Geno Smith: People can write you off, I’ve just been working

The wild ending of Monday night’s game in Seattle threatened to overshadow much of what went on during the first 59 minutes of play, but the crowd at Lumen Field offered a reminder about another storyline after Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal.

Chants of “Geno” could be heard as Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith took a pair of knees to run out the clock. Smith was installed as the team’s starting quarterback after spending the last eight seasons as a backup and he turned in a terrific first half to stake the Seahawks to a lead.

Smith was 17-of-18 for 164 yards and two touchdowns as the Seahawks took a 17-13 lead into the break. He cooled down a bit in the second half and ended 23-of-28 for 195 yards, but his play surpassed most expectations and Smith punctuated the win by saying on ESPN that “they wrote me off, I ain’t write back though.” He would expand on that thought after the game.

“When people say ‘what I’ve been through,’ I think that’s a stretch, man,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “I’m in the NFL for 10 years, so to say what I’ve been through is kind of funny. Then to say people wrote me off, I’ve just been working. That’s what I mean by ‘I never wrote back.’ I don’t listen to stuff like that. I just work. I know what I have inside of me. God has blessed me with talent and also a passion and a drive. As far as worrying about naysayer or anything like that, I don’t get into that type of stuff. People can write you off, but life is about what you make it. I’ve just been blessed enough to be in the NFL for ten years and been working my butt off. It’s a team game, and we got a win tonight as a team.”

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said on Monday night that Smith is “ready for this moment” and his play would have been the biggest story of the night if not for the bizarre way things played out on the final Broncos drive.

Geno Smith: People can write you off, I’ve just been working originally appeared on Pro Football Talk