"Nah. I told 'em I felt comfortable over there," Smith-Njigba said after the game. "It's Monday night, I'm not really worried about anything when it comes to my face and all that."
As for the official who came to shield him, Smith-Njigba said, "We had a nice little conversation. I took a deep breath, tried to enjoy the moment as much as I could, then run back to my sideline."
Smith-Njigba keeping his composure in that moment was all the more important because earlier in the game he had celebrated a first-quarter touchdown with an emphatic dunk over the crossbar, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, meaning a second penalty of that type would result in an ejection.
"I'm glad that he's OK and he made a smart decision in that moment," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "That's a really, really poised, smart decision."
While that sideline encounter, as well as his penalized celebration, were two of the moments that brought the most attention to Smith-Njigba on Monday, it's what he did throughout the game that showed, once again, why he has established himself as one of the league's best receivers.
With 123 yards on eight catches, including an 11-yard touchdown, Smith-Njigba added to his NFL-leading receiving total, giving him 819 yards through seven games. It was Smith-Njigba's third straight 100-yard game and fifth 100-yard game through seven weeks this season. With Monday's performance, Smith-Njigba joined DK Metcalf as the only players in team history to post three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, and he is tied for the second most 100-yard games in a season behind Steve Largent, who had six 100-yard games in 1979.