Seahawks’ Geno Smith blames himself for loss against Steelers: ‘I can’t keep coming up short’

Seahawks' Geno Smith blames himself for loss against Steelers: 'I can’t keep coming up short'

For the second consecutive week, Seahawks starting quarterback Geno Smith had a critical turnover late in a game to effectively seal a loss for his team.

In Week 5, Smith threw an interception in Seattle territory with the Seahawks trailing by six. The Rams capitalized on his mistake and kicked a field goal to extend their lead to nine with 24 seconds left in the game.

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On Sunday night against the Steelers, Smith fumbled on the Seahawks’ second possession of overtime. T.J. Watt punched the ball out and Devin Bush picked it up and gave the Steelers the ball in range for an easy game-winning field goal attempt.

Smith blamed nobody but himself for the Seahawks’ loss after the game.

“I hate coming up short,” Smith said, per Pro Football Talk. “We can’t keep coming up short. I can’t keep coming up short. I put that on myself. Back to back weeks, our defense gives us a chance to go out there and score. Give me the ball and we don’t get it done. That’s solely on me, and I vow to be better.”

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In fairness to Smith, he was solid during the game. He completed 23 of 32 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown against a tough defense. He had just the one turnover, and that didn’t come until the Seahawks’ 64th, and final, offensive play of the evening.

He also sparked a 14-point comeback in the second half, helping lead the Seahawks on four scoring drives after their anemic offense sputtered to zero points and 65 yards of total offense in the first half. That’s not bad for a guy making his first start since 2017.

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Still, Smith has a point. Turnovers were always the issue with him when he was a starter with the Jets — he averaged 17 interceptions per 16 games played during his four years with the Jets — so that’s an area upon which he’ll need to improve.

And he’ll have to do it quickly. The Seahawks dropped to 2-4 and are in last place in the ultra-competitive NFC West. Russell Wilson is out long-term, so it will continue to be the Geno Smith show until he’s back.