National Football League

Geno Smith rescues sleepwalking Seahawks in win over undermanned Rams

Published Dec. 4, 2022 10:31 p.m. ET

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Geno Smith carried the game ball with him, shaking hands with teammates and coaches as he entered the locker room on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

And for good reason. Minutes before, Smith engineered a 10-play, 75-yard drive to win the game for the Seattle Seahawks, a 27-23 comeback victory on the road against the depleted defending Super Bowl champs, the Los Angeles Rams.

The victory helped the Seahawks improve to 7-5 on the year, keeping pace with the 8-4 San Francisco 49ers, who, despite losing QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending foot injury, were runaway winners at home against the previously streaking Miami Dolphins.

Seahawks come back to beat Rams 27-23

Seattle stormed back late to beat the Rams 27-23, as Geno Smith finished with 367 passing yards and three TDs.

The Rams dropped their six straight game with the loss, falling to 3-9 on the year. L.A. becomes the first defending Super Bowl champ since the 2003 Tampa Bay Bucs to follow an NFL title with a losing season.

Smith was the catalyst for the Seahawks, completing 72% of his passes for a career-high 367 yards and three touchdowns. He earned his second comeback victory with Seattle and fourth of his career, dating back to his early days in the league with the New York Jets. The final dagger came with less than a minute left when Smith escaped pressure, stepped up and threw a dart to DK Metcalf on a crossing route for an eight-yard score to seal the win.

According to Next Gen Stats, Smith has been dominant against single-high safety looks. Against the Rams, Smith completed 19 of 25 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns against a single-high safety and has a league-high 15 touchdowns against single-high safety looks.

"I felt like during the season we had the opportunity to do the same thing, and we might have fell short," Smith said about his team's come-from-behind win. "As we continue on late in the season, you want to show improvement. I think it showed a lot of grit, determination. You see a bunch of different guys make great plays and catches, and the offensive line did a great job of protecting."

Receiver Tyler Lockett called it a playoff-type atmosphere and heaped praise on his quarterback because of his workmanlike effort at the end of the game.

"A lot of people have their opinions of quarterbacks and what they can or can't do," Lockett said. "The biggest thing about Geno is he just puts his head down and works. He just does what needs to be done."

Lockett finished with nine catches for 128 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Metcalf totaled eight receptions for 127 receiving yards and a score. Cornerback Tariq Woolen corralled his sixth interception on the year, a Seahawks rookie record.

Playing back in his hometown, Seattle edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu posted two sacks, upping his team-high total to nine. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Seahawks.

Seattle had to overcome running back Ken Walker III going down with an ankle injury and backup DeeJay Dallas also suffering an ankle injury that limited his availability. At one point, the Seahawks were down to one healthy running back, Tony Jones Jr.

Seattle faced a depleted but motivated team in the Rams, led by former All-Pro Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner. The Southern California native finished with seven combined tackles, two sacks and an interception against his former team, holding a running conversation with Seattle players on the field and the sidelines.

"It's like your little brother starts talking trash to you, so you start talking trash back to him, to be honest with you," Wagner said. "DK and [Quandre] Diggs said something."

"He's been a great player in our program for all those years," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said about Wagner. "He'll always be one of our guys. But today, to rise up to play like that, is something he's going to remember. It was notable."

Playing without injured frontline players like quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and receivers Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson, the young Rams competed. Coach Sean McVay said Stafford has a spinal cord contusion and is probably finished for the year.

"We have a lot of playmakers out … and I wanted to try and provide a spark for the team and help us find a win," Wagner said.

Rams RB Cam Akers finished with a season-high 60 rushing yards and two scores. Receiver Brandon Powell recorded 84 scrimmage yards and Tutu Atwell added 71 scrimmage yards. Playing in place of Stafford, John Wolford completed 14 of 26 passes for 178 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

"We can all see the steps that this group has taken," McVay said. "A lot of positives. But we want to try and win the football game. It's tough because of the amount of work these guys put into it. But we just came up short, didn't quite make enough plays."

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Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.