Rams - 26, Seahawks - 20
Q. How do you assess the offense today? Seemed like a lot of highs and lows.
GENO SMITH: First of all, I want to start off by apologizing to my teammates, really, and to the city, to the organization. They put a lot of trust in me with my decision-making, and when they put the ball in my hands, when my teammates play the way they played today and to give us a shot to win the game, I've got to make sure we do.
The things I did today, mistakes that I made, they affected us negatively and really cost us the game today. Me knowing myself, I know how much this is going to hurt. I'm going to step it up, though. That's how I feel about it. I'm going to step it up.
Q. Three INTs today, the first one you put in the breadbasket. Saw a few guys' chests. I know you have the tendency to take credit for that anyway. You come back, you throw two more picks, but at the end of the game you're still right there. You thread the needle. You put the ball right on the guy, get the touchdown, you're in the game. What's going through your mind at that time?
GENO SMITH: Just my guys, how well they were playing. Just watching Cody block that punt after making a number of spectacular catches and doing so many great things, being able to step in today, getting his first action today and going out there and playing lights out.
Just the way the defense was playing. Going out there, shutting them down, a really good offense. How our crowd was in it the entire day. Making it tough on the Rams.
I thought the fan base, they showed out today. So all those situations just led me to think, man, we've got to get it done, I've got to get it done for my guys and for the city. I really feel like I let everybody down today. I really do.
Q. Did you get hit -- you were throwing there on the second interception?
GENO SMITH: I was trying to throw it out of bounds in the back of the end zone. A guy hit my arm. There's no excuses to be made. I can throw that away, get it out sooner. Be faster in my decision-making. Trying to make a play down there, held it a second too long and it didn't turn out well.
Q. What did you see on the third one?
GENO SMITH: Just trying to get the ball to A.J., thought he was going to slip through there and didn't happen. I thought he got grabbed. Again, that's not an excuse. The ball's in my hands. I get the chance to make a decision and ultimately my decisions affect everybody, not just myself. And so I've got to be better. I'm not just saying that to say it. I really know that I can be better. And so it hurts me. It hurts me that I wasn't able to get it done today.
Q. In your position, it's obviously huge to flush mistakes because you've got to go right back out there. What has your thought process been coming out of the pick-6 or the next interception trying to move past that, do what you have to do to lift the team up?
GENO SMITH: It's the way the game is. You've got to have a short memory. Playing quarterback, there's a lot that goes on back there, and if you focus on what happened previously, it's only going to affect you negatively. Just moving on to the next play and focusing on what's the right decision to make at this time.
I know, like, it's extremely hard to do. It's not easy to do. But I've been in this league long enough. I've seen a lot. And I've been through a lot. And I think that helps me, helps me move on.
But as long as we've got a shot, as long as I've got a shot, I'll keep fighting. That's the way I am. That's how I'm wired. I don't know any other way, and I'm really hurting.
Q. What do you make of the snap operation with you and Connor, had a couple go by you, but there were other ones you were having to throw out your hand and stop, and how did you see those and where do you think you are with those right now?
GENO SMITH: Connor is doing a great job, phenomenal job. Hats off to the way he plays and competes. No one's perfect out there. Nobody is perfect. I'm not perfect. None of us are perfect. We compete together and fight together.
There's a lot of things we've got to clean up, sure enough. But just the way that we compete, the way that Conner is out there competing, I'm not going to bat an eye. Whatever we have got to do to make it right, we'll make it right.
Q. How do you feel where you guys are as a team heading into the bye?
GENO SMITH: 4-5, not where we want to be, especially with how we started. Had an opportunity really in all of the games that we lost to get a win. And that's how it's going to be in this league. It's always a one-score league.
But, man, we've got our season right in front of us. Everything's ahead of us. We get a week to reevaluate, to rest our bodies, and get our minds back.
And we've got a tough San Francisco team coming back after the bye. But eight games to go and get it. Eight games to go get it. Everything we've worked for in the offseason, all the hard work we put in throughout the week, it's this final stretch, this eight-game stretch is what it's about.
Q. What do you think is the biggest contributor why you start 3-0 end up 4-5 at this point?
GENO SMITH: I think there's a lot of different contributors. If I'm being honest, I could play better and I could correct a lot of things. That's the job of the quarterback is to overcome and ultimately to get wins. When we're in position to get wins, I've got to make it happen.
Q. Fourth and one in overtime, what were you guys looking for right there? What do you think went wrong?
GENO SMITH: I can't say what went wrong. I haven't watched the film, but I do know it's a play we like. We felt good about it. Made the call. Hats off to them, they stopped us.
Q. It's the nature of your job, Geno, but what is it about this particular loss that has you apologizing?
GENO SMITH: Well, I just feel like our team played extremely well, and again I thought our crowd was in it the entire time. It was electric in there. And just knowing myself, knowing how much work I put in, knowing the standard I have for myself, knowing this game and the difference that the decisions the quarterbacks make, if I do my job and don't have those turnovers, don't have that pick-6, that's a 14-point swing right there, we win that game, in my opinion.
When that's the case, I look directly at myself. I look in the mirror and I say what do I have to do. I know what I have to do. So I've got to get to correcting it.
Q. What did you think about Jaxson's play today?
GENO SMITH: I thought he was lights out. He had about 200 yards today. He was all over the place. He played with extreme fire. Shoot, man, he was just doing his thing. That's who he is. We've got to continue to build on that. He's a guy who is only going to get better and really appreciate playing with him.
Q. What did you think of the plays that Cody White made today?
GENO SMITH: We expected that from Cody. We've said that all camp. He's been doing that since he got here. Hard worker, one of the hardest workers on the team. He deserves it. He deserves to go out there and make those plays.
He's always prepared. He knows what to do. He knows all the positions in the receiver room. He does such a great job throughout the week that I was so happy for him to get the opportunity. I could see it in his eyes in pregame, he was ready to go out there and play.
Q. Obviously mentioned highs and lows, not the outcome anyone wanted but certainly felt there were highs. Is there anything from this game you're taking away that you think will help the team in a positive manner moving down the line?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, I think you just look at the way that -- we fight. We compete. We're never going to back down. I don't believe in moral victories at all. I think you either win or lose. Today we lost. The great thing about life is you get another day, you get another chance. We've got eight games. That's all I'm focused on is the next eight games. I'm taking it one by one. I'm going to do my thing. I'm going to get better.
Q. The offense got off to kind of another slow start, but what did you see change there at the end of the half when you guys were able to go down get two real quick touchdowns in a flurry?
GENO SMITH: I thought the situational play calling, the situational execution, I thought all of that was outstanding.
When you look at it, to score in the two-minute mode, for the defense to go out there get a stop, we get the ball back, put seven more points on the board, that's exactly what you talk about when you say complementary football.
And I thought that's something that really got us going and gave us confidence going into the half, got us the momentum when we needed it and really excited our crowd.
Q. You didn't always snap it right away. What of the pace? How do you think that helped you the middle of the series?
GENO SMITH: I think our pace, the way we can either speed up or slow down the tempo, I think it really does help us. It's something that's part of our offense. We do a great job mixing it up. We get in the huddle. We change personnels and we can be on the ball if the ball depends how Grubb's feeling and what we're seeing from the defense.
Q. Did you emphasize and prepare for that this week?
GENO SMITH: No, that's our offense, we've been doing it since training camp.
Q. In your pursuit for continual improvement, how do you balance the next week physically, take care of your body mentally and, like you say, get in the way a little bit if that's what you do getting ready for San Francisco?
GENO SMITH: I'm going to work. I know it's good to have the days of rest, but I've got work to do. And I'll be working.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports