RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Moments after the kind of loss that could linger, Geno Smith was ready to put an unexpected setback in the past.
For the Seattle Seahawks (3-2), there's no time to dwell on Sunday's 29-20 loss to the visiting New York Giants with what's ahead on the horizon: a Thursday night matchup with NFC West rival San Francisco (2-3).
“We’ve got a quick turnaround. Tough opponent Thursday night. Divisional opponent. It means everything to us,” Smith said. “This is a big game. It’s about as big of a game we’ve had this season. We better be ready.”
Seattle's second straight loss exposed some continuing worries and issues, but there's no time to make wholesale corrections or changes.
Coach Mike Macdonald made no excuses when asked about the Seahawks' short amount of time to prepare and fix whatever problems the team is facing.
“It doesn't matter how hard it is,” Macdonald said Monday during a radio appearance. “Nobody cares. We've got to work harder. That's the way it is. It's an opportunity to go make it right in four days. That's really what we need to focus on.”
Smith continues to be really good late in games, although he'd prefer not to be in situations where he is throwing all the time. Smith was 11 of 14 on the 95-yard drive that culminated in Jaxon Smith-Njigba's 5-yard TD in the fourth quarter on Sunday. On the next drive, Smith's 32-yard scramble on the first play put Seattle immediately into field goal range.
“We started playing hard,” Smith said. “Seems like when the game’s on the line, we find ways to get things done. But that’s got to be our mentality throughout the entire game. We can’t wait until the end of the game to try and save it.”
Seattle’s run defense has been bad the past two weeks. The Giants rushed for 175 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry after the Lions rolled up 116 yards a week earlier. Seattle has allowed more than 100 yards on the ground in three of its five games. Injuries on the defensive line were a factor against Detroit, but Seattle had most of its key players back against the Giants.
Without Smith's standout performance, the game wouldn't have been as close as it was. Although he was sacked seven times, Smith passed for 284 yards and a touchdown, his fourth straight week with at least 280 yards in the air.
Smith leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,466, as well as completions (143) and attempts (199). He's tied for fifth among starting QBs with a 71.9% completion rate.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb needs to find some balance. There has been far too much passing in the past two games for the Seahawks to function at their best. Kenneth Walker III must get more than the five carries and 12 overall touches he had Sunday. The Seahawks lead the league in pass-to-run ratio through five weeks, throwing on 67.4% of their plays.
“We all know we need to run the ball more," Macdonald said. “Everybody knows that, our opponents know that. Our players in our locker room know that, Grubb knows that, our coaches do, I do. We have to create more situations where we can run it as well.”
Seattle again has concerns about depth at outside linebacker. Boye Mafe missed Sunday's game with a knee injury and will likely be a game-time decision on Thursday, while Uchenna Nwosu (thigh) and Derick Hall (foot) both left with injuries. CB Riq Woolen (ankle) missed time in the second half after initially getting hurt in the first half. His injury led to playing time for rookie Nehemiah Pritchett.
Macdonald said on Monday that Nwosu won't play on Thursday. DT Byron Murphy II (hamstring) will likely miss one more week.
1 — Seattle forced one turnover against the Giants, which led to Rayshawn Jenkins' 102-yard fumble return for a touchdown. That was the first turnover forced by Seattle since Week 1 against Denver.
Seattle will try to snap a five-game losing streak to San Francisco that includes a playoff game. The skid is the longest for the Seahawks against the 49ers in the history of the series.
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Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) sits on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A court order that says hospitals cannot federally be required to provide pregnancy terminations when they violate a Texas abortion ban will stay for now, the Supreme Court said Monday.
The decision is another setback for opponents of Texas’ abortion ban, which for two years has withstood multiple legal challenges, including from women who had serious pregnancy complications and have been turned away by doctors.
It left Texas as the only state where the Biden administration is unable to enforce its interpretation of a federal law in an effort to ensure women still have access to emergency abortions when their health or life is at risk.
The justices did not detail their reasoning for keeping in place a lower court order, and there were no publicly noted dissents. Texas had asked the justices to leave the order in place while the Biden administration had asked the justices to throw it out.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision “a major victory.”
The Biden administration argues that a federal law, called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, requires emergency rooms to provide abortions if a pregnant patient’s health or life is at serious risk, even in states where the procedure is banned. The law only applies to emergency rooms that receive Medicare funding, which most hospitals do.
The Supreme Court decision comes weeks before a presidential election in which Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has put abortion at the center of her campaign, attacking Republican challenger Donald Trump for appointing judges to the high court who overturned nationwide abortion rights in 2022.
Texas' abortion ban has been a centerpiece of Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred ’s challenge against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cuz for his seat.
At a campaign event over the weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, hundreds of Allred’s supporters broke out in raucous applause when he vowed to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. “When I’m in the Senate, we’re going to restore Roe v. Wade," Allred said.
At a separate event the same day, in a nearby suburb, Cruz outlined a litany of criticisms against Allred, but didn’t bring up the abortion law.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that “all patients — including women experiencing pregnancy loss, and other pregnancy-related emergencies — must be able to access the emergency medical care that they need and that is required by federal law.”
Complaints of pregnant women in medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere have spiked as hospitals grapple with whether standard care could violate strict state laws against abortion. Several Texas women have lodged complaints against hospitals for not terminating their failing and dangerous pregnancies because of the state's ban. In some cases, women lost reproductive organs.
In asking the Supreme Court to toss out the lower court decision, the administration pointed to a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues. At the time the Idaho case began, the state had an exception for the life, but not the health, of a woman.
Texas said its case is different, however, because the law provides some exceptions if a pregnant patient's health is at risk.
Texas pointed to a state Supreme Court ruling that said doctors do not have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to provide an abortion legally. Doctors, though, have said the Texas law is dangerously vague, and a medical board has refused to list all the conditions that qualify for an exception.
Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said doctors in Texas got no clarity from the Supreme Court on Monday.
“The health care crisis is ongoing,” Hearron said. “Patients are going to continue to suffer.”
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California at Davis who has written extensively about abortion, said there remains much uncertainty for doctors in Texas, who could risk life in prison for performing abortions.
“I think we’re going to continue to see physicians turning away patients, even patients who could qualify under the state’s exceptions, because the consequences of guessing wrong are so severe and the laws are not that clear,” Ziegler said.
The Texas case started after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to abortion restrictions in many Republican-controlled states. The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals still needed to provide abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patients in medical distress.
Texas sued over that guidance, arguing that hospitals cannot be required to provide abortions that would violate its ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a post on X, “Reproductive rights are under assault in this country and women’s health and lives remain in danger from the chaos and confusion caused by overturning Roe.”
Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas. AP reporters Amanda Seitz in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Aamer Madhani in Washington also contributed to this report.
Supreme Court lets stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban
Supreme Court lets stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban
FILE - The Supreme Court building is seen, June 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
