EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was carted off the field and missed two series in the first half Monday night after a questionable tackle by New York Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
Smith injured his knee during the game. He remained in the game for one more game before attending the medical tent.
“A dirty game. Dirty game,” Smith told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after returning in the second half of Seattle’s 24-3 win. “You can see it. It’s a bad play. It has no place in this game. I hope something happens, but other than that, God’s grace allowed me to come back to this game and I’m glad. Back there.”
Smith immediately made his displeasure known. He was then flagged for taunting when he returned to the game in the third quarter.
Even though the Seahawks (3-1) were coming off a bye week win, he was still upset after the game. Smith finished 13-of-20 for 110 yards and a touchdown.
“I don’t respect that kind of stuff,” Smith said. “There’s no need for that kind of stuff. It’s a tough game. We all struggle, but there’s no need to take shots on guys running out of bounds on the sidelines.”
Smith was a bit limited on his return and had active knee movement. But he says it’s no big deal.
He said, “I’m fine.. I’m fine. God is fine.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s biggest gripe was more how Smith was dropped than where he was dropped. The play took place near the Giants sideline after Smith batted his pass back.
It actually went for minus-2 yards a reception on the play.
“Yes, it’s very dangerous,” Carroll said. “I don’t know why we didn’t look at it differently. It looked very dangerous. The effect of the horse-collar tackle was all about the swing of the body pulling down the back of the legs, and he got hurt on that play. A penalty wouldn’t have fixed it, but it looked like a very dangerous play, and it was the second. Might have warranted a look.”
The Giants didn’t feel the same way about the win. They thought it was clean.
“I really don’t know much to say about it. We’re playing football. He’s mad because he got hit? What do most quarterbacks do when they don’t want to get hit? They go down. I don’t know what else. Gotta tell him about it.”
Giants LB Isaiah Simmons
Simmons says he tried to make a tackle. Smith caught his own pass and ran for yards.
“I didn’t say much about it,” Simmons said. “We’re playing football and he’s mad? What do most quarterbacks do when they don’t want to hit? They go down. I don’t know what else to say to him about that.”
Simmons insists it was clean and he started the tackle on the boundary.
“Yeah, nobody’s out there trying to hurt anybody. I want everybody to be the best, you know what I’m saying? Nobody’s trying to hurt anybody, so I hate to try to hurt anybody on purpose,” Simmons said. “None of that was intended. We’re just playing hard and trying to win.”
Smith initially thought safety Xavier McKinney was the suspect tackle. Later in the series, the two exchanged words on the field.
McKinney isn’t too worried about the drama.
“I don’t know. I really don’t care what he says or does,” McKinney said. “It doesn’t really matter.
“Yeah, I thought the hit was good.” He smiled. “He’ll be fine.”
