Getty Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2023.
While Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was on fire against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, it appears the veteran played through some serious pain.
Smith shared a few disturbing photos of his bruised elbow on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday, December 2. The 33-year-old captioned the post, “Nobody cares. WORK HARDER.” Smith later deleted the photos, but it was too late.
The pictures caused quite a stir on social media, as most fans and analysts didn’t realize what Smith dealing with. Against the Cowboys, Smith showed no signs of an injury. He had one of his best games of the season, throwing for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and a rushing score.
@GenoSmith3/TwitterSeahawks quarterback shares photos of his bruised elbow on social media.
One fan reacted, “God damn Geno’s elbow was F***** up,” while another person wrote, “What a tough guy Holy s*** 💀.”
ESPN’s Brady Henderson posted, “That is/was a gnarly bruise on Geno Smith’s throwing arm from a hit he took vs. the Rams in Week 11. Smith hardly threw the next three days leading up to Thanksgiving vs the 49ers. He had a normal week of practice leading into Dallas and played lights out (season-best 91.3 QBR).”
Smith initially hurt his elbow injury during the Seahawks’ 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11, but battled through the pain to play on Thanksgiving Day. During Seattle’s embarrassing 31-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Smith threw zero touchdowns. He completed 18-of-27 passes for 180 yards and a pick.
Pete Carroll Said Seahawks QB Geno Smith’s Elbow Was Much Better Heading Into Cowboys Showdown
GettySeahawks quarterback Geno Smith with head coach Pete Carroll at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2023.
While there was serious concern over Smith’s health heading into Week 13, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gushed over how much he had improved since Thanksgiving.
“The difference was night and day,” Carroll told reporters on November 26. “He was out there running practice and putting on a show for us as he does every week, throwing the football all over the place. He did that exactly. He was full go the whole time, and that was not the case (last week). We don’t want to make a big deal about it, but it was pretty obvious it was a big difference.”
After taking a heartbreaking 41-35 loss to Dallas, the Seahawks (6-6) have a long week before their re-match against the 49ers (8-3). Based on Carroll’s comments, the extra rest will be incredibly useful for Smith and his throwing arm.
Geno Smith Took Responsibility for the Seahawks’ Loss in Dallas
GENO SMITH FINGER ROLL 🔥
Smith gets the rushing TD to put Seattle up 8! #Seahawks
While Smith & Co. whiffed hard on their final offensive drive against the Cowboys, the offense as a whole played a fantastic game.
“I think we just came out and played our game. We played fast. No one was hesitant. Everyone was out there just playing hard,” Smith told reporters. “I thought that everyone had that drive and that focus. We wanted to get out there and get it done. It’s tough to come up short in a game like this. Very fun game, a lot of back and forth. But we had the ball last. We had an opportunity to win it. I felt like we let ourselves down.”
The NFL’s 2022 Comeback Player of the Year was happy the offense finally broke out of its rut, but moral victories won’t cut it.
“Each week, we have to continue to build. That’s just the reality of this game,” Smith said. “It’s going to be tough week to week… It’s not about the play calls, what [offensive coordinator] Shane [Waldron] calls. It’s about us going out and executing. We can build on it, yeah. But it’s about winning most importantly. Today, we didn’t do that.”