Packers handle Seahawks to maintain playoff spot; Geno Smith leaves game with knee injury
The Green Bay Packers picked up a crucial win over the Seattle Seahawks, 30-13, to help their playoff chances on Sunday night.
The Packers moved to 10-4 on the year, maintaining their spot in the wild card race.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks fell out of first place in the NFC West, as their 8-6 record allows the Los Angeles Rams to move ahead of them due to the current tiebreaker.
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Things got off to a hot start for the Packers, who came off a tough loss to their divisional foe, the Detroit Lions, last week.
It was star running back Josh Jacobs finding some huge holes his offensive line created in the Seahawks’ defense that allowed him to tally 42 total yards to ultimately get a one-yard touchdown run into the end zone for the quick 7-0 lead.
Then, Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw a quick pass on the next drive to Romeo Doubs, who fought his way for the 13-yard touchdown.
Meanwhile, Geno Smith was not finding the same success with his offense, as they only totaled three points in the first half.
It included a red zone interception from Smith on third-and-9 on Green Bay’s 14-yard line, as he was looking for tight end Noah Fant, but Carrington Valentine jumped the route to pick him off.
However, the second half saw a Seattle defense that stymied the Packers’ solid run game, and that ultimately led to a number of three-and-outs to give the Seahawks a chance to get back into the game.
Then, Smith was injured after trying to make a pass midway through the third quarter, and slamming his helmet on the sideline showed that he was clearly injured.
Sam Howell, the Washington Commanders’ quarterback from 2023, took his place under center, and he took over the rest of the way as Smith was ruled out with a knee injury.
The Seahawks were able to find the end zone in the fourth quarter, as Zach Charbonnet, taking over the starting role again for an injured Kenneth Walker III, got the right blocks and sprinted 24 yards to make it a 23-13 game.
It was too little, too late though, as the Packers held off Howell to come away with the victory.
The nail in the coffin was Doubs’ second touchdown catch of the game, and it was a terrific one as he picked it off the turf in the back of the end zone to make it count for six.
Looking at the stat sheet, Love finished the game 20-of-27 for 229 yards with his two touchdowns, while Jacobs had 94 rushing yards on 26 carries and 42 yards through the air on four catches with his rushing score to open the game.
For the Seahawks, Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 10 catches for 83 yards to lead the team, though the Seahawks only generated 80 yards on the ground.
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