SEATTLE — It was the best of Geno.
It was the worst of Geno.
The Seahawks are not talented or disciplined enough to survive the extremes.
Which is not to say that Geno Smith — the Seahawks’ 34-year-old signal caller — is solely responsible for Sunday’s 26-20 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He completed 21-of-34 passes for 363 yards in defeat, and did so despite the absences of DK Metcalf and a serviceable offensive line. He also produced a trio of picturesque touchdown passes, including a 14-yarder to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 51 seconds left to force overtime.
But the Seahawks’ significant flaws — painful pass protection, an unreliable running game, a parade of errant snaps and punishing penalties — yield an uncomplicated conclusion:
Smith must excel for the Seahawks to win. Anything less is lethal.
On Sunday, Smith surrendered a pair of critical fourth-quarter interceptions, each defusing a drive inside the 10-yard line. With 11:17 left, he took a shotgun snap on first-and-goal from the 6, then backpedaled in a disappearing pocket. As outside linebacker Byron Young delivered a blow, Smith sent a duck directly to Rams safety Kamren Kinchens.
From there, Kinchens wove untouched for a 103-yard touchdown, while Smith lay on his stomach on the 35-yard line.
It was simultaneously the longest interception return produced and allowed for either franchise.
“I was trying to throw it out of bounds, out of the back of the end zone. A guy hit my arm. But there’s no excuses to be made,” said Smith, who also surrendered a first-quarter interception that deflected off the hands of Smith-Njigba. “I can throw that away. I can get it out sooner, be faster in my decision making. I was trying to make a play out there and held it just a second too long and it didn’t turn out well.”
It got better, then worse.
After Seahawks wide receiver Cody White burst up the gut to block an L.A. punt, Smith was gifted an opportunity for rapid redemption. Instead, he lost another interception on second-and-goal from the 4, when it appeared tight end AJ Barner was held by defensive end Braden Fiske on an attempted screen — and Kinchens struck again.
“I thought [Barner] got grabbed, but that’s not an excuse,” Smith said. “The ball’s in my hands. I get the chance to make a decision, and ultimately my decisions affect everybody, not just myself. So I have to be better. I’m not just saying that to say it. I know I can be better. So it hurts me, man. It hurts me to know I didn’t get it done today.”
That was the prevailing theme in Smith’s nine-minute media session, as the 12th-year quarterback provided continual accountability.
“First of all, I want to start off by apologizing to my teammates, to the city, to the organization,” he said. “I know they put a lot of trust in me with my decision making, when they put the ball in my hands. When my teammates play the way they played today and give us a shot to win the game, I have to make sure we do.”
Granted, picks aside, Smith did plenty. He threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final minute of the second quarter — a 30-yard rainbow to wide receiver Tyler Lockett and a 24-yard prayer to Smith-Njigba through heavy traffic — to spot the Seahawks a 13-3 halftime lead. And despite the back-to-back interceptions, he led an eight-play, 73-yard touchdown drive to force overtime.
That march included an array of improbable passes — a sideline-straddling 28-yard dart to White on second-and-24, a 29-yard parachute to Smith-Njigba on fourth-and-5 to momentarily save the day, a 14-yard touchdown placed between defenders Cobie Durant and Darious Williams.
Those highs — those moments of mastery — are why Smith remains the Seahawks’ best option under center.
“He’s done it again and again and again, honestly,” said Smith-Njigba, who exploded for seven catches, 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns. “Every time we take the field and go in the huddle, I know we’re going to give our best effort. I know if we give him time, if we run the right routes and do what we’re supposed to do, he’s going to put the ball where it’s supposed to be.
“That’s all we can do. We have total confidence when we go out there. We just have to stop beating ourselves, honestly.”
When he says the Seahawks beat themselves, Smith isn’t the only culprit. They committed 12 penalties for 95 yards, pouring on the punishment. Center Connor Williams twice sent shotgun snaps that either zipped through Smith’s hands or over his head, and rookie Michael Jerrell struggled mightily in relief of injured right tackle George Fant. The Seahawks’ running game also sputtered, compiling 107 yards and 3.2 yards per carry — including a stuffed attempt on fourth-and-one in overtime.
At 4-5, the Seahawks enter a bye week with rampant holes, injury issues and cratering confidence.
They can’t afford an inconsistent quarterback.
Smith is still their best option. But they need him to be his best to overcome everything else.
“I think there’s a lot of different contributors [to five losses in the last six games],” Smith said. “But if I’m being honest, man, I could play better and I could correct lot of things. That’s the job of a quarterback: to overcome, and ultimately to get wins. When we’re in position to get wins, I’ve got to make it happen.”