Brady Henderson, ESPN
SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks’ playoff hopes took at least one big blow Sunday night in a loss to the Green Bay Packers — and the severity of Geno Smith’s knee injury. Depending on who you are, you may receive another blow.
The veteran quarterback went down midway through the third quarter and did not return after taking a low hit from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Seahawks coach Mike McDonald said Smith’s knee appears structurally intact, but his status for next Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is up in the air.
“I’ll tell you this, this is probably the toughest player I’ve ever met,” McDonald said after the Seahawks’ 30-13 loss. “It was serious enough for him to not be able to return to the game. Tomorrow we will do all the tests and think about the future. But for now, it seems structurally OK, but we have to do it. Get all the “must-have” images and more. ”
As Smith was throwing an incomplete pass on first down, a diving Cooper hit the bottom of Smith’s right foot, causing his cleat to get caught in the grass and hyperflexing his knee. Smith was visibly furious after the hit, for which no penalty was awarded. He started limping away from the field, but stopped in obvious pain and lay down on his back. After being examined in a medical tent, he limped into the tunnel.
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Cooper said he believed the hit was “100 percent” clean.
“He said I was diving towards his ankle, but I was just trying to knock him down,” Cooper said. “That’s it, it was that easy.”
Smith limped back to the sideline in the fourth quarter and at one point appeared ready to return to the game, putting on his helmet while standing near the edge of the sideline.
“He wanted to go back, and then he tried to go back,” McDonald said. “…And then he couldn’t go.”
Sam Howell struggled mightily in relief of Smith, completing only 5 of 14 attempts for 24 yards and an interception. He was sacked four times and was pressured on 53% of his dropbacks.
“It wasn’t enough to win,” McDonald said of Howell’s performance in the first overtime of the season. “I know he’s disappointed. We couldn’t get the ball out on time and we couldn’t make up for it with pass protection. I know we allowed a ton of sacks. But they did a good job, covering routes, rushing the passer, and it was a complementary game defensively.”
Howell, acquired with the Washington Commanders in an offseason trade after starting 17 games last season, had played just one snap in 2024 by Sunday night. He replaced Smith with a successful field goal drive to cut Green Bay’s lead to 20-6, then led a touchdown drive to help Seattle get within 10 points in the fourth quarter. But Norwell’s remaining five drives ended with four punts and an interception to Cooper, and Seattle conceded defeat as time expired in the final seconds.
“At the end of the day, I think we’ve got to be better,” Howell said. “My job is to go out there and play well and be ready to help the team win, and I wasn’t able to do that today. We must learn from them.”
The Seahawks also lost center Olu Oluwatimi in the first half to what McDonald described as a knee and quad injury. He said he did not know the severity, other than that it was enough to prevent Oluwatimi from returning. Seattle allowed a total of seven sacks and 12 QB hits, one week after allowing zero sacks and only two QB hits in a win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Howell said he needs to get the ball away sooner.
“At the end of the day, sacks are a quarterback metric,” he said. “I have to hit the checkdown a little earlier and get the ball out of my hands before it gets to me.”
Before going down, Smith completed 15 of 19 attempts for 149 yards and one interception, his 13th of the season. Smith was picked off in the end zone when he threw up his back foot under heavy pressure on third down, and Seattle was already within field goal range.
According to ESPN Research, this was Smith’s fourth red zone interception of the season (an NFL record) and his fourth interception on a throw into the end zone (tied for an NFL record).
“I haven’t talked to him about the play, but again, the whole team didn’t play well enough to win,” McDonald said. “I’m part of it, Geno is part of it, and we have to learn from it and keep moving forward.”
The Seahawks (8-6) have won four straight heading into Sunday night and are in first place in the NFC West. But the loss to Green Bay and the Rams’ win on Thursday night moved those teams into a tie for the top of the division, with Los Angeles winning the head-to-head contest. Los Angeles and Seattle will play in Week 18 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Seahawks’ loss also removes them from the current playoff spot, leaving the Commanders with a one-game lead for the third and final wild-card spot. If it ends up being a tiebreaker, Washington could pick up two more conference wins.
If the Seahawks lose Sunday night, their odds of making the playoffs will drop to 45 percent, according to ESPN Analytics, but that doesn’t take into account Smith’s injury and the possibility that Howell will have to take over.
“That’s why we have Sam come in and help us win games if we need him,” McDonald said. “Yeah, it’s a tough situation. He hasn’t played yet this year. We have faith in Sam. Guy’s a great player. If he gets another chance, he’ll do a great job.”
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.
