Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New York Giants, 27-13, in Week 8 at Lumen Field and it was somewhat of a revenge game for the quarterback.
Smith, of course, started one game for the Giants in 2017, ending the 210-game iron man streak of future Hall of Famer Eli Manning. But that start came with severe consequences as general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo were fired in its aftermath.
Leading up to Sunday’s clash with the Giants, Smith made little of his time in New York. He said all the right things and avoided touchy topics but following the victory, that changed.
Although Smith said the game was not about revenge, he did dedicate it to the aforementioned Reese and McAdoo.
“I spent one year with the Giants. That year to me was like a blur and my life has moved on from them. I don’t have any remorse towards anyone there. In fact, to me, this game was for Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese. They believed in me,” Smith said, via ESPN.
“As far as any other thing, I don’t really care for it. I’m happy to be here in Seattle. It’s like a family here. It feels like home. And so I’m just enjoying my time here and continuing to work hard with these guys and just trying to be the best we can be.”
Smith has come on strong with the Seahawks, but his play wasn’t nearly up to par with the Giants. During his spot start, Smith was sacked three times, lost two fumbles and earned a QB Rating of just 40.6 in a 24-17 loss to the then-Oakland Raiders.
The same offensive issues that had plagued Manning that year also plagued Smith. And in starting Smith, the Giants failed to get a live-game evaluation of David Webb, who was a rookie third-round pick at the time.
McAdoo bungled the entire situation and did so disrespectfully. The team was 2-10 following that loss and the clock had run out on both Reese and McAdoo.
Giants co-owner John Mara later admitted that one of his worst mistakes was wasting the final years of Manning’s career. The spot start for Geno was at the peak of that failure.
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