Geno Smith does enough to win against Jets

Geno Smith ignored or missed some open receivers. He held on to the ball too long.

He and his offense failed to score five(!) times from the 1-yard line. The quarterback got sacked for a mammoth loss of 14 yards on fourth and goal from the 1.

First in the NFL in completions and second in passing yards entering Sunday, Smith had his second-fewest completions and second-fewest yards against the woeful New York Jets.

But the league’s leader in interceptions entering the day threw none. He again made a huge play later in the game.

And Smith won. For the third consecutive game.

For all his seesawing this season, the 34-year-old quarterback, who is playing for his longer-term future beyond next year, has Seattle (7-5) in first place in the NFC West entering the season’s final stretch.

Smith completed 20 of 31 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and three sacks in the Seahawks’ rally past the 3-9 Jets Sunday. After throwing six interceptions in his previous four games, Smith threw all 31 of his passes to teammates in his former home stadium in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.

Smith has won games almost by himself behind a porous offensive line during his three seasons replacing traded Russell Wilson as Seattle’s quarterback.

He didn’t lose this one. With the way coach Mike Macdonald’s transformed defense is playing lately, that was enough to win.

So, yes, the Seahawks remain steadfastly behind Smith entering their showdown Sunday at the second-place Arizona Cardinals (6-6).

“I mean, we won the game,” Macdonald said. “He took care of the ball for the most part. He made some critical fourth-down, extended plays that not a lot of people on this planet can make.

“And then, thought he managed the game well. We didn’t have to run any timeouts. I mean, those are the types of games, that’s the way he has to play for us to win. And he did that.”

Geno Smith’s clutch play

It wasn’t artistic. It wasn’t as well-earned as many of his others.

The Jets, the team that drafted Smith in 2013 and gave him his first NFL starting job as a rookie and the next year, handed the Seahawks their go-ahead touchdown drive. Midway through the final quarter with a 21-19 lead they committed three penalties on fourth-down plays New York otherwise stopped.

Yet Smith on Sunday led his eighth game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in the last two seasons. He and Patrick Mahomes lead the NFL in game-winning drives over the last two seasons. Smith has 11 winning drives late in the last three seasons. That’s the second-most in the NFL in that span.

Two changes at halftime got the Seahawks the rest of 19 unanswered points and the escape win over the Jets.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb came out of the break sending DK Metcalf deep down the sidelines to test New York’s pass defense that entered the game second in NFL.

On Seattle’s initial drive of the second half, Metcalf ran past All-Pro cornerback Ahamd “Sauce” Gardner for a 28-yard catch down the right sideline. Four plays later Metcalf burned former Seahawks cornerback D.J. Reed down the left sideline for a 30-yard reception.

That drive included Metcalf getting interfered with in the end zone for a first down from the 1. It ended with the Seahawks failing to score on those five tries from the 1. On second down Smith threw errantly wide, maybe his worst throw of the day, targeting open tight end Noah Fant outside right at the goal line. On third down Gardner reached to break up Smith’s pass to Metcalf on a slant route into the end zone.

On fourth down the Jets covered Smith’s receivers while they inundated the QB with pressure. Smith turned into a sack for a 14-yard loss, defeating the dual purpose of Macdonald not kicking the field goal seeking either a TD or a Jets drive start from their own 1.

“I think they did a great job of matching the route, (so) that made him hold the ball,” Macdonald said.

The coach cited Smith for not making the correct play there.

“You know, those are situations where it’s kind of — this sounds crazy — but it’s better to throw it away than take a sack in that situation, because the reason you’re going for it is if you don’t get it you’re getting the field position,” Macdonald said.

“But credit to them, they made a great play.”

Smith’s best play against New York was on fourth down, final play of the third quarter, with his team trailing 21-16. From the Jets 44-yard line, Smith dropped back to pass and got pressure up the middle from New York’s Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Williams beat Seahawks left guard Laken Tomlinson with a swim move to the inside. Smith turned to his left to avoid Williams.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was running a crossing route on Jets cornerback Michael Carter from left to right. He saw his quarterback in some trouble. The wide receiver improvisationally veered off his route, to the left away from the field’s middle. He ran in the direction Smith was moving. The receiver’s move spun around Carter. It left Smith-Njigba running open to the left sideline.

By then, Smith had Jets sack leader Will McDonald charging at him off the left edge. Smith threw his pass while back stepping away from McDonald. The ball reached Smith-Njigba perfectly away from Carter at the 20-yard line for a 24-yard gain.

That play set up a field goal by Jason Myers to get Seattle within 21-19, and preceded Smith’s Jets-aided drive in the fourth quarter that won the game 26-21.

“It was a big emphasis at halftime,” Smith-Njigba told Fox 13 Seattle television’s Alyssa Charlston over more bumpin’ music in the Seahawks’ locker room postgame. “Geno said, actually, ‘Be ready on the scramble drills.’”

Smith again praises his receivers for making the plays Grubb called against the Jets. Eventually.

“Yeah, I’ve said it. I’ve been on record saying it: We’ve got the best receiver group in the league,” Smith said. “Those guys make clutch catch after clutch catch, big play after big play.”

Geno Smith’s growth

Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier was on the same staff with Macdonald under coach John Harbaugh on the 2016 Baltimore Ravens. Frazier remembers Smith, then in his second year as the Jets’ benched backup, making a one-off start in week seven of that season two weeks after the QB’s 26th birthday.

Smith completed 4 of 8 passes but Ryan Fitzpatrick finished the Jets’ win over Baltimore Oct. 23, 2016. Smith was months from ending his rookie contract then, and from his next six seasons as a backup for four teams on six one-year contracts at league-minimum salaries.

“To see his growth from then to now is incredible,” Frazier said Monday of Smith, whose $75 million deal with Seattle ends after the 2025 season.

“He was a guy back then, when he would get in the game, you were expecting certain things to happen that were going to be negative. Not anymore.”

Frazier was Buffalo’s defensive coordinator from 2017-22 and says Smith’s growth as a leader and as a total NFL quarterback is exponential since he’s been the Seahawks’ starter.

“The opponent has to respect his ability to be able to see things, recognize things, and put the offense in the best position to succeed,” Frazier said. “His mobility along with his accuracy with the football, it really puts defensive coordinators on notice.

“Being here and being up close and not just watching him on tape, but just the way he prepares as well, the way he leads, in the locker room, on the practice field. All of those things have been so impressive.

“Just really happy for him to see some of the success that he’s having.”

That success includes quarterbacking the NFC West’s first-place team currently holding the third of six seeds in the conference playoff race. Five games remain in the regular season. Three are on the road: at Arizona Sunday, at Chicago (4-8) the day after Christmas, and at the 6-6 Rams team that beat the Seahawks in overtime in Seattle last month.

“It’s what you want. You want to be playing meaningful games in December,” Smith said. “Coach talked to us. He said they remember what you do in December.

“So as a team, as a quarterback, I want to play my best football late down the stretch.

“We played together, complimentary football, even with the mistakes that we made (against New York). As long as we continue to play together, we’re a feisty bunch.

“We got a chance to win all of our games.”