By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Geno Smith suffers knee injury in Seahawks 30-13 loss to Packers

The belly of the Seahawks offense suffered two key injuries during an emphatic loss to the Green Bay Packers.  Quarterback Geno Smith and center Olu Oluwatimi sustained knee injuries in the loss to the Packers.  Oluwatimi suffered his injury in the first half and was replaced by Jalen  Sundell. Smith’s injury occurred in the third quarter after the Packer’s Edgerrin Copper rolled on his ankle attempting to sack  Smith.  The injuries added to the Seahawk’s offensive woes that were due to a slow and lethargic start.

 THE PACKERS’ DEFENSIVE INTERIOR DOMINATES THE SEAHAWKS’ OFFENSIVE LINE

The first half was about the  Green Bay  Packers offense, which scored on all four of its scoring drives in the first half. The first two drives were touchdowns, and the last two were 39 and 21-yard field goals by Brandon  McManus.  The similarity in all the drives was the Packers’ offensive lines’ ability to easily dominate the Seahawks’ interior line.  Each time the Packers ran an offensive play, there was an offensive lineman with a helmet on a Seahawks defensive player’s shoulder and moving him backward. Packers running back Josh Jacobs had  14 carries for  73 yards and one touchdown in the first half alone. Jacobs finished the gam with 94 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards and one touchdown.

” In any game, those first 15 plays, you’re going to get new stuff from offenses. They came out, tweaked a few things, kind of attacked areas that had given us problems earlier in the year. We just started too late. We just got going too late. When you’re playing a good football team like that, you can’t get down how we were ,”said Ernest Jones IV of the Seahawks slow defensive start.

Making matters worse was an ill-advised throw by Geno Smith on 3rd and nine at the Packer’s 12-yard line. Packer cornerback  Carrington Valentine intercepted Smith’s pass to the right corner endzone. The Packers converted the turnover into a 21-yard field to end the half with a 20-3 lead.

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE WHILE THE DEFENSE STEPS UP

 The Seahawk’s first drive of the second half ended poorly due to self-inflicted wounds. A  sack and back-to-back penalties forced the Seahawks to punt the ball back to the  Packers. A defiant stand by the Seahawk’s defense forced a  Packers three and out, and all signs were trending positive for the Seahawks. The positive signs quickly spiralled downwards when Geno Smith left the game after an incomplete pass on second and ten from the Packer’s 24-yard line and was replaced by Sam Howell. The offense salvaged a 45-yard field, but there were worrying concerns with Smith on the sideline nursing a knee injury. The Packers extended their lead to  23-6 when they tacked on a 23-yard field goal.  The teams traded punts, and the Seahawks looked to have found their defensive footing.

FORCED TURNOVER

After another punt by their offense, the Seahawks showed their resilience when  Ernest Jones IV forced a Josh Jacobs fumble that Julian Love recovered. A Zach Charbonnet 24-yard TD run gave hope to the Lumen Field faithful when the Seahawks’ deficit was cut down to just points at 23-13 with 11:23 left in the game.

 Another defiant defensive stand stopped the Packers’ offense and forced a Green Bay punt that gave the ball back to the Seahawks offense, which stalled and gave the ball back to the Packers, leaving worrisome looks on the Seahawks’ faithful. The Seahawks’ defense brought hope back to the 12s when it stopped the Green Bay offense on 4th and two at the Seahawks ‘ 39-yard line. The invigorated crowd stood on its feet, yelled, and clapped in hopes of inspiring the offense.

GAME KILLING TURNOVER

 Hope turned to utter despair when the Packers Cooper intercepted Howell’s second down pass intended for  Noah Fant.  The  Packers sealed the win when  Jordan  Love hit  Romeo Dobbs with a 22yard pass, the nail in the coffin that snapped the Seahawk’s four-game win streak. Up next for the Seahawks is a 9-2 Minnesota Vikings that his on a six game win streak.

“I think it’s good that we treat each win the same as the losses. Obviously, they hurt a little more when you lose, all that stuff. But Monday, we’re going in and just fine-tooth comb, just going through stuff. We call things how it is, win or loss, and so that mentality’s the same,’ said Julian Love when asked about the the mindset of the team moving forward. ” You don’t have to panic, nobody has to tighten up, just because we have three games left. Everything we want to achieve is kind of out there for us, thankfully. And so we’re going to treat this week just how we treat every week. Detail it Monday, get back after it Wednesday, and just be ready for the Vikings on Sunday.”

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