Yesterday Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith gave a pro’s pro answer when he was asked about facing his former team on Sunday.
Smith said he was focused on making the playoffs and has a lot of love for the Jets, per the team website.
“I just feel like the importance of it is that we need a win to get to the playoffs… Obviously, there will be some speculation and talk about that, it comes with the territory; it’s to be expected. I have a lot of love for the Jets, the organization and the people that are still there that were there when I got drafted. For me and this team, it’s business as usual, another week to prepare and a tough challenge for us to go out there and try to get this win. We need it.”
Smith has some extra incentive to push Seattle into the postseason. If they clinch a playoff berth and Smith plays 80% of the team’s snaps he will get a $2 million bonus.
It won’t be easy, though. ESPN’s playoff machine has their chances at 27.8%, while the New York Times’ model has them at just 21%.
Practically, that means they’ll need to beat both the Jets and the Rams and might need a little bit of extra luck to go their way, as well.