EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Geno Smith was once considered a major part of the New York Jets' future, a potential franchise quarterback with a big smile and an even bigger arm.
Inconsistency, struggles and a well-publicized locker room altercation eventually led to him being a disappointing piece of the team's past.
On Sunday, Smith will face the franchise that drafted him in the second round with the 39th overall pick in 2013 out of West Virginia for the second time as an opposing starter with the Seattle Seahawks (6-5) — and first at MetLife Stadium, his first NFL home.
“It’s the biggest game of the year because it’s the next game,” insisted Smith, who beat the Jets in 2022 in Seattle. “But obviously because I was drafted there, it’s going to be a narrative that’s built.”
Smith, who also beat the Giants last year at MetLife Stadium, played for the Jets for parts of four seasons. He started his first two years, showing flashes of the playmaking ability that made him a college star.
But the quarterback's jaw was broken by linebacker IK Enemkpali in a fight in the locker room during training camp in 2015. Ryan Fitzpatrick took over as the starter and Smith started just one more game for the Jets, finishing with 28 touchdown passes and 36 interceptions in 33 games, including 30 starts.
“I’ve always had tremendous love and respect for that organization,” said Smith, now 34. “Obviously, the team that drafted me, gave me a chance out of the gate. A lot of great people there. Some people that I was there with, a lot of those people are now gone.
"So as far as the whole revenge thing, that’s not on my mind.”
After his failed stint with the Jets, Smith's football journey led him to the Giants for one year and the Chargers for another. In 2019, he signed with Seattle, served as Russell Wilson's backup the next few seasons and filled in as the starter for three games in 2021. After Wilson was traded to Denver during the 2022 offseason, Smith beat out Drew Lock for the starting job.
And he thrived.
Smith won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year in his first season with the Seahawks, got a three-year contract and has made the Pro Bowl each of the last two years. He has thrown 62 touchdown passes over the last three seasons, establishing himself as one of the NFL's top playmaking quarterbacks. While Smith's 12 interceptions lead the league this year, that hasn't diminished the respect he has earned around the league.
“Yeah, tremendous respect for Geno and what he’s done because that’s not the typical story in this league,” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. "Guys, when they fail or face real adversity and they don’t get it done at their initial stop, a lot of times that’s it and their career’s over with and they don’t become the players that they should’ve or could’ve become.
“He’s a guy that’s, absolutely, he’s started over in Seattle and he’s revived his career in so many ways and it’s really cool to see. A testament to the resolve that he has.”
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who turns 41 on Monday, has dealt with knee, hamstring and ankle injuries for most of the season while not playing up to the level he expects.
But after resting during the Jets' bye-week break, Rodgers was not listed on the team's injury report for the first time since Week 4. Ulbrich said Rodgers will start the final six regular-season games as long as the QB remains healthy.
“I’m going to enjoy them," Rodgers said. "Obviously, the future is unknown for a lot of us, but yeah, I have a lot of pride in this game — when I take the field, when I go to practice. So I’ll be excited about being out there with the guys and finish off strong.”
The game marks the first for New York since owner Woody Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas on Nov. 19. That came six weeks after coach Robert Saleh was dismissed.
The Jets (3-8) have already begun the process of searching for a new GM for a team that has lost seven of its last eight and is close to extending its playoff drought to 14 years.
“In the end, it comes down to guys being motivated individually and then just wanting to play for something bigger than themselves,” Rodgers said, "and hope we all do that.”
Seahawks safety Coby Bryant was selected the NFC's defensive player of the week for the first time after scoring on a 69-yard pick-6 last Sunday against Arizona.
Bryant, who shifted to safety this year after starting his pro career as a cornerback, took over as the starter after Rawshawn Jenkins went down earlier this season with an injury. Bryant has 39 tackles and two interceptions — and dedicated the ball from the pick-6 to his mother, who celebrated her birthday on the day of her son's big play.
“Definitely a blessing,” Bryant said. “It just shows that I’m willing to work, put my head down and control what I can control, and just go out there and dominate.”
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams will also return “home” Sunday.
Williams is playing in New York for the first time since he was traded to Seattle last October from the Giants. Williams was drafted by the Jets in the first round in 2015 and spent 4½ seasons there before being traded across town midway through the 2019 season.
Like Smith, Williams said too much time has passed for it to feel like “a revenge game or homecoming game” for him.
"It feels like just a regular game to me,” said Williams, who had 2½ sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and a pass defensed last week against Arizona.
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AP freelance writer Shane Lantz in Seattle contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) watches at Seattle Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant (8) as he makes an interception during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Seattle. Bryant ran the ball in for a touchdown on the play. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates a sack during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) tries to avoid a sack from Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye (51) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents breached Syria’s largest city Friday and clashed with government forces for the first time since 2016, according to a war monitor and fighters, in a surprise attack that sent residents fleeing and added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars.
The advance on Aleppo followed a shock offensive launched by insurgents Wednesday, as thousands of fighters swept through villages and towns in Syria’s northwestern countryside. Residents fled neighborhoods on the city's edge because of missiles and gunfire, according to witnesses in Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the country's unresolved civil war, said dozens of fighters from both sides were killed.
The attack injected new violence into a region experiencing dual wars in Gaza and Lebanon involving Israel, and other conflicts, including the Syrian civil war that began in 2011.
