Until there becomes more clarity on Geno Smith and the injury suffered to his knee, the chances of the Seahawks making the playoffs may end up resting on Sam Howell.
Admittedly, Howell must perform better than what he showed stepping in after Smith was hurt on Sunday night.
"It's what I get paid to do and I got to be better," Howell said.
The knee injury suffered by Smith in the third quarter of the 30-13 loss to Green Bay on Sunday night clouded how the final 1½ quarters played out against the Packers with Howell stepping in to a difficult situation trying to lead a rally.
More pressing is what it could mean for the final three weeks of the regular season and the Seahawks tied with the Rams on top of the NFC West.
Howell, brought in last offseason to serve as Smith's backup after being a starter last year with Washington, entered to take his first meaningful dropbacks in a Seahawks uniform while facing a 20-3 deficit.
It didn't go well. Howell finished 5 of 14 passing for 24 yards, was sacked four times and threw an ugly interception in the fourth quarter.
Was it a tough situation? Yes. Did Howell need to perform better? Yes.
"My job is to be ready to go in there and play well and help this team win and I didn't do that today," Howell said. "I just got to be better. Watch the film, learn from it. Definitely we had chances there in the second half. The defense played well, put us in good position. I just got to play better."
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald echoed how Howell felt.
"I mean, wasn't good enough to win. I know he's disappointed," Macdonald said. "Just didn't feel like we were getting the ball out on time and then it wasn't complemented with our pass protection."
Smith's injury left the spine of the Seahawks' offense relying all on backups while trying to rally against the Packers. Undrafted rookie Jalen Sundell entered at center in first half after Olu Oluwatimi left with a quadriceps/knee injury and did not return. The Seahawks were already leaning on backup Zach Charbonnet at running back with starter Kenneth Walker III missing a second straight game due to a calf injury.
Sundell's assessment of his play sounded similar to Howell.
"I got to play better. I got to be cleaner," Sundell said. "There's things we'll see on tape, but I've got to be better."
The life of a backup quarterback is always being the guy everyone wants to see on the field when the starter is struggling. Even before suffering his knee injury, it wasn't the cleanest game from Smith as he struggled to push the ball downfield and threw a careless interception in the end zone in the second quarter.
Many fans have wondered if Howell could be an heir apparent to Smith, especially after he started all 17 games last season for Washington and threw for nearly 4,000 yards, while also leading the league in interceptions and times he was sacked.
Before Sunday, the only time Howell was on the field this season was for one snap in Atlanta in Week 7. The last time he took any meaningful snaps was Week 18 of last season against Dallas.
The storm he stepped into against the Packers was unrelenting. Knowing he had to throw allowed the Packers to bring pressures against the Seahawks' overmatched offensive line. Howell often seemed engulfed by the collapsing rush and when he did get the ball out of his hands they seemed rushed and a little inaccurate.
Howell did lead one scoring drive, a possession where he hit on 3 of 4 passes for 21 yards. That meant he was 1 of 11 with four sacks every other time he dropped back. Howell was one of 20 quarterbacks in the last 25 years to have at least 19 dropbacks in a game and complete just five passes.
"That's why we have Sam, to come in and help us win games if he needs to," Macdonald said. "But, look, tough situation. He hasn't played yet this year. We got faith in Sam. Guy is a great player. If he gets another opportunity, he'll do a great job."
If they are called into action next week against Minnesota, both Sundell and Howell will benefit from having a full week of practice. Sundell, who played tackle and center in college at North Dakota State, was already looking forward to seeing the tape from his debut and what needed to be fixed.
"I can't stand waiting," Sundell said. "I can't stand waiting, I'll (watch) that before anything else."