Geno Smith, Rashaad Penny outlast their awful Seahawks defense in 48-45 win at Detroit

Geno Smith, Rashaad Penny and the re-made Seahawks offense are suddenly rolling.

But, oh (no!), that defense.

Smith completed 23 of 30 passes for 320 yards, two throwing touchdowns and another one rushing in his fourth start taking over for traded Russell Wilson as Seattle’s full-time quarterback.

“Geno played some spectacular football,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “Spectacular football, not just the throwing and the catching but the command of the game and running the whole show.”

Penny romped for two long touchdowns, including the clinching one on third down with just over 2 minutes to play.

Rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen continued to make coach Pete Carroll look like a Richard Sherman-creating genius with another huge play.

And divine intervention from a most unlikely, unheard of source — The God of the Game Clock — turned the game decisively in the Seahawks’ zany, 48-45 win over the Detroit Lions, which they repeatedly tried to turn into a loss at Ford Field Sunday.

It was the most points the Seahawks have ever allowed in a regulation-game win. Seattle beat Kansas City 51-48 in overtime on Nov. 27, 1983.

When the Seahawks traded Wilson to Denver in March, they couldn’t have expected — or perhaps even imagined — this: an NFL-leading 77.3% completion rate, seven total touchdowns against just two interceptions, deft play changes at the line of scrimmage into the right calls such as both of Penny’s touchdowns Sunday, a 2-2 record and winning historic shootouts even Wilson didn’t pull off.

“Listen, man, it’s week four. Let’s stop talking about that guy. Geno’s doing a great job,” tight end Will Dissly said of Wilson outside the visiting locker room at Ford Field.

“I appreciated him in the media telling how good the O-line did. ...Geno was poised and got us in the right play calls.

“It was just up to us to go out and execute.”

They sure did that.

The Seahawks and Lions combined for 1,075 yards in addition to the 93 points Sunday.

Smith was better than the Lions’ and the Seahawks’ defenses.

“He did an incredible job,” Carroll said. “And he ran the ball, too, for 50 yards or something.

“So, fantastic day. I don’t know how you can do a whole lot more, play a lot better than that.”

Saved by the clock

Smith even successfully lobbied game officials for a do-over of a failed third down. It resulted in a Seahawks touchdown.

Ahead 31-23 Seattle was facing a fourth and 16 and perhaps a field-goal try from 54 yards in the third quarter when Smith successfully argued the game clock had erroneously stopped late following a intentional-grounding penalty on Smith, and before a failed third-down pass. Referee Clay Martin told The News Tribune in a pool report following the game he granted a replay of the third down because of the game-clock error his side judge, Dave Hawkshaw, noticed and acted upon.

On the reprieve, Penny ran untouched 36 yards off right guard for a touchdown that gave the Seahawks a 38-23 lead into the fourth quarter.

That four-point swing because of the play clock was, ultimately, the difference in the game.

“After the intentional grounding play, we had set up for third down and our side judge noticed an error in the game clock,” Martin told The News Tribune via an NFL pool report. “Prior to that snap, he came running in and shut it down to fix the game clock. So, we fixed the game clock to where the clock was when the ball hit the ground on the grounding play. So essentially, that third down you’re referencing never happened because the side judge came and shut down prior to the snap.

“The game clock was off and it was wrong when that grounding play happened. So the side judge came in to correct the game clock, which you need to do before the next snap and he came in shutting it down.”

Martin said too much time had elapsed on Smith’s intentional-grounding play, for many seconds after the illegal pass hit the ground.

“We were setting the game clock to the time when the ball hit the ground,” Martin said.

In the fourth quarter Smith stood in the pocket as he was about to get drilled in the chest by a Lions defender. His throw from midfield found Tyler Lockett, who had earlier fumbled a punt return to hand the Lions a touchdown, alone in the middle of the field. That was a 34-yard gain. Those were the yards Seattle needed to restore a two-score lead with Jason Myers’ second field goal, from 25 yards. That made it 41-31 with 9:32 left.

The Seahawks needed every one of those points.

Seattle gained 555 yards of offense. Detroit (1-3) rolled up 520.

Penny finished with 151 yards. DK Metcalf had seven catches on 10 targets for 149 yards.

But, oh that Seahawks defense

The defense kept giving up big plays and penalties. That’s this team’s huge issue heading to New Orleans (1-3) next weekend.

The Seahawks allowed the Lions to convert on fourth and 10, then Woolen committed an illegal-contact foul in the secondary on a pass to give Detroit first and goal. On third down, Jared Goff threw to tight end T.J. Hockenson over Seattle dime defensive back Ryan Neal for a 5-yard score.

After the Lions got a two-point conversion pass, Seattle’s lead was down to 41-38 with 5 minutes to go.

