Geno deserves QB job after Pat performance

FOXBOROUGH — Geno Smith deserves to be Eli Manning’s backup in 2017 after a blistering performance in Thursday night’s Giants preseason finale against the Patriots, even if he wouldn’t call it his job postgame. “I mean, I don’t know,” Smith said when asked if he’d beaten out Josh Johnson. “I never really think about that, honestly. I just want to go out there and play good football, and that’s been my goal the entire time is to improve and get better as a quarterback. That’s the reason why I came here, because I saw the ability to do that. We’ll see.”

While the Jets’ miserable quarterback situation was creating more drama back at MetLife Stadium, Smith was starting for Ben McAdoo at Gillette Stadium and opening a perfect 8-for-8 for 93 yards and a touchdown in an eventual 40-38 Giant victory.

“Geno completed a lot of balls,” coach Ben McAdoo said. “He’s been completing balls really all preseason, we just hadn’t finished any drives. And he had a chance to finish some drives today, which was encouraging to see. He completes the ball at a high percentage, knows where to go with the ball. We all know he can throw it, and he didn’t have any critical errors, which was encouraging.”

Geno completed passes to five different receivers, including a 25-yard score to tight end Matt LaCosse, and finished 10-of-11 for 111 yards, the TD, a 139 QB rating, and most importantly, no turnovers.

Less than a year ago, Smith tore the ACL in his right knee, ending a tumultuous fouryear run with the Jets on and off the field and sending him into an offseason full of uncertainty. And yet Thursday he claimed he placed no extra importance on this game, despite how significant it was for resurrecting his NFL career.

“I’m not a really emotional person,” Smith said. “I didn’t put extra incentive going into this game and I’m not going to. I want to play good football all the time. I believe in myself and have confidence in myself.”

Johnson played well, too, going 11-of-14 for 135 yards, a TD and a 130.7 rating. “They both rose to the occasion,” McAdoo said.

But Smith has been the better passer through the preseason with the exception of some turnovers, and if McAdoo can be convinced he’ll limit the mistakes, the ex-Jet should be the choice.

“There were some things early (in the preseason) that I wish I could have done differently, but it’s part of the process of growing,” Johnson said. “They know what I can do as a leader. They know what I bring to the table with my mind. I just really wanted them to see what I can do as a player. … I felt like I was able to do that tonight. We got a two-minute drill, a real one, and I felt good about it.”

Still, Smith’s start over Johnson seemed to be an indication the backup job was Geno’s to lose entering the game. And he didn’t let the opportunity slip away. Smith drove the Giants to 10 points in three drives, including an 8-play, 75-yard march that ate up 4:13 of clock, capped by his 25-yard strike to Matt LaCosse just outside the left numbers. He took a coverage sack in the red zone on his final drive, but the Giants still got points because of Smith’s earlier 14yard completion to Roger Lewis on a critical 3rd-and-13.

“I think it’s just the way I am, my demeanor,” Smith said of staying unfazed by the pressure. “I try to stay even keel at all times, and going into this game I didn’t think once about the possibilities of anything else. That’s just the way I’ve been. When I came into the league and started as a rookie I didn’t have any emotion then, and it’s the same thing now.”

Remember, though, Smith had thrown an interception in each of the first two preseason games, was forced to run a lap for two fumbles in practice Aug. 15 and threw another pick in practice Tuesday. Protecting the ball was imperative if he wished to earn the job.

But he did it, and now what seemed so unthinkable in the spring when Jerry Reese signed Smith appears on the verge of becoming a reality: Geno Smith getting the second chance at an NFL career no one thought he’d receive, let alone in the same New York market in which he’d made some high-profile mistakes as a Jet.

He spent the spring and early summer continuing to get healthy enough to compete in training camp come late July. He started slowly but then gained some steam. He and Johnson each had good days and bad days. But Geno’s fastball has more zip. He gets the ball out quicker. And on Thursday, he finished. He deserves it.