NFL fans loved hearing Geno Smith’s mic’d-up pep talk for struggling teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Now, that’s a leader.

We shouldn’t be surprised with Geno Smith’s career renaissance anymore, but at the same time, it’s incredible to see his transformation to a Very Good starting quarterback from how he was with the Jets.

And that doesn’t just include his play on the field. He’s the kind of leader that the Seahawks hoped to have at quarterback in the post-Russell Wilson era.

We watched that on display on Sunday.

Though the Seahawks defeated the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Smith noticed that rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was looking down on the bench. Smith-Njigba’s NFL career is off to a quiet start, and he only had one reception on three targets in Sunday’s game. Still, Smith wanted to make sure that Smith-Njigba knew he’d have an important role.

In the mic’d-up discussion from NFL Films, Smith took the blame for not getting the ball to the rookie receiver and really did his part to get Smith-Njigba in the right mindset.

Smith told him:

“Hey, I need you. Need you in the second half. Need you locked in. Alright, look. Whatever happened is on me. It ain’t never on you. You gotta get the ball, so I gotta find you. Alright. But I need you to give me your best this second half.”

Fans also loved hearing that leadership from Smith in action. That focus will pay off for Smith-Njigba as the season continues even if Sunday’s game wasn’t as productive as he would have liked.