Geno Smith’s poise, 3 big defensive plays send Seahawks past Falcons

Bruce Irvin, in his hometown, and his former Super Bowl teammate Cliff Avril walked the locker room, smiling like the Seahawks’ old glory days.

They walked over to congratulate linebackers Derick Hall and Boye Mafe for their play that turned this game. And Seattle’s losing ways.

Birthday boy Kenneth Walker sat at his locker. The lead running back and touchdown maker was wearing a surgical mask — and conjuring up references to Michael Jordan.

“Yeah, he was sick today, man. Two touchdowns on his birthday. That was sick,” quarterback Geno Smith said.

“Obviously, he was under the weather, a little bit of his flu. Game today on his birthday. I think that’s spectacular.

“Yeah, call it the Kenneth Walker Flu Game.”

What three-game losing streak?

What a difference a running game, and the other team not running, make.

Smith’s poise, smarts, feet and arm started the rebound. Mafe teaming with Hall and Devon Witherspoon to create Seattle’s biggest defensive play yet this season sent the Seahawks soaring past Atlanta.

Smith sidestepped Falcons to avoid sacks to throw precise touchdown passes to DK Metcalf to end the first half and Walker to start the second. Then, with Atlanta threatening to cut into the Seahawks’ 10-point lead, Mafe crashed in on quarterback Kirk Cousins trying to throw. He knocked the ball to Hall, who returned the fumble 64 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter — thanks to a springing block by Witherspoon.

That was the decisive turn in Seattle’s 34-14 victory Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It had all the roaring Seahawks fans in it sounding and feeling like their team’s three-game losing streak never happened.

“Man, you don’t want to put emphasis on the prior weeks. But it was tough,” Smith said after he completed 18 of 28 passes for 207 yards and touchdowns to DK Metcalf and Walker. “It was very easy for everyone to be negative after losing three games. But I though the energy was spectacular. I thought everyone had the right mindset.

“I thought everyone was positive, and I think that bled into the game, and it allowed us to start fast and then continue to have that confidence throughout.”

Or, as wide receiver and new part-time quarterback (more on that in a minute) Jaxon Smith-Njigba said: “I feel great. Losing sucks. You know what I’m saying? Losing is the worst thing.

“So for us to come out here and handle business all the way out in Atlanta, it feels good.”

The defense that had forced only one turnover in five games forced three by Atlanta in the second half. Julian Love and new starting safety Coby Bryant had the picks of Cousins.

And the Seahawks (4-3) benefited from the Falcons (4-3) not running the ball enough against a unit that had allowed 175 yards rushing by the New York Giants and 228 yards in a loss to the 49ers last week.

Seattle reclaimed first place in the NFC West. That because San Francisco (3-4) lost at home to unbeaten Kansas City later Sunday.

“I felt like we earned the win on our preparation Monday through Saturday. It was probably our best week of prep,” rookie head coach Mike Macdonald said of his Seahawks. “Guys were locked in. Going through traveling east, 10 a.m. game on our time, having energy, focus, togetherness, all the stuff that we needed in order for us to win, we did.

“We grew as a football team this week, and now we have to keep it going. We’ve got to keep stacking these days, keep stacking our prep, take what we need to learn from this game and keep moving forward.

“It’s still early in the season, but it’s great to get back in the game for sure.”

The only downer for Seattle: Metcalf left the field on the back of a motorized cart early in the fourth quarter. The hulking receiver had caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Smith late in the second quarter. On his final play of the game he landed hard on his knee while making a leaping catch of a pass out of bounds and getting hit by a Falcons defender in the legs.

“He banged up his knee a little bit. Not sure of the severity,” Macdonald said. “We’re optimistic at this point, so it doesn’t look too bad.”

