With the game on the line, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith took matters into his own hands. Or, rather, his legs.
The veteran signal-caller scampered for a 13-yard game-winning touchdown with 0:18 remaining in Seattle's 20-17 win over the 49ers on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, and in speaking to reporters after the game, was asked what went into his decision to take off and run with so little time remaining on the clock and no timeouts.
With 12 seconds left, @GenoSmith3 does it himself. 👏 pic.twitter.com/QXR3jEodxh
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 18, 2024
“We’ve got to win. Just doing whatever it took to win the game," Smith said. "I felt like they were playing a lot of coverage there, rushing four and they were dropping back pretty deep. I felt like if I could escape that they were running some TE games from twist. I knew the contain wouldn't be great and if I could find a lane somewhere in there, I could get out there and make some plays with my legs.
"I got in there and made a few scramble throws as well. In those moments, I just know to play with instinct and try to do the best thing.”
Smith was able to identify the formation the 49ers' defense was in pre-snap, and as the play broke down, he saw an opening he was able to exploit.
“I felt like they were playing a Quarters coverage there," Smith explained. "We had one of our vertical concepts on. I saw [San Francisco 49ers LB] Fred [Warner], he relayed it to the back. We had to back out empty. He relayed it to the back, they rushed forward, did a TE game. I saw the lane stepped in there, potential to maybe throw one, they plastered and I saw the pylon and got to it.”
Golden State Warriors
The touchdown and the ensuing point-after attempt gave Seattle a three-point lead with 0:12 remaining in the game. The 49ers' offense, unsurprisingly, could not take advantage of the remaining seconds and quickly drive down the field to attempt a potential game-tying field goal.
Had San Francisco's defense kept Smith out of the end zone on that play, either with the clock stopped or still running, there's no telling how different the outcome of Sunday's game could have been.
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