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Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith limped off the field and missed two series late in the first half Monday night after a questionable tackle near the sideline by New York Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
Smith injured his knee on the play. He remained in the game for one more play before getting attended to in the medical tent.
“A dirty play. Dirty play,” Smith told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after he returned for the second half of Seattle’s 24-3 victory. “You guys can see it. It was a dirty play. It’s no place in this sport for that and hopefully something happens, but other than that, the grace of God allowed me to come back into this game and I’m happy to be back out there.”
Smith made his displeasure known immediately. He later got flagged for taunting when he returned to the game in the third quarter.
He was still upset after the game despite the Seahawks (3-1) cruising into the bye week coming off a win. Smith finished 13-of-20 passing for 110 yards and a touchdown.
“I just don’t respect that type of stuff,” Smith said. “There’s no need for that type of stuff. It’s a hard-fought game out there. We’re all battling, but there’s no need to take shots at guys running out of bounds on the sideline.”
Smith looked to be a bit limited upon returning and was moving gingerly on the knee. But he insists it’s nothing major.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. God is good,” he said.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s biggest gripe seemed to be more about how Smith was taken down than where. The play occurred near the Giants sideline after Smith had his pass batted back to him.
It actually went as a reception for minus-2 yards on the play.
“Yeah, that looked so dangerous,” Carroll said. “I don’t know why we didn’t see that differently. It just looked so dangerous. All of the effect of a horse-collar tackle happened, with the swing of the body that pulls down the back of the legs, and he got hurt on that play. A penalty wouldn’t have rectified that, but it just looked like such a dangerous play it might have warranted a second look.”
The Giants didn’t feel the same about the hit. They thought it was clean.
“I really don’t got much to say about it. We playing football. He’s mad he got hit? What do most quarterbacks do when they don’t want to get hit? They go down. I don’t really know what else to tell him about that.”
Giants LB Isaiah Simmons
Simmons says he was just trying to make a tackle. Smith was running for yards after catching his own pass.
“I really don’t got much to say about it,” Simmons said. “We playing football. He’s mad he got hit? What do most quarterbacks do when they don’t want to get hit? They go down. I don’t really know what else to tell him about that.”
Simmons insists it was clean and that he started the tackle in bounds.
“Yeah, nobody is trying to hurt anybody out there. I want everyone to be great, you know what I mean? Nobody is trying to hurt anybody, so I would hate anyone intentionally trying to hurt me,” Simmons said. “None of that was intended. We’re just trying to play hard and win.”
Smith originally thought it was safety Xavier McKinney who made the questionable tackle. The two had words on the field later in the series.
McKinney didn’t seem too concerned about the play afterward.
“I don’t know. I really don’t care to be honest what he is saying or what he is doing,” McKinney said. “Don’t really matter.
“Yeah, I thought the hit was fine.” He chuckled. “He’ll be all right.”