By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Geno Smith,  “Each game is like a playoff game to us “

The Seattle Seahawks have won two games in a row, and a win on Sunday against the New York Jets would give them their second three-game win streak.  Back-to-back Division wins have landed the  Seahawks atop the NFC West.  Record-wise, the Seahawks are tied with the Arizona Cardinals at 6-5 but hold the tiebreaker because of last Sunday’s 16-6 win over the  Cardinals. According to Hawks quarterback Geno Smith, every game is a must-win game with six games left in the regular season.

“ We going to treat each game like a playoff game from here on out until we get to that point. And yeah, the leaders are doing a great job making sure guys are focused,” said Smith during his Wednesday press conference. “ I think Mike (Macdonald) is doing a great job at making sure we’re focused. That was the message today.”

To stay on top of the Division, the Seahawks will need to improve continually in all three phases of every game from here on out.

  A DANGEROUS TEAM

The Seahawks opponent on Sunday is a struggling 3-8 New York Jets team that spent last week’s bye week looking for the answer to snap a two-game losing streak and turn things around.

“ They’re a very talented team. The record doesn’t describe the type of team they are. They’ve been in a lot of close games, and they’re a great second-half team. They’re going to be at home coming off a bye. They’re trying to turn their season around, trying to finish on a good note,’ added  Smith. “ And so they don’t care that we’re coming in or what we have going on. Again, this is the NFL. They got Aaron Rodgers, they got great players on that team and we got to go out there and we got to take it. It’s going to be tough, but we got the right mentality and the right guys.” 

Playing the Jets in New York is always a stroll down memory lane for Smith. The Jets drafted Smith in the second round of the 2013 draft. “Always. I’ve always had tremendous love and respect for that organization.  Obviously, the team that drafted me gave me a chance out of the gate. A lot of great people there, some people that I was there with, a lot of those people are now gone.”

 

 PATIENCE IN THE RUN GAME

After early season struggles, the Seahawk’s defense has come to life. Since week nine, the Seahawk’s run defense has jumped to fourth, allowing 16.3 points per game and, more impressive, allowing just 82.7 yards per game, a dramatic improvement from the previous season’s average of 130.5  yards per game.  On the offensive side of the ball, the Seahawks are averaging   257.2 passing yards per game, which is second-best in the league. On the flip side, the run game averages 89.1 yards per game, which is 28th  out of  32. Smith believes patience and commitment are key to an improved Seahawks run game.

 “As long as we continue to pound the run game, continue to stay focused on developing our run game, and finding that balance that we want as an offense, things will be great. We just got to keep working at it,” added  Smith.

 MY  CAUSE MY  CLEATS

  During Weeks 13 and 14, NFL players and Coaches will wear customized cleats in honor of the causes they have chosen to support through My Cause My Cleats. Players and coaches can wear individually designed cleats to highlight a community nonprofit organization or cause they support. For Smith, the cause near and dear to his heart is his mother’s Extended Hands Foundation.

“Yeah, so big shout out to the artists who did these, but this is Extended Hands. So this is my cause for this year. It’s my mother’s foundation. Does a lot of work in the community in South Florida. She’s been doing that my entire life, hence the name Extended Hands, we’re extending our hands and really just trying to reach out and touch the community, and be an advocate for change in many ways,” said Smith. “   It’s something that I hold dear to my heart because obviously, my mother instilled that in me, always giving back and I want to represent her in that way. So I thought it was a cool thing.”

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