Seahawks' Trick Play Earns 'Most Improbable Completion' of Week 7

Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba's pass to DK Metcalf in the Seattle Seahawks' win on Sunday had the lowest chance to be completed of any attempt league-wide.

Connor Benintendi | 3 Hours Ago

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) throws a pass against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb dug into his bag of tricks during Sunday’s 34-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Though heart attack-inducing, it was successful.

With 5:18 remaining in the second quarter and Seattle leading 10-7, quarterback Geno Smith threw to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the right flat. The former first-round pick threw up a moon ball to fellow wideout DK Metcalf, who rose up — while falling backward — and pulled down the 35-yard reception between three Falcons defenders.

Pending Monday Night Football, the throw and catch wound up as the most improbable completion of Week 7 league-wide, per NFL Next Gen Stats. The play had just a 20.9 percent chance of being completed on Smith-Njigba’s first-ever career pass.

This JSN to DK connection was WILD.

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“That play call, when I’m throwing it, I just say, ‘I don’t care.’ I’m just about to throw it, give my playmakers a chance, really,” Smith-Njigba said postgame. “I don’t care. I’m going to throw the ball and make a play.”

It’s a miracle the pass wasn’t intercepted. Though Atlanta defensive backs AJ Terrell Jr., Justin Simmons and Jessie Bates III were all in the area, Terrell was the only player that actually tried to make a play on the ball. It was a difficult play to make, too, with a 6-3, 235-pound receiver essentially boxing Terrell out in mid-air.

The ball hung in the sky for nearly three seconds. Metcalf simply made an incredible play, plucking the ball out of the air to keep it from falling into the waiting hands of Simmons or Terrell.

Though Smith was glad it was completed, he was left wondering how he never gets that lucky as a quarterback.

“That was an awesome pass. Usually, when I throw it up in double coverage, it doesn’t end up like that, but that’s kind of how things work, man,” Smith said. “I thought Jaxon [Smith-Njigba] did a great job giving DK [Metcalf] a chance, and he’s a big target. He went up and got that thing. That was a good moment right there.”

Oct 20, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) makes a catch over Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell (24) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Smith-Njigba now owns the sixth-longest completion by a non-quarterback in Seahawks history, per Pro Football Reference. Former Seahawks receiver Sidney Rice owns the longest throw of that variety, completing a 55-yard pass to Mike Williams in Week 11 of the 2011 season.

It was just the 17th pass attempt by a Seattle wide receiver in team history and one of nine completions. Smith-Njigba joined Jermaine Kearse (2012–16), Doug Baldwin (2011–18) and Golden Tate (2010–13) as the only Seahawks receivers to be 1-of-1 passing in their careers. He could still exit that club in the future, of course.

The play cleared the nearest improbable completions by a decent margin in Week 7. A 17-yard throw and catch between Carolina’s Andy Dalton and Diontae Johnson was second (22.8 percent), and a 35-yard Jared Goff touchdown pass to Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was third (24 percent).

For the whole season, it ranks 20th in lowest completion probability. A 30-yard pass from Las Vegas’ Gardner Minshew to Davante Adams leads the league through seven games (6.1 percent).

If Smith-Njigba’s throw had ended in a turnover for the Seahawks’ offense, we may be looking at it far differently. Instead, it was one of the top highlights in a bounce-back victory for Seattle.