Aleppo has not been attacked by opposition forces since they were ousted from eastern neighborhoods in 2016 following a grueling military campaign in which Syrian government forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.
But this time, there was no sign of a significant pushback from government forces or their allies. Instead, reports emerged of government forces melting away in the face of advances, and insurgents posted messages on social media calling on troops to surrender.
Robert Ford, who was the last U.S. ambassador to Syria, said the attack showed that Syrian government forces are “extremely weak.” In some cases, he said, they appear to have “almost been routed.”
This week’s advances were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, and represent the most intense fighting in northwestern Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by the opposition.
The offensive came as Iran-linked groups, primarily Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has backed Syrian government forces since 2015, have been preoccupied with their own battles at home.
A ceasefire in Hezbollah's two-month war with Israel took effect Wednesday, the day the Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive. Israel has also escalated its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria during the last 70 days.
Dareen Khalifa, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group and an expert on Syrian groups, said the insurgents have signaled for a while that they were ready for an offensive. But no one expected the swift advance of the forces toward Aleppo.
“It’s not only that the Russians are distracted and bogged down in Ukraine, but also the Iranians are distracted and bogged down elsewhere. Hezbollah’s distracted and bogged down elsewhere, and the regime is absolutely cornered,” she said. “But the surprise element comes in with how quickly the regime crumbled.”
The attack on Aleppo followed weeks of simmering low-level violence, including government attacks on opposition-held areas. Turkey, which has backed Syrian opposition groups, failed in its diplomatic efforts to prevent the government attacks, which were seen as a violation of a 2019 agreement sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran to freeze the line of the conflict.
Turkish security officials said Thursday that Syrian opposition groups initially launched a long-planned “limited” offensive toward Aleppo, where attacks targeting civilians originated. However, the offensive expanded as Syrian government forces began retreating from their positions, the officials said.
The aim of the offensive was to reestablish the boundaries of the de-escalation zone, according to Turkish officials.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after 2011 protests against Bashar Assad’s rule turned into an all-out war.
Russia and Iran and its allied groups helped Syrian government forces reclaim control of the city that year after a grueling military campaign and a siege that lasted for weeks.
Besides backing opposition forces, Turkey has also established a military presence in Syria, sending troops into parts of the northwest. Separately and largely in the east of Syria, the United States has supported Syrian Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants.
The Syrian government did not comment on insurgents breaching Aleppo city limits.
The Kremlin said Friday that it considered the attack an encroachment on Syria’s sovereignty and that it supported the quickest possible establishment of constitutional order in the region.
“Of course, this is a violation of Syria’s sovereignty in this region,” Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing.
Syria's armed forces said in a statement Friday that they clashed with insurgents in the countryside around Aleppo and Idlib, destroying drones and heavy weaponry. They vowed to repel the attack and accused the insurgents of spreading false information about their advances.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the insurgents detonated two car bombs Friday at the western edge of Aleppo. The war monitor said insurgents were also able to seize control of Saraqeb, south of Aleppo, a town at the strategic intersection of the highways linking Aleppo with Damascus and the coast. Syrian government authorities diverted traffic from that highway Thursday.
An insurgent commander posted a recorded message on social media calling on Aleppo residents to cooperate with the advancing forces.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the insurgents entered the city center Friday and now control about 70 locations in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
Syria’s state media reported that projectiles from insurgents landed in student accommodations at Aleppo's university in the city center, killing four people, including two students.
Syrian armed forces said the insurgents are violating a 2019 agreement that de-escalated fighting in the area, the last remaining opposition stronghold for years.
Hezbollah was “the main force” in the government’s control of Aleppo, said Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Observatory.
In a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the insurgent attacks in Syria “as a plot orchestrated by the U.S. and the Zionist regime following the regime’s defeat in Lebanon and Palestine.”
Insurgents posted videos online showing they were using drones, a new weapon for them. It was not clear to what extent the drones were used on the battleground.
Insurgents attacked a military airbase southeast of Aleppo with drones early Friday, destroying a helicopter, the Anadolu Agency reported. The opposition groups also seized heavy weapons and military vehicles belonging to the government forces, the agency said.
Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
Syrian opposition fighters ride in a truck in Talhiya, Idlib countryside, Syria, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian opposition fighters stand guard in Kafr Halab, Aleppo countryside, Syria, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A damaged vehicle belonging to the Syrian Government troops, seen in Kafr Halab, Aleppo countryside, Syria, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian opposition fighters ride in front of a tank they allegedly captured from Syrian Government troops in Talhiya, Idlib countryside, Syria, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A destroyed Syrian army tank sits in the village of Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian opposition fighters ride in a truck as they enter the village of Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024, part of their major offensive on government-controlled areas in the country's northwestern Syria. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
A Syrian opposition fighter displays badges allegedly belonging to Syrian army officers uniforms in Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian opposition fighters stand next to a government sign after entering the village of Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024, part of their major offensive on government-controlled areas in the country's northwestern Syria. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian opposition fighters stand in formation after entering the village of Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024, part of their major offensive on government-controlled areas in the country's northwestern Syria. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian opposition fighters get off a truck as they enter the village of Anjara, western outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024, part of their major offensive on government-controlled areas in the country's northwestern Syria. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
