Eric Williams
NFC West Writer
Last week, Drew Lock led the Seattle Seahawks to an improbable win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
This week, it was Geno Smith’s turn for late-game heroics.
Back in the lineup after missing two weeks with a groin injury, Smith marched Seattle 75 yards on 14 plays at the end of the game for the winning score — a 5-yard touchdown to tight end Colby Parkinson with 57 seconds left for a 20-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
The win, along with the Minnesota Vikings (7-8) losing to the Detroit Lions, allowed 8-7 Seattle to grab the No. 7 seed in the NFC. Seattle has games against Pittsburgh at home and at Arizona remaining.
Win those two games and the Seahawks will head to the postseason for a second straight year.
The game-winning drive was Smith’s 14 of this pro career and fourth this season, as he rebounded from sluggish first half in which he completed 10 of 16 passes for just 69 yards. Overall, he was 25-of-36 passing for 227 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 104.7 passer rating.
As he has done all season, Smith was effective throwing on the perimeter. According to Next Gen Stats, he targeted receivers outside the numbers on 58.3% of his attempts, his second-highest rate in a game this season. He completed 14 of 21 attempts for 117 yards and two touchdowns on throws outside the numbers.
“Every single day we go over two-minute [drills], a bunch of different situations and scenarios,” Smith said when asked about his late-game effort. “And 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 it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is.”
Although Tennessee had been mathematically eliminated from the postseason entering Sunday’s contest, the Titans played with more urgency than Seattle early on. They ran trick plays, quarterback Ryan Tannehill — back in…
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Publish date : 2023-12-24 23:20:08
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