Seahawks QB Geno Smith Reveals His 'Message' After Loss to Steelers

The Seattle Seahawks suffered a poor loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, with their playoff hopes now out of their control, but Geno Smith wants the team to keep fighting.

The Seattle Seahawks suffered a 30-23 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, and it could have major repercussions on their season. The Seahawks were in the playoffs as the No. 7 seed prior to Sunday's game, but with the loss, now drop out to the No. 8 seed.

What is even more concerning is that Seattle no longer controls its own playoff destiny heading into Week 18 and will need to rely on the Green Bay Packers to lose to the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, the Seahawks would need to take care of business against the Arizona Cardinals who are fresh off an upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The loss to the Steelers is a painful one for Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, but he insists the team will keep fighting.

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"You know, it hurts whenever you lose," Smith said. "We wanted to control our own destiny, obviously, like you said. We can't do that anymore. But there's no time for us to kind of feel sorry for ourselves. We've got another game to play. Still got a chance, still got an opportunity, so next week is going to be big for us. I think the message is to keep going, as always, to keep going and keep fighting."

The Seahawks' season now hangs in the balance after the loss to the Steelers and with them no longer in control of their playoff destiny, if they fail to secure a playoff spot, they will look back at the Pittsburgh game as the one where it all went wrong.

Seattle couldn't stop the Steelers' run game. Pittsburgh gashed the Seahawks on the ground to the tune of 202 yards.

The loss likely hurts even more given that it was the Seahawks' final home game of the season before facing the Cardinals on the road next week.

FINAL: Seahawks Suffer Playoff Hope Heartbreak in 30-23 Steelers Defeat

Smith vows that the team will keep fighting heading into the final game of the year,  but if things don't go their way in Week 18, this season will have a "what if" feel to it.

And that thought will hurt the Seahawks most of all. They had a chance to punch their ticket into the playoffs and blew it at home.