Geno Smith watched from the sideline as Drew Lock quarterbacked the Seahawks to a comeback win in Week 15 and he got his chance to do the same thing on Sunday.
Smith and the Seahawks fell behind the Titans 17-13 on a Derrick Henry touchdown run with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter, but Smith said he felt “like Drew did a great job last week and we had a chance to match it this week” while speaking to reporters after the game. Smith did just that by going 6-of-9 for 52 yards before hitting Colby Parkinson with a game-winning five-yard touchdown pass with a minute left to lift the Seahawks to a win.
It’s the fourth time that Smith has engineered a game-winning drive this season and head coach Pete Carroll said his ability to inspire his teammates is a big reason why he’s been able to make that happen.
“You’ve got to be around him to appreciate the competitive mentality that he has,” Carroll said, via the team’s website. “He’s in such a good place. He believes so strongly that it’s going to happen, and it’s going to get done and his guys are going to come through for him. And that belief it transfers, translates to other guys, they feel him. So they go through and do what they’re supposed to do, and it comes out well. He’s having an enormous impact on these guys just because his mentality is so strong and so consistent.”
The win lifted the Seahawks into playoff position ahead of games against the Steelers and Cardinals to close out the regular season. That didn’t appear to be where the Seahawks were heading after a four-game losing streak, but the back-to-back comebacks have righted the ship in Seattle.
