Seahawks' Geno Smith Talks Ken Walker 'Flu Game'

Kenneth Walker III may have been under the weather, but he shined for the Seattle Seahawks against the Atlanta Falcons.

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks are back in the win column after a 34-14 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Any win in the NFL should be celebrated, let alone a victory that snapped a three-game skid for the Seahawks that lasted nearly a month. Quarterback Geno Smith voiced his appreciation for the win postgame.

“It's awesome to get a win," Smith said. "Any win in this league is going to be tough. The Falcons have a really good team, and I thought we came out and we played very hungry today from the start to the finish. Like I said, man, you don't want to put emphasis on the prior weeks, but it was tough. It was very easy for everyone to be negative after losing three games, but I thought, like I said, the energy was spectacular. I thought everyone had the right mindset. I thought everyone was positive, and I think that bled into the game, and it allowed us to start fast and then continue to have that confidence throughout.”

Smith also sang the praises of his running back Kenneth Walker III, who shined on his 24th birthday with 14 carries for 69 yards on the ground and two grabs for 24 yards through the air. He scored a pair of touchdowns to help the Seahawks break things open against the Falcons.

“Yeah, he was sick today, man," Smith said of Walker. "Two touchdowns on his birthday, that was sick. I thought he did a great job. Obviously, he was under the weather. A little bit of his flu game today on his birthday. I think that's spectacular. It might be the first time that's ever happened, but he's a guy we rely on. The way that he fought and battled it out, I know he wasn't feeling his best, but to come out and do what he did on his birthday, I thought that was excellent.”

Even though Walker was sick, he found ways to make plays, especially the receiving touchdown he had on a diving catch on a wheel route in the red zone.

Kenneth Walker III has his second TD!

Big day for the birthday boy.

📺: #SEAvsATL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/lTjy7QVQcJ

— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024

“Great catch, man, and that's something like, we've been repping that, we've been practicing that for a while, just looking for the moment for it to happen, and it showed up today," Smith said of the touchdown. "I thought he did a great job coming down with that catch. Those are the things we look for in that situation. They were doubling DK [Metcalf] on the back side right there, so that means the back was going to be one-on-one with him. He had a different route, but we figured why not take a shot there, and he did a great job setting it up. I thought the protection allowed me that half a second I needed to get it off, and he made a great catch, and that was good for us.”

If Walker can keep making plays like that and Smith can continue to set his teammates up for success, the Seahawks will continue to bounce back and be a threat in the NFC West.

The Seahawks return to action in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27.