Takeaways from Seattle Seahawks 23-20 OT win over Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 15: Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks throws a pass during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)
It's getting more and more difficult for those skeptical of Geno Smith's ability to back up their case.
Geno Smith led the Seattle Seahawks on a game-winning drive in overtime as Jason Myers converted a 31-yard field goal for a 23-20 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in Massachusetts.
"What a heck of a football game," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "We knew the game was going to come down to the fourth quarter. Didn't expect to come down to fifth quarter, but whatever it takes. Just proud of the fight, the resiliency, just the confidence, the support, the togetherness of our football team."
Smith led his ninth game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in three seasons as the starting quarterback of the Seahawks.
Smith had to do it without much support from the running game as Ken Walker III missed the contest with an oblique strain. Zach Charbonnet managed just 38 yards on 14 carries in place of Walker as Smith relied heavily on DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to lead the way offensively.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks defense showed some warts as tight end Hunter Henry caught eight passes for 109 yards, and Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson combined for 177 yards and a touchdown on the ground. But a key blocked field goal from Julian Love, along with back-to-back three-and-outs forced on the final drive of regulation and the first drive of overtime for New England was enough to get the Seahawks to 2-0 on the season.
"It's the sign of a good team when you're not on your stuff, when it's not your day, you can still pull out a win," Love told FOX 13's Chris Francis. "Today we were sluggish, we had some lapses defensively, I think, but when it counted, when things mattered, we executed."
Here are the takeaways from the victory over New England:
– Geno Smith leads another game-winning drive in a stellar performance.
Geno Smith was nearly flawless for Seattle in a game where they needed a big performance.
The Seahawks had 358 yards of total offense against New England, and 327 yards came from the arm of Smith. He completed 33-of-44 passes on the day with DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba each with over 100 yards receiving.
"I thought Geno played a dynamite game.He was decisive, the ball was out fast," Macdonald said.
Of Smith's 10 incompletions, five of those came on drops from his receivers. Smith only seemed to have one truly errant throw, which came while he was getting hit in the pocket.
Zach Charbonnet played all of the team's running back snaps in Ken Walker's absence and wasn't able to create much of anything more than the offensive line allowed.
Smith led Seattle on the game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter, and the game-winning drive in overtime. Smith tied a franchise record with five game-winning drives last season, and had seven go-ahead touchdown passes in the fourth quarter or overtime, which were int he most in a season in NFL history.
"My mindset, put the ball in 7's hands," Smith said of such moments. "That’s my mindset. I always dreamed about these moments growing up. It’s a dream come true just to be here. Whenever I’m in this situation and the game is on the line, I’m so happy and just excited for those opportunities. I look forward to them actually. I know it’s going to happen more and more times throughout the season. The best quarterbacks always find ways to win. I want to be regarded in that light, so I just want to continue to be there for my team, do what’s right, make the plays when they come."
– Running game struggles without Ken Walker III.
As noted above, the Seahawks run game stunk without Ken Walker III available.
Zach Charbonnet had just 38 yards on 14 carries and Geno Smith chipped in eight yards on five carries. It was a combined 46 yards on 19 carries, which is just 2.4 yards per carry.
The offensive line, again, struggled to create running lanes for Seattle's ground game, but Charbonnet didn't have the ability to turn some of those carries into more than was blocked for him.
"We would have to look at the tape and see what's happening on some of the blocks,"Macdonald said. "If it's not there and you're able to throw the ball, whatever it takes to win the game, so I thought we did that. We'll go back to the tape and figure it out. They have a really good front and do a good job in the run game. Numbers back it up."
Charbonnet got all of the running back workload as Kenny McIntosh and George Holani didn't get any chance to factor in on offense. Charbonnet is really trusted as a pass protector and wasn't going to come off the field in passing situations.
Charbonnet did score his first rushing touchdown of the year on a 1-yard carry in the second quarter to give the Seahawks the lead, but the Patriots generally did a good job of keeping Seattle's running game bottled up.
– Defense has some areas to clean up.
The Seahawks allowed just 20 points, so it was far from a bad performance for Seattle's defense. However, a couple things won't look pretty for the team in the box score.
New England receivers NOT named Hunter Henry managed just seven total catches for 40 yards. But Seattle allowed Henry to catch eight passes for 109 yards as he served as Jacoby Brissett's favorite target in the game.
"We were playing them kind of loose, not as aggressive on the inside. We should have known [Brissett] was getting his quick game rhythm going. So there were a lot of quick throws inside to tight ends. Tight end screens accounted for a lot of yards. So two big plays by the tight ends, we’ve got to clean that up and we will."
Additionally, the running back duo of Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson combined for 177 yards rushing on 32 carries, which is an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
"I think we definitely have to watch film, but this is something that we knew they were going to do," defensive end Leonard Williams said. "We knew they were going to attack us there, you know we obviously should have been better, better prepared for it knowing this is what they were going to do but overall I felt we fought a long, fighting game and we came out victorious."
Boye Mafe has played pretty well through two games, but a missed tackle on Gibson in the fourth quarter allowed for a 45-yard run. Love's blocked field goal proved critical from keeping that drive from resulting in points that would have forced Seattle to need a touchdown instead of a field goal on their final possession of regulation. Things like that are what the Seahawks will need to get tighter with moving forward.