Geno Smith’s short appearance in the preseason only built more excitement about what he could bring to Seattle’s offense when the real games begin.
Smith impressed during his one series in the preseason, throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf, helping the Seahawks win 37-33 against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night.
“Made some great throws. Seemed decisive. The plan was to do a couple of series but I think we saw enough after I think the good five plays,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said.
Both teams used their starters only a little, and some, like Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson, didn’t play at all, leaving backups to handle most of the game for both teams.
Smith had watched from the sidelines for Seattle’s first two preseason games but finally got a chance to play a bit under new coordinator Ryan Grubb. Smith completed 4 out of 5 passes for 62 yards on his only drive.
After missing his first throw, Smith hit his next four, including a 25-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the touchdown throw to Metcalf.
Kenny McIntosh, competing for the No. 3 running back spot on Seattle’s team, had a 56-yard touchdown run where he used a stiff arm on Cleveland safety Chase Williams.
“I definitely had it in my bag but that’s one of the things (assistant) coach (Kennedy Polamalu) emphasizes is on the little things. Those are one of the little things we always work on (is) stiff arming,” McIntosh said.
Injury-prone wide receiver Dee Eskridge may have given himself a slim chance of making the 53-man roster by showing the speed and agility that once made him a second-round pick with a 79-yard punt return touchdown for Seattle (2-1).
Sam Howell was 6 of 9 for 45 yards after taking over from Smith, but had a 73-yard touchdown pass to Cody White called back because of a penalty. Jason Myers showed he’s ready for the regular season with field goals of 58, 51, and 47 yards.
Jameis Winston played the first two series as quarterback for Cleveland (0-3) before Dorian Thompson-Robinson took over for the rest of the first half. Thompson-Robinson was 11 of 20 for 115 yards and threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Thrash.
Tyler Huntley played the second half, going 17 of 22 for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Huntley connected with Michael Woods II for touchdowns of 12 and 17 yards, with the second one coming with 8 seconds left.
“Everything is tough. Every decision is tough. That’s a good roster. That’s a good problem to have when you have tough decisions to make,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
Watson was among several Browns starters who watched the preseason finale from the sideline. Joel Bitonio, Amani Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and Greg Newsome II were among the Cleveland starters who did not play.
Stefanski said Watson wanted to play, but since many of the offensive starters were sitting out, he decided to keep his starting quarterback on the sideline too.
“Just didn’t feel like it would be best to put him out there in this setting,” Stefanski said. “Very confident in the amount of work that he’s gotten to date throughout the spring and summer and he’ll be ready to roll Week 1.”
Five starters on Cleveland’s defense — Shelby Harris, Za’Darius Smith, Devin Bush, Grant Delpit, and Juan Thornhill — played a little in the first quarter before being replaced by backups.
Seattle’s starting defense mostly played just one series, and they might have left the game sooner because outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu was injured with a knee issue on the fourth play of the game.
