Geno Smith suffered a knee injury during the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the New York Giants on Monday night, and he felt it could have been avoided if not for a dirty play.
Smith went to the locker room early in the second quarter after he was tackled by Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Smith caught his own pass on a batted ball and was trying to run to the sideline when he was tackled by Simmons, who landed awkwardly on the back of the quarterback’s legs.
Smith immediately began jawing at the Giants over the play.
Drew Lock entered the game for Smith, but Smith was able to return in the second half. After Seattle’s 24-3 victory, Smith ripped Simmons over the tackle.
“A dirty play. Dirty play,” Smith told ESPN’s Lisa Salters during an on-field interview. “You guys can see it. It was a dirty play. It’s no place in this sport for that and hopefully something happens, but other than that, the grace of God allowed me to come back into this game and I’m happy to be back out there.
“I just don’t respect that type of stuff. There’s no need for that type of stuff. It’s a hard-fought game out there. We’re all battling, but there’s no need to take shots at guys running out of bounds on the sideline.”
Smith was a bit more reserved in his postgame press conference. He called the play an “unfortunate situation” and would not say whether he thought Simmons should have been flagged.
Simmons told reporters he was just playing hard and would never intentionally try to injure an opponent.
Some felt Simmons’ tackle on Smith was an example of a “hip-drop tackle,” which is a play that the NFL has looked into banning.
Fortunately, Smith avoided a serious injury. We doubt Simmons will face any disciplinary action from the NFL.
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