Seahawks’ Geno Smith takes blame for loss after tossing 2 INTs
After his two-interception performance in the Seahawks’ 17-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Smith had both thumbs pointed squarely at himself.
“I felt like the guys deserved to win today,” Smith said. “Obviously, I didn’t do my best job today to get that done. So those are things that I put on myself. I lay it right at my feet, right on my shoulders, and I look forward to the next opportunity.”
Smith and the Seahawks’ offense moved the ball all afternoon — outgaining the Bengals 381 to 214 — but went 5 of 12 on third down, 0 for 2 on fourth down and 1 of 5 in the red zone to waste a brilliant outing by their defense.
After marching 75 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown on their opening drive, Seattle’s other nine possessions (excluding a one-play drive at the end of the first half) ended with three punts, two field goals, two interceptions and a pair of turnovers on downs, the last one coming in the closing seconds with the game on the line.
On his first interception, with Seattle trailing 14-10 midway through the third quarter, Smith underthrew a tightly-covered Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a wheel route near the goal line. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it was his first interception in the red zone as a Seahawk. He’d thrown 22 touchdowns without an interception in the red zone since the start of last season, which was the most such TDs without a pick by any quarterback in that span.
“I just need to be better,” Smith said. “Can’t do that, especially in the red zone. Can’t put the ball in harm’s way. Like I said, the defense is playing a tremendous game. We got points right there. I’ve got to protect the ball. So I’ve got to be better.”
Smith took the blame for his second interception — which came early in the fourth quarter, with Seattle trailing 14-13 — even though it looked as though DK Metcalf gave up on his route.
“It’s on me,” Smith said. “Just another chance for us to go down there and make plays and score points with our defense doing great. Just didn’t do the right thing on that play. Those are things that are not characteristic of the way I’ve been playing and I know that I can be a lot better. Like I said, I need to look myself in the mirror and figure those things out, so I will.”
Smith, who made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and was named AP Comeback Player of the Year, was off to another solid start before Sunday. He entered Week 6 with five touchdown passes to one interception over the Seahawks’ first four games and ranked ninth in Total QBR during their 3-1 start.
Despite getting left tackle Charles Cross back from his three-game absence, the Seahawks allowed four sacks and 13 QB hits Sunday. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Bengals pressured Smith 20 times, their most in a game since Week 7 of 2021.
However, some of that pressure was the result of Smith holding onto the ball, which was the case on a key play late in the game. Down 17-13 just ahead of the two-minute warning, Smith took a sack on a fourth-and-6 from the Bengals’ 6-yard line.
“He’d love to get the ball out,” coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s killing him. He knows.”
Seattle’s defense, at full strength for the first time this season, allowed touchdowns on both of the Bengals’ opening drives before buckling down. Cincinnati’s next nine possessions resulted in six punts, a Tre Brown interception and a field goal that was set up by Smith’s second pick.
“As an offense, it really hurts,” said Smith, who finished 27 of 41 for 323 yards and no touchdowns. “Especially as a quarterback, seeing those guys battle the way that they did. I think they only gave up like 50-something yards in the second half (52). For us [to get] two or three opportunities to go take the lead and for us not to do it, that’s on me. That’s really on me. Like I said, I’ve got to be better and I will be.”
After the fourth-down sack, Seattle’s defense forced a three-and-out to give Smith and the offense one more chance to win the game. They drove from their own 40 down to Cincinnati’s 9-yard line but couldn’t get any further, with Smith throwing incomplete on third down and then getting hit as he threw on fourth down. With DK Metcalf double-covered Smith was looking for tight end Colby Parkinson on an out route.
“He did a great job of getting open,” Smith said, “and I just didn’t get it to him in time.”
In addition to their second consecutive strong defensive showing, another silver lining for the Seahawks was that they didn’t lose any ground in the NFC West to the San Francisco 49ers, who lost 19-17 to the Cleveland Browns. A brief cheer erupted in the Seahawks’ locker room after Jake Moody’s missed field goal sealed Cleveland’s win.
The Seahawks host the 1-5 Arizona Cardinals next Sunday. In the meantime, Smith said he’ll flush this performance as opposed to stewing on it.
“You play long enough in this game, it’ll happen,” he said. “But you’ve got to flush it. You’ve got to move on to the next one. We’ve got a lot of football left to play. I believe in the type of player that I am. I know today isn’t indicative of who I am as a player. A few mistakes that I’d love to have back, but sometimes that happens in the game. You’ve just got to flush it and move on.”