Seahawks 13, 49ers 21
Q. How tough was it trying to get things going against those guys today?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, I mean, they're a great defense. You know, it was tough out there, but I feel like everyone on our side played with tons of effort. You see guys fighting the entire game all the way to the finish. We expected it to be a tough game and it was.
I think that game was a lot closer than the score showed. Obviously there is no moral victories or anything like that, but I was proud of how we fought tonight. I really think there is a lot of positives going forward. Obviously the loss isn't what we want, but we got to step it up and look at the things that we did well and try to improve on the things that we didn't.
Q. What frustrated you tonight?
GENO SMITH: Well, I feel like obviously losing is the most frustrating part. I hate losing. It truly sucks, and I know how hard the guys work inside the locker room, the time everyone puts in the hours. It's very unfortunate that we didn't get it done tonight.
I think our fans deserve it, our city deserves it. I don't know if I have all the right words, but, man, I just hate losing. I got to figure it out.
Q. During the game what frustrated you? Seemed to be more frustrated than normal.
GENO SMITH: Losing.
Q. Their the rush obviously is really good. Did you have to -- a lot more kind of shorter, quicker passes tonight it seemed like, or...
GENO SMITH: You know, I was just out there taking what they gave me and really just trying to do the right thing on every single play. Obviously they do have a great pass rush, great front seven, great guys on the back end. It felt like a championship game and we didn't get it done.
We were close. We had our opportunities, but just didn't get it done.
Q. Did you talk to Tyler after the game at all? How is he doing?
GENO SMITH: Didn't talk to Tyler. I kind of just heard the news, but didn't get a chance to talk to him.
So I will soon.
Q. Did you get banged up a little bit? Looks like you were walking gingerly in between the third and fourth quarter.
GENO SMITH: Yeah, I just kind of fell awkwardly. Just a football game. Stuff like that happens. I mean, everyone is out there playing hard. I'm pretty sure everyone has something going on, but God is in my corner and fortunately wasn't anything too bad.
Q. Three games left now. What do you feel like you need to do to turn it around down the stretch?
GENO SMITH: Pick up the sense of urgency. Continue to fight hard like we been doing. Continue to study hard. Hit the weights. You know, practice hard. Stay locked in it together. Now is not the time to separate, and I don't see that happening for this team.
Really just locking in together. We got to make the most of these three games.
Q. What is the message for the team with Kansas City on the horizon?
GENO SMITH: Got to win. Got to figure out a way to win. Doesn't matter. We're going to a tough environment. Should be a lot of fun. A lot of young guys be will there for the first time, so they can expect it to be a lot of fun.
But really execution. You know, one play at a time. Bring your best self, the best execution possible. One play at a time all the way to the finish.
Q. How would you describe the mood in the locker room right now?
GENO SMITH: I think everyone is a little bit shocked. We didn't expect to come out after the bye and lose these games. Everyone is a little bit shocked.
Again, there is no panic. No one is putting their heads down or quitting. That's one thing, we're not going to do. We are never going to back down, quit, give up.
In fact, we're going to work harder. We are going to practice harder. Everyone is going to study harder and get this thing right.
Q. Pete was impressed with how you put that frustration behind and you went back out there and like turned that into some positive energy. That hard to do?
GENO SMITH: No, not at all. Man, I'm out there playing as hard as I can. I get frustrated at times. I'm human. Because I want to win. It's never a negative thing. My frustration is never negative. It's because I see the positives. I see the greatness in us and I want us to get to that point, reach our full potential.
That's all it is. Every time I step on that field I got complete faith in the guys around me, complete faith in the coaches, and complete faith in myself, and I was proud of how we finished. It just wasn't enough.
Q. Were you surprised there wasn't a flag when you got taken down out of bounds on your sideline?
GENO SMITH: I don't look for flags. I grew up playing basketball. You couldn't call fouls back in the day, so I don't look for flags. It just is what it is. If they call it, they call it.
Q. What was working on the touchdown drive that wasn't there on other drives?
GENO SMITH: I think the same things. I think the touchdown drive we just finished better. There was a sense of urgency. We've been great in two-minute the entire season, but we just weren't able to stay quite connected throughout the entire game.
I think we had our opportunities, and then for whatever reason we shot ourselves in the foot as we got closer to the end zone. But very positive to see us finish that drive and give ourselves a chance.
Q. It's annual question for us, would you like to be? No-huddle, up tempo more?
GENO SMITH: No. I don't think we need to change anything. I think we have a really good offense. I think we've shown that over the course of the season. Obviously we haven't done enough to win these games, but we just need to work harder and be better.
Q. Without Tyler what kind of challenge do you think that will be?
GENO SMITH: I think it'll present us a great challenge. He's one of the better receivers in the league. He is a leader on this team, leader this offense, and he's a guy that we rely on, that I rely on.
So we have guys that are willing to step up. You know, I look forward to seeing those guys step up in their new roles, but you can never replace a guy like Tyler. He's done it for so long. He brings something to the game that not many guys can.
You know, I'm just pulling for him to get back as soon as possible.
Q. Geno, there was some improvement despite the loss. What did you notice out there that worked better...
GENO SMITH: You know, I think our run game got going a little bit. Having Kim back helped that out. I think we got some explosive plays here and there. Not enough, but we had a few explosives tonight, and that's a great defense. Hats off to San Fran. They made it tough on us.
But you can see that we're close. We're really close, and so we got to stay positive and just keep working.
Q. Staying on the San Francisco defense, how do you feel that the rookies got into the game? They're no longer rookies, but the tackles, the offensive line as it went along.
GENO SMITH: I thought the protection was solid. You know, obviously they're not going to win every single battle, but I thought they were solid throughout the game. They gave me time to go through my reads. Any time you can complete that many passes, obviously it starts with the protection.
So I thought those guys did a great job all night of battling against a really good front seven, maybe one of the best in the league. Really comes down to, like I said, us just executing better. When it comes down to Abe and Charles, I don't flinch. I know they got me.
Q. Pete said he asked you if you had 12 or 13 plays left in you. How important is it for you to come back and say, yes and be a leader for the rest of your team?
GENO SMITH: Oh, they know that. That's just -- I mean, look at my career, right? You know, that speaks for itself. I'm always going to battle. Always going to fight. Never going to quit. I don't know how to.
I know Pete might have asked me that, but he was just trying to see if I was all right. He knows that I am.
Q. What was the issue on the on first and second down today?
GENO SMITH: I have to go watch the film, but I really just think it all comes down to execution. That's the real thing. When all 11 don't execute, maybe one guy gets beat here and there, it can mess up a play.
It just comes down to us staying connected and really just finding ways to win and win in our one-on-one battles.
Q. Did you feel like the defense was playing you guy honest today or...
GENO SMITH: They mixed it up. We had one opportunity in press. We threw a go-ball out to DK and I think it was offensive pass interference. I didn't see the play. I don't know what happened.
But teams don't press as much. We got speed. Everyone knows we got speed, so guys aren't going to just come up and press us. They are going to make us walk it down the field and make it hard on us. We can expect that. They are going to mix it up. It's the NFL. They can call any defense.
We just got to be on it and do what we do.
Q. Not all turnovers are created equal. How much tougher is it to try to bounce back, like the sequence at the end of the first half where you guys have all the momentum seemingly and instantly it's gone?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, you know, we gave them one. Giving a team like that the ball on the one yard line; can't have it. So we have all had our share of mistakes. No one is placing blame on anyone. It was one play. We had more opportunities in the game, and we just didn't get it done.
But obviously turnovers -- and I've been a culprit a few times -- but turnovers has got us, so we got to clean it up.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports