and coaches didn't expect anything less from him after throwing what could have been a back-breaking interception. Calm and collected on the sideline, he put the next play mentality perfectly into practice, continuing to set the tone for those around him.
From safety Ryan Neal's perspective, considering how Smith languished as a backup for several years and kept grinding waiting for his second chance, he's the perfect quarterback to guide a resilient squad full of underdogs and overachievers such as himself who have had to scratch and claw their way to make it in the NFL. Not surprised at all by how No. 7 rose to the occasion after a pivotal mistake on Sunday, he views him as the poster child for Seattle's identity.
With Smith at the controls, the Seahawks never feel like they're out of a game. Now riding a four-game winning streak thanks in large part to his stellar play and leadership in the face of adversity, his poised, assuring presence continues to be instrumental in the team's unexpected rise back to contender status in the NFC.
"When you go out and see Geno do something like that, it just shows the theme with this team, the heartbeat of this team. It's us against the world. We go out there, things happen. Come back to your brothers, we've got you. It's all love over here. We don't care about the outside noise. It's all about us at the end of the day, so just seeing him go back out there and do that lets us know we're going to fight until the end. That's just how this team rolls."
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