The Seahawks led 17-14 in the third quarter when Smith deftly stepped away from pressure that got around debuting rookie right tackle Mike Jerrell, who played a solid, at-times outstanding game. Jerrell was quick enough to get back to the defender to push him away from Smith throwing late to Walker. The running back who had been questionable to play because of an illness Saturday leaped across the goal line to make a brilliant, lunging catch past the defending linebacker for the 17-yard touchdown.

Seattle was back up 10, 24-14.

Then came the Seahawks’ parade of turnovers: Hall’s first career turnover and touchdown; Love back to his Pro Bowl, hawking play of last season; and Bryant getting rewarded for playing a strong game replacing injured Rayshawn Jenkins with the first interception of his three-year career.

Seattle’s first-half swing

The Falcons had a chance to change the game late in the first half. Instead, the Seahawks did.

Atlanta had the ball with 2:10 left and three time outs, and was to receive the second-half kickoff. But Leonard Williams sacked Cousins on second down. On third and 10, Devon Witherspoon made a sure tackle immediately after the bigger tight end’s catch. That forced a Falcons punt with 1:20 left in the second quarter.

Smith then completed consecutive passes to Tyler Lockett. After left tackle Charles Cross allowed a Falcons practice-squad call-up to get inside him into Smith to force a penalty for intentional grounding by the quarterback, 10 seconds remained in the half. On third and 15, Smith stepped around a likely sack in a bad pocket. He fired a dart 31 yards into the end zone onto Metcalf’s hands and chest on a deep inside route.

The All-Pro-caliber play by Smith gave the Seahawks a 17-7 lead into the third quarter.

Rookie right side of O-line shines

Jerrell had a standout first half in his first NFL game.

Starting for injured fill-in Stone Forsythe at right tackle, the sixth-round pick from Division-II Findlay had a strong kick-out block while rookie right guard Christian Haynes pinned his man inside. That created a 3-yard-wide lane for the ailing Walker to dash through for a 20-yard touchdown carry.

That put Seattle up 10-0. Atlanta, which came in having won three straight, was chasing the rest of the game.

Coaches and players on the sideline — even inactive players such as George Fant, one the tackles Jerrell was replacing — patted Jerrell on the back and chest, pumping him up after his blocks on the Seattle drive ended by Walker’s TD run.

Walker huffed and puffed on the bench following his dash to the score.

He finished with 69 yards on 14 rushes with that score, plus 24 more yards on two receptions with the 17-yard touchdown catch from Smith.

“The guy’s a beast,” Macdonald said.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb answered Atlanta’s first touchdown with a trick play call on the next snap. He had Smith throw a swing pass outside right, a lateral backward to Smith-Njigba. The second-year wide receiver then threw deep to Metcalf, even though two Falcons weren’t fooled by the trick and were covering him.

Metcalf leapt for the catch and 45-yard gain to the Falcons 35.

“Usually, when I throw it up in double coverage, it doesn’t end up like that,” Smith said.

In the rockin’ locker room after the game, Smith-Njigba said it was his first pass since “middle school,” growing up outside Dallas.

He said when he heard Grubb’s play call, he was throwing it — no matter what.

“That play call, when I’m throwing it, I just say, ‘I don’t care,’” Smith-Njigba said, grinning. “I’m just about to throw it, give my playmakers a chance, really. I don’t care. I’m going to throw the ball and make a play.”

But then Haynes committed a false-start penalty. Smith got sacked. The Seahawks’ lead remained only 10-7.

Only temporarily.

Michael Penix Jr.’s NFL debut

The game ended with Smith smiling at and hugging Michael Penix Jr. Atlanta’s rookie quarterback from the University of Washington, Smith’s offseason workout partner in Seattle a year and a half ago, made his NFL debut finish off the final few minutes replacing Cousins (24 for 35 passing, 232 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.)

“Man, the future’s bright,” Smith told Penix in the middle of the field after the game. “Keep working and just stay steadfast and think good things.”

Penix, UW’s Heisman Trophy runner-up last season biding his time while the veteran Cousins is Atlanta’s guy, completed his first and only NFL pass, for 14 yards on a third down.