Then Smith and Lockett connected in a key spot again, third and 2 from near midfield.

Penny turned that into his second big touchdown run. He had no time, or want, to wait for lead blocker Charles Cross pulling from left tackle to be his lead blocker. He just took off running around right end for a 41-yard touchdown, out-running three Lions defenders to the goal line — and, finally, the clinching score that made it 48-38 with 2:14 left.

The play was another deft play change and communications trick by Smith to all his teammates amid formidable noise in Detroit’s domed stadium.

Penny said it was designed to go inside. He and Cross read the Lions’ over-shifted front inside. They bounce instinctively bounced the lane outside on their own — where no one was. Penny credited the rookie for the improvisational score.

Penny finished with 139 yards on 14 carries with the two touchdowns. He has plowed for at least 135 yards in five of his last nine games dating to last December at Houston, the start of the five-game run to end last season that earned him a new Seahawks contract and lead-back status for 2022.

The defense was so bad it was about apologizing to the offense in the locker room after this one.

Defensive co-captain and 35-year-old veteran Al Woods walked into the middle of the room after the win and told his teammates: “Grateful for the offense today. They came through and helped us win a game.”

Geno Smith. Again.

Smith created all of Seattle’s first 24 points.

The Seahawks came out throwing on Detroit’s 25th-ranked pass defense. Ten of the first 14 play calls by offensive coordinator Shane Waldron were passes.

Smith, the NFL leader in completion percentage entering Sunday at 77%, was 12 for 14 (86%) for 170 yards and two touchdowns passing in the first half. The touchdowns were to tight ends, 17 yards to Dissly and 1 yard to Noah Fant. Smith had a near-perfect passer rating of 156.8 in the half. He also had an 8-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw in the first quarter.

Plus, Smith salvaged a drive and three points in the second quarter. Rookie running back Ken Walker from up the road from here at Michigan State had a 13-yard run but then a 10-yard holding penalty pass blocking. Smith rescued the drive when he had no open receiver and scrambled 13 yards on 2nd and 25.

Those were the yards Myers needed to boom a 56-yard field goal for a 17-9 lead, instead of Michael Dickson punting.

The Seahawks’ defense allowed the Lions out of a second-and-23 hole against their own goal line late in the second quarter. That drive ended with Detroit scoring on the last play of the first half, a 1-yard touchdown. So Seattle’s lead was down to 24-15 — Lions kicker Dominik Eberle, filling in for injured Austin Seibert, missed two point-after-touchdown attempts in the half.

Tariq Woolen paying off

On the first play after halftime, Woolen stepped in front of Detroit quarterback Jared Goff’s pass over the middle toward tight end T.J. Hockenson. The 6-foot-4 Woolen then flashed some of his 4.26-second speed in the 40-yard dash by sprinting 40 yards for the touchdown. Seattle’s lead was 31-15 before the fans got back into their seats from halftime.

Carroll has hit jackpot on his decision with general manager John Schneider and their scouting staff to draft Woolen, then Carroll’s decision to make the converted college wide receiver a starting Seahawks cornerback, Richard Sherman style. Unlike Sherman in 2011, Carroll made Woolen’s Seattle’s starter from play one of game one — of the initial preseason game in August.

Woolen has produced two touchdowns in his first four NFL games. He sped off the edge in Santa Clara three games ago and blocked a 49ers field-goal attempt. Teammate Michael Jackson returned that 86 yards for Seattle’s only points in a 27-7 loss that day.

Woolen’s touchdown Sunday put Seattle in control of a game.

But repeatedly Sunday, Seahawks’ mistakes allowed the Lions to stay in it.

Coby Bryant’s first big play

Bryant had his first big play of his NFL career. He punched the ball from Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond after a catch across midfield in the second quarter. Seattle linebacker Jordyn Brooks recovered the fumble.

Seahawks legend Kam Chancellor, an expert on punching the ball out, including from Lions during his career, approved. He posted on his Twitter page online “Great Punch.”

On the first play after the turnover, DK Metcalf blunted the momentum from Bryant’s play by being penalized for blocking before Smith’s pass to Fant arrived. The offensive pass interference made it first and 20. But Metcalf responded by burning Jeff Okudah with a move for a 55-yard catch and run down the left side. Metcalf had said last week Okudah wasn’t really a shutdown corner because the young Lions star had a lot of safety help behind him.

Smith then threw his 1-yard scoring pass to wide-open Fant at the right sideline. Seattle was ahead 24-9.

No punts by Michael Dickson

Dickson never did punt. Seattle’s right full drives on offense ended with:

• Touchdown

• Touchdown

• Field goal

• Touchdown

• Missed field goal

• Touchdown

• Field goal

• Touchdown

Then came five plays with know kneel-downs by Smith to finish the game.

“We gave him the day off,” Smith said of Dickson.