Geno Smith’s year a ‘fairy tale’? He, Seahawks expected it. But can they do it at 49ers?

To the rest of the NFL, Geno Smith’s season is a fairy tale.

He has emerged from almost a decade as a journeyman backup to not only replace Russell Wilson but break his Seahawks passing records. He has earned his first career Pro Bowl selection. He has led Seattle unexpectedly into the playoffs.

But it’s not a storybook season to Smith. It’s what he says he’s known for seven years he would do, once he finally got a chance.

“I would say it’s not a fairy tale. I’d say it’s very much reality,” the 32-year-old quarterback said before he and the seventh-seeded Seahawks landed Friday afternoon for Saturday’s NFC first-round playoff game at second-seeded San Francisco (13-4) at soaked Levi’s Stadium (1:30 p.m., channel 13).

This is also reality:

• Smith will make the first postseason start of his 10-year career.

• It will come against the NFL’s top-ranked defense.

• The 49ers won the NFC West, twice dominated the Seahawks physically and enter the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak.
  
  

• The Seahawks are 10-point underdogs.

“We’re underdogs?” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said his voice rising, feigning ignorance.

“I don’t care about that. By the end of the week, there will be enough clamor about it so we’ll hear what everybody is thinking and all that. But that really doesn’t have any... doesn’t play a factor in this.”

Smith has been an underdog since he became a rookie starter for the New York Jets. That was in 2013. After a 4-12 season in 2014 with New York, he was out.

There will be time for him to consider all he’s done in his career-reviving season for Seattle.

But not now.

It will be after he and the Seahawks are done. Then he will be considering what contract offers to accept in the next two months. It includes a likely imminent one from Seattle, at an annual value likely to be 10 times the $3.5 million he’s earned this season maxing out his incentive bonuses.

He earned $1 million by making a playoffs no one expected Seattle to be in, not after they traded Wilson and cut All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner on the same Tear-it Up Tuesday last spring.

Smith hasn’t had a multi-year contract since he signed his rookie one with the Jets 10 years ago, as a second-round draft choice.

It’s that about-to-be-life-changing pay for the Miami native who was raised by his grandmother Joann Smith, finally being on the cusp of the free-agent riches players sacrifice and dedicate to get after seven consecutive one-year contracts, plus the Pro Bowl and the playoffs that have people calling his season a fairy tale.

That’s something to consider later. He’s got a mammoth job, the biggest one of his football life, to do first on Saturday.

“I think the time for reflection is probably a long ways down the line. I’m so caught up in the moment that I can’t really get outside of that,” Smith said.

“Obviously, I’m grateful. And I’ve always spoken about being grateful for the opportunity. But mainly for me, it’s to continue to stick to the process. None of this is possible without all the work we’ve put in, so just making sure that we’re focused on that.

“I know everyone is going to continue to ask those questions. But I’ll just focus on what I can do better and where I can be in the moment, and not really outside of that.”

Smith is 32 years old. He sat on benches for seven years, for four different teams. That included the three previous years to this season for Seattle, never playing behind Wilson.

Yet Smith says there was never a point during those idle seasons when he thought he’d never start an NFL playoff game.

“No, I can’t say that. Might have been like wishful thinking on my part, but I’ve always had that thought process that if I did get an opportunity that this is where we should be,” he said.

“Like I said, it’s not about me. It’s about the team and everyone else around me and how we are collectively coming together and how we collectively have gotten to the playoffs.

“But I don’t think we should be getting hyped up right now or acting like this is our end goal, because we have another goal in mind. ... We know that we can’t just say, ‘Oh, we’re happy to be in the playoffs.’

“There’s more to it. We’ve got to stay focused on that.”

Smith’s, Seahawks’ keys vs 49ers

To pull this off against the rolling 49ers, Smith must take care of the ball better. He threw two interceptions last week. One was a pass he forced to the Rams’ best cover man, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, covering DK Metcalf on an in route on the first play of Seattle’s game with Los Angeles last weekend.

“I know I can play a lot better,” Smith said.

He also threw a first-play interception and two picks in all in the Seahawks’ home loss to Carolina last month.

Smith was the NFL leader in completion rate this regular season at 69.8%. He threw four interceptions in Seattle’s first 10 games. The Seahawks were in first place in the NFC West.

He’s thrown seven interceptions in the last seven games. Seattle has gone from 6-3 to 9-8 and needing Detroit to upset Green Bay last Sunday night to get into the playoffs for the 10th time in coach Pete Carroll’s 13 years running the team.

The forecast for Saturday in Santa Clara is for a 100% chance of possibly flooding rains in the morning, then a 60% chance of showers or a thunderstorm during the game. There is a flood watch and a wind advisory for the area Saturday. Winds are projected to be 12 mph with gusts possibly to 30 mph in the afternoon.

“The ball will be the whole issue (Saturday),” Carroll said.

The 49ers have dominated the line of scrimmage in both games with Seattle this season, San Francisco wins of 27-7 at home in week two and 21-13 in Seattle last month. The Seahawks offense has scored one touchdown in eight quarters against the Niners. That was with 3 minutes left in a 21-6 game a few weeks ago.

Running back Kenneth Walker is the key to whether Smith can be the efficient, mistake-free passer he was through November. Walker, the rookie second-round pick, has rushed for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games. That’s been since Carroll looked him in the eye at halftime of Seattle’s loss at Kansas City on Christmas Eve and told him to run more directly into the line, with fewer lateral cuts in the backfield.

Walker needs to run effectively on first and second downs Saturday to get the Seahawks in far easier third downs than they’ve had against the 49ers this season.

Carroll, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and running backs coach Chad Morton have been emphasizing to Walker the importance of 3-yard runs instead of trying for home runs on every carry in this game.

Third and 4s — not tackles in the backfield, not penalties on early downs — would give Smith and Seattle a whole lot better chance to extend drives and score against the Niners this time.

“We lived in a world of too many third and 10-pluses, looking back at it,” Waldron said of the Seahawks’ two losses to the 49ers. “Even their third and 7-to-10 defense is number one in the NFL. So we are really trying to stay out of those.”

Smith was at his most efficient and prolific best this season when Walker and the running game set up his play-action passes. Walker must win to keep All-Pro Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead and the 49ers’ strong defensive front from wrecking this third meeting like they did the first two.

“Just execute better, mainly on first and second down,” Smith said. “Make sure that we’re staying in third and manageable, third and short and medium. Because we had a bunch of 3rd and longs, and as you can see, that’s not where we want to be.

‘For us, it’s staying efficient on first and second down, me in particular getting the ball out, being efficient getting the ball to the guys in the right timing and to the right reads, and then everything else kind of goes from there.”

Walter Jones raises 12 flag at State Capitol

Seahawks Hall of Fame tackle Walter Jones was in Olympia this week with Gov. Jay Inslee raising the team’s 12 flag atop the State Capitol.

Jones and Inslee were joined by Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti, plus legislators and Seahawks fans in raising the team’s flag for its fans.

A 12 flag is also flying atop the Space Needle in Seattle, recognizing Saturday’s playoff game.

Fashion-istas, beware

The Seahawks are wearing their white road jerseys over gray pants for Saturday’s game.

The last time they wore this uniform combination was in October at the Los Angeles Chargers. That was one of Seattle’s better games this season. The team beat the playoff-bound Chargers 37-23.

The Seahawks have only worn this uniform combo a dozen times before Saturday. They are 4-8 in it.