Schedule adversity aside the first thing the Seahawks have to do if they are to keep their playoff hopes alive is beat the LA Rams at Lumen Field Sunday afternoon. If the 8-8 Seahawks beat the Bobby Wagner-led LA Rams (5-11) and the Detroit Lions upset the Green Bay Sunday night at Lambeau Field the Seahawks will return to the postseason.
Sunday’s regular finale will be an emotion-filled game The return of the Wagner and the last regular Seahawks home game with a potential playoff berth.
“It’s exciting. I really think it’s exciting for our team. Obviously, if we win, we give ourselves a shot at the playoffs. I think everyone is excited. The entire locker room is focused. Everyone is ready to prepare and get ready for the week. Over the course of the season, we have done some good things to put ourselves in this position. Obviously, I wish we could’ve done a lot better, but it is what you want at the end of the year to be playing meaningful games. We’ve got one coming up this Sunday.”
OPPORTUNITY TO ADD TO A PROLIFIC SEASON
While he is not focused on personal accomplishments Smith has a chance to rewrite some Seahawks records for a quarterback.
Smith needs 22 attempts to pass Matt Hasselbeck with 563 five completions on Sunday would see him pass Russell Wilson with 385. 151 passing yards would put him ahead of Wilson’s record of 4,220 yards in a season. Smith can pass Wilson if he finishes the season with a completion percentage high than 68.0%.
If he finishes the season with a 70% completion percentage he would become the 13th player in NFL history to accomplish that feat. A passing touchdown in Sunday’s game would see him join Dave Krieg and Russell Wilson as the only quarterbacks in franchise history with 30 passing touchdowns in a season.
When asked about the opportunity he has to rewrite some team records Smith did what he has done all season when asked to talk about personal accomplishments. He deferred to the business at hand.
“Honestly, I heard about it. It’s a 17-game season. I don’t know if you should count some of that stuff. If guys did it in 16 games, I’ve got an extra game. Some of that stuff to me, the numbers will be what it is. To me, I look at it a little differently. I’m not really focused on that as you know. I just want to go out there and play a really solid game and go out there and get a win, so that we can give ourselves a shot.”
The emergence of the Seahawk’s running game in the last several games complemented the passing game which has enabled Smith to continue his pro bowl season.
“Obviously, it starts up front. I think our line has been doing a great job in getting back to staying connected, playing together, and being a solid unit that we’ve known them to be. With our runners, they have been aggressive going downhill. Ken (Walker III) has been explosive. DeeJay (Dallas) is stepping up and is doing what he has done.”
All of us, it takes everybody; the receivers blocking, the tight ends doing a great job at blocking and playing off of that. That’s our formula, I believe. If we can control the clock, keep our defense on the sideline, allow them to stay rested, and go out there and be explosive, and we continue to be efficient in the passing game, do well on third downs and red zone, we have a shot. We have a really legit shot.”
PLAYOFFS MAKE A SUCCESSFUL SEASON
For Smith and his teammates the biggest accomplishment this year would be making the playoffs.
“I don’t think that measures it, but that’s the goal. It’s got to be your goal. Coming into the season, all the teams were saying, ‘We have a shot at the Super Bowl.’ For us to be in January now and having to play a meaningful game on Sunday with the shot at the playoffs, that’s the goal. You can talk about all of the accolades you want, but it comes down to what we do as a team to determine our success like you said. It really just comes down to this one game, giving ourselves a shot. Then, we go on from there